KC-46 Under Microscope Again | USAF Making Little Headway on Pilot Shortage

March 4, 2020

Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

McConnell Welcomes KC-46 #21 to the Fleet

Goldfein: USAF Won’t Use KC-46 Unless It Has To

By Rachel S. Cohen

Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Senate legislators March 3 the service will not use the new KC-46 tanker unless absolutely necessary to fight a powerful adversary. The wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing—the first of multiple chances the Air Force has this week to argue for its $169 billion budget request—continually circled back to the Pegasus tanker’s most pressing issue: its subpar remote vision system, built by Rockwell Collins. Boeing’s new Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun “committed to me that the KC-46 was his top military priority and he was going to do what was required to fix it,” Goldfein said. “I have seen a change in the behavior of that company since he took over. That’s why we’re more confident sitting here today that we have a serious fix on the table.”

USAF Still 2,100 Pilots Short of Goal

By Rachel S. Cohen and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force needs 2,100 more pilots to reach its goal of 21,000 aviators, indicating that efforts to stem the pilot shortage have not yet been successful. “Increasing production of new aviators remains the most significant lever we have to arrest aircrew shortages,” service officials said in written testimony submitted to the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee for a March 3 hearing. While the service is pushing to grow its pilot production pipeline to turn out 1,480 aviators a year by fiscal 2024, it has fallen short of its gradually increasing production goals for five straight years.

CMSAF’s Parting Priorities

By Brian W. Everstine

In an interview with Air Force Magazine at AFA's Air Warfare Symposium, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright outlined his top four priorities for the last six months of his tenure as the service’s top enlisted leader. They are: Fixing the Enlisted Performance Reporting system, eliminating Weighted Airman Promotion System tests, changing the bereavement leave policy, and create a culture of fitness in the Air Force.

Air Force Builds Up Information Warfare Ops

By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force is using its first information warfare cell to support cyber operations, part of a new approach to digital, “gray zone” combat. The IW cell brings together experts in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; cyber; information operations; and public affairs, according to 16th Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh. It is helping tackle overarching problems in the cyber realm including U.S. election security, protecting air defenses, and rooting out malign influence on networks. The cell will be a pivotal player in 16th AF’s evolving structure. Haugh said the organization’s multiple operations centers will merge into a singular hub under one commander on March 16.

AC-130U Crew Receives 14 Medals for Afghanistan Mission

By Brian W. Everstine

An AC-130U Spooky crew provided more than nine hours of air support to special operations forces, enabling the rescue of 15 patients during a mass casualty evacuation in an April 2019 mission in Afghanistan. In a March 2 ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla., the aircrew from the 4th Special Operations Squadron received 14 medals for their role in the mission: two Distinguished Flying Crosses with the “C” device, and 12 Single Event Air Medals with the “C” device.

Pentagon Widening Search for SPACECOM, Space Force Bases

By Rachel S. Cohen

Space Force Vice Commander Lt. Gen. David Thompson indicated the military will add new locations to the list of bases under consideration for U.S. Space Command headquarters, saying some unexpected places could become home to parts of the new Space Force as well. “We’re now going to take a holistic look at all of the potential options, all the potential locations,” Thompson said at a March 3 House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing. “We’ve been directed to go back, open up the aperture and look at all of them. That includes bases, it includes perhaps some non-traditional locations.”

No Space Force Reserve Yet, Scobee Says

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Details of how the Air Force Reserve will support the U.S. Space Force “haven’t been fully fleshed out,” but for now, any backup it provides will remain under the purview of Air Force Reserve Command, Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Richard Scobee told Air Force Magazine in a Feb. 27 interview. Scobee said “a couple different” options exist, but the current plan is to "delay slightly" while that is figured out. However, he said, Congress may make the ultimate call.

US Sends Message to Russia, China in Africa

By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force recently sent an unexpected aircraft over the village of Kismayo, a rural town on the Somali coast that has been a hotbed of extremist activity by groups such as al-Shabab. A nuclear-capable B-52, forward deployed to U.S. Central Command, flew an unmistakable show of force over the region last month. USAF leaders said the Feb. 15 flight was a direct message, not necessarily to the violent extremist groups armed with AK-47s and pickup trucks, but to global powers working to exert their influence on a continent that is becoming increasingly important to the global power structure. “There’s a message opportunity here, not just to al-Shabab and [violent extremist organizations] on the ground, but more broadly to Russia and China that: 'Hey, we’re competing with you down here,'" US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa boss Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian said.

Radar Sweep

The Air Force Is Calling Off Its 'Fly-Only' Track Experiment

Military.com

Despite high hopes for a program aimed at retaining full-time pilots, there are only two airmen currently utilizing Air Mobility Command's Aviator Technical Track, also known as the "fly-only" track. There are no plans to expand the program any further, the command's top general said Feb. 27.

Court Considers Whether Men-Only Draft Is Constitutional

Associated Press

Weeks before a government commission weighs in on the subject, federal appeals court judges will consider whether the military’s all-male draft system is constitutional. A Texas-based federal judge ruled last year that it is not, in response to a lawsuit brought by the National Coalition for Men. The government appealed, leading to a March 3 hearing before a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

DARPA Launch Challenge Ends Without Winner

Space News

A DARPA responsive launch competition that started two years ago came to an end March 2 without a winner as the sole remaining team was forced to scrub their final launch attempt less than a minute before liftoff.

Air Force BMT Integrates Tactical Combat Casualty Care Course for All Airmen

USAF release

The Air Force will fully integrate tactical combat casualty care into Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on March 2.

White House Withdraws Nomination of Defense Official Who Questioned Ukraine Aid Freeze

Politico

Elaine McCusker was nominated late last year to be the Pentagon's comptroller. She has been the acting comptroller since the summer and was the public face of the Pentagon's budget rollout last month, briefing reporters on the details of the Defense Department's $741 billion military spending request.

Trump Officially Sends the Senate His Navy Secretary Nomination

The Hill

President Donald Trump on March 2 officially nominated Kenneth Braithwaite, his current ambassador to Norway, to serve as Navy Secretary. Braithwaite's nomination to replace Richard Spencer, who resigned in November, was sent to the Senate along with a host of other nominations.

First Instance of VA’s New Electronic Health Record System Now Scheduled for July

Nextgov

Department of Veterans Affairs officials said the initial deployment was delayed after clinicians asked to be trained on a full system instead of a minimum viable product.

One More Thing

Maps Show Drastic Drop in China’s Air Pollution after Coronavirus Quarantine

The Verge

There’s been a dramatic drop in pollution across China as the country tries to contain COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. New maps using data collected from NASA and European Space Agency satellites show how nitrogen dioxide, a dangerous gas released by burning fuel, has dissipated since the outbreak.