Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Feb. 4, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen and Brian W. Everstine

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USAF Suicides Skyrocket in 2019
By Brian W. Everstine

A total of 137 Airmen took their own lives in 2019—a 33 percent increase from
the 103 suicides in 2018 despite service efforts to get the problem under
control. The high pace of suicides has long worried senior service leaders, who
in July ordered wings to stand down for a day to focus on the issue. Suicide is
“an adversary that is killing more of our Airmen than any enemy on the
planet,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said at the time.

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JSTARS Returns to the Middle East
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force recently deployed the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar
System back to the Middle East, about three months after pulling the aircraft
from theater for the first time in 18 years. Air Combat Command said at the time
there was a "higher demand signal for JSTARS support" to other combatant
commands, but photographs released Feb. 1 by Air Forces Central Command show the
E-8C returned to al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on Jan. 16—just over a week after
Iran launched a volley of ballistic missiles at U.S. personnel in Iraq.


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Joint Leaders Mull Future Command and Control Tactics
By Rachel S. Cohen

Two Air Force officials say they and their counterparts in the other services
will dig into joint operating concepts for command and control following a
Pentagon-wide gathering on the topic in mid-January. "We really looked at
structure, processes, and challenges and opportunities, and that's probably the
best way to describe the outcomes of the C2 summit this time, as we looked at
the need for what joint operating concepts the services need to develop," Air
Combat Command Operations Director Maj. Gen. Kevin Huyck said.

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Lackland, Travis to House Coronavirus Evacuees
By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon is opening four additional bases, including two Air Force
installations, to the Department of Health and Human Services for the possible
quarantine of personnel as the coronavirus outbreak continues. On Feb. 1, the
Pentagon agreed to provide housing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; Joint Base
San Antonio-Lackland, Texas; Fort Carson, Colo.; and Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar, Calif., for up to 1,000 individuals if needed. The housing would be for
Americans returning from overseas travel in areas impacted by the coronavirus
outbreak. So far, about 200 personnel are being housed at March Air Reserve
Base, Calif.

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Lord Says F-35s Safe Despite Fastener Problem
By John A. Tirpak

The F-35 fleet is safe to fly, despite an under-strength fastener problem
potentially affecting nearly all F-35s, Pentagon acquisition and sustainment
chief Ellen Lord said during a Jan. 31 press conference. A root cause analysis
continues, but the Pentagon has "confidence in the integrity" of the jet, she
said.

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Radar Sweep

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Al-Qaida in Yemen Claims Deadly Florida Naval Base Shooting

Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen claimed responsibility on Feb. 2 for last year’s
deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., by an aviation student
from Saudi Arabia. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, released a video
claiming the attack.

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Military’s Top AI Officer Retiring as Pentagon Continues to Increase Investments and Interest

The leader of the Defense Department’s hub for integrating artificial
intelligence into operations and functional purposes of the military will retire
this summer. Joint Artificial Intelligence Center Director Lieutenant Gen. John
Shanahan will leave the Air Force, but continue his duties until he transitions
from the service, JAIC spokesman Lieutenant Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson told Federal
News Network in a statement.

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DOD’s Top IT Official Talks AI, JEDI, and How to Win Over the Commercial Tech Community

Defense Department Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy spoke recently with Jill
Aitoro, executive editor of C4ISRNET and its sister brand Defense News, about
the tech priorities for the department—and how that Amazon protest of the
department’s enterprise cloud contract award impacts his plans.

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Deputy VA Secretary Fired after Less than 5 Months on the Job

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie on Feb. 3 announced the abrupt firing
of his No. 2 at the Veterans Affairs Department, James Byrne, after less than
five months formally on the job. “Today, I dismissed VA Deputy Secretary James
Byrne due to loss of confidence in Mr. Byrne’s ability to carry out his
duties,” Wilkie said in a brief, cryptic statement posted on the VA’s
website.

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AFMC, ACC Expand Weapons System Collaboration

The agreement creates a new culture paradigm for the acquisition and operational
communities, focused on improved communication and continuous collaboration. It
also establishes a framework for bilateral immersions of Airmen to create better
understanding of the maintenance and operational requirements of a weapons
system throughout its life cycle.

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The Pentagon Is Spending Millions on Hunter Drones with Nets

After an F-22 Raptor nearly collided with a cheap drone in 2017, the U.S. Air
Force’s Air Combat Command received permission to shoot down unmanned flying
objects that get too near its airbases. But shooting down drones over cities is
a less-than-ideal solution to a growing problem. So the U.S. military is trying
a new tack: spending millions of dollars on defensive drones armed with nets.

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A Russian "Inspector" Spacecraft Now Appears to Be Shadowing an American Spy Satellite

Publicly available data suggests that a Russian inspector satellite has shifted
its position in orbit to bring it relatively close to a U.S. KH-11 spy
satellite. Russia has a number of what it calls "space apparatus inspectors" in
orbit, which the U.S. government and others warn the Kremlin could use to gather
intelligence on other satellites or function as "killer satellites," using
various means to damage, disable, or destroy those targets.

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Esper Says Overturning Landmine Ban will Protect U.S. Forces

The Trump administration's decision to lift a ban on using anti-personnel
landmines outside the Korean Peninsula will protect U.S. forces, according to
Defense Secretary Mark Esper. "Ultimately, they serve as a force multiplier,
helping U.S. forces to fight effectively against enemy threats, which may be
numerically superior or capable of exploiting operational or tactical advantages
over U.S. forces," he wrote in a Pentagon memo issued Jan. 31.

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One More Thing...
The Defense Department Wants to Use the Atmosphere as a Sensor

The atmosphere is critical to life on the planet Earth, encompassing the air we
breathe, blocking out life-threatening ultraviolet radiation from the sun and
providing a barrier against the harshness of outer space. Now, the Pentagon’s
research arm aims to explore another use for the atmosphere: Its viability to
act as a sensor that can pinpoint potential disruptions to the planet.

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