Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Feb. 26, 2020

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

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Building a More Global Space Force
By Rachel S. Cohen

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—Col. Scott Brodeur has big plans for the
Combined Space Operations Center here as he enters his last few months as
commander. The CSpOC is a secretive command-and-control organization that tracks
objects in space and acts as a liaison between those who operate military space
assets and those who need their services. But Brodeur wants to make the
center’s work truer to its name so everyone can see the same information. The
Space Force is pursuing a new ops floor for space domain awareness that would
connect counterparts all over the world with a common picture of what’s
happening on orbit. CSpOC personnel hope to be up and running in a new facility
across campus at Vandenberg by the end of the year.

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USAF Bases in Europe, South Korea Respond to Spreading Coronavirus
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Air Force bases near outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are restricting
travel and urging airmen to proactively protect their health as the virus
spreads. In Italy, the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base has directed all
airmen and soldiers to avoid travel to affected regions, and work with squadrons
on a case-by-case basis on travel. Leadership at Osan Air Base in South Korea
has cut back on the operations of certain base facilities. The virus is
threatening future joint exercises between the US and South Korea, as both
militaries look at scaling back future events depending on the spread of the
virus, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Feb. 24 in a joint press conference
with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.

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Empowering Disaster Response and Recovery From Space
When a natural disaster or emergency occur, an immediate and seamless response is necessary to
save lives. Operational and situational awareness becomes increasingly important to responders.
If critical infrastructure is down in the disaster zone, then the systems and networks required for
powering the relief efforts are compromised. Ground operations must look to space to solve their
communication needs. Read the full story.
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TRANSCOM: Tanker Shortage Creating Stress on Aircrews
By Brian W. Everstine

The pressure on the aerial refueling community affects more than the iron on Air
Force ramps. Total Force aircrews are part of the most stressed force element in
U.S. Transportation Command, Army Gen. Stephen Lyons told the Senate Armed
Services Community on Feb. 25. Lyons said TRANSCOM will not have enough booms in
the air if the Air Force’s retires legacy tankers in fiscal 2021 as it plans,
before the KC-46 is operationally capable. “This is true across all
components—Reserve and the Guard—the high tempo of our Airmen that are
running these missions,” Lyons said.

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AFRICOM Strike Kills Planner of Manda Bay Attack
By Brian W. Everstine

A Feb. 22 precision airstrike in Somalia killed a senior Al-Shabab member who
planned the Jan. 5 attack on a U.S. base in Kenya that killed three Americans
and destroyed six aircraft. "This strike demonstrates that we will continue to
relentlessly pursue those responsible for Manda Bay and those wishing to do harm
to Americans and our African partners,” U.S. Africa Command boss Gen. Stephen
Townsend said in a statement.

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George Douglas, Former AFA National President, Dies at 95

Retired Maj. Gen. George M. Douglas, a former Air Force Association National
President and Chairman of the Board, died Feb. 18 in Broomfield, Colo. He was
95. Douglas enlisted in the Army in 1943 and received his commission after World
War II. He transferred to the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1958 and served in Air
Defense Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command until 1976. He
later worked as the mobilization assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for
Personnel at Headquarters USAF.

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Radar Sweep

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Man Accused of Trying to Blow up Vehicle at Pentagon

An Arkansas man is in police custody Feb. 25 after allegedly attempting to blow
up a vehicle at the Pentagon. According to the Justice Department, 19-year-old
Fayetteville native Matthew Dmitri Richardson was approached by a patrolling
Pentagon police officer after the officer watched Richardson light a piece of
fabric on fire and then put it inside a vehicle's gas tank.

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Northrop Expands Team for Program to Replace U.S. Air Force ICBMs

In its quest to modernize the U.S. Air Force’s stockpile of intercontinental
ballistic missiles, Northrop Grumman has partnered with Bechtel and Kratos
Defense and Security Solutions, the company announced Feb. 25. The two companies
are the latest addition to Northrop Grumman’s nationwide team devoted to
replace the Minuteman III with next-generation missiles, as the company
announced in September its collaboration with hundreds of companies across the
defense, construction, and engineering industries.

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Report: Russia Has Developed Prototype of Air-to-Ground Hypersonic Missile for Su-57

Russia has developed a hypersonic air-to-ground missile for its Sukhoi Su-57
fighter aircraft, the country’s first purported indigenously designed and
built fifth-generation stealth fighter, according to Russian defense industry
sources. The new weapon system can reportedly be fitted inside the Su-57s
internal weapons bay.

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NATO Has ‘Growing Realization’ About Risks of Using Huawei Gear, Top General Says

But USAF Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of U.S. European Command, offered no
evidence that U.S. officials are persuading allies to shun Chinese 5G networking
products.

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Rapid Acquisition & Sustainment

The Air Force and U.S. defense establishment are breaking down barriers and
injecting speed, innovation, and creativity into the procurement system. Check
out our new page to learn more about these efforts.

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Senior Master Sergeant Promotions Plunge This Year

The Air Force Personnel Center said in a release Feb. 24 that 1,184 master
sergeants, out of 15,544 eligible Airmen, have been selected for promotion to
E-8. That means the E-8 selection rate for 2020 is 7.62 percent—the lowest
rate since the worst days of the drawdown in 2014, and significantly lower than
the last four years of senior master sergeant promotions.

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ACC Looks to Zero Trust Architecture for Network Security

Air Combat Command hosted industry partners from companies including Google,
Microsoft, Unisys, Cisco, and Palo Alto Jan. 23-24 at the MITRE Corp facility in
Hampton, Va., for the ACC Zero-Trust Summit, to discuss a potential zero trust
architecture for the U.S. Air Force. ACC’s Directorate of Cyberspace and
Information Dominance (A6) is taking initiative to field a new network approach
to ensure that the service’s network becomes stronger in the current
information operations environment.

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Internal Air Force Emails Show Confusion and Concern over Colorado's Mystery Drones

Emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show that security forces
and officials at F.E. Warren Air Force Base were just as perplexed with the
drones as the public.

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One More Thing...
CSAF Receives Prestigious Scouting Award

The National Eagle Scout Association presented its Distinguished Eagle Scout
Award to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein in a Feb. 24 ceremony at
the Air Force Association’s headquarters in Arlington, Va.

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