Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for March 17, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory, John A. Tirpak and Shaun Waterman

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Military Tracking More COVID-19 Cases as It Studies Possible Civil Support
By Brian W. Everstine

The numbers of military personnel and dependents who have tested positive for
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, continues to climb as the
Defense Department plans its next steps to bolster the national response while
protecting its own ranks. As of early March 16, there are 37 reported positive
cases of COVID-19, including 18 military members, 13 dependents, three civilian
employees, and three contractors. As of March 15, the military had conducted 495
tests for the virus globally.

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Nearly 700 National Guard Troops Activated to Fight COVID-19
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

A total of 670 National Guard members from 15 states have been activated as of
the morning of March 16 in support of their states' responses to the COVID-19
pandemic, according to the National Guard Bureau. Guard readiness is “critical
to the success of” the U.S.' efforts to combat the virus, said National Guard
Bureau Chief Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel.

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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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Air Force Wounded Warrior Trials Postponed Over COVID-19 Fears
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force Wounded Warrior Trials, which were originally slated to be held
March 20-28 at various locations in the Las Vegas, Nev., area, have been
postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a March 13 Air Force
release. The trials, held by the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, were
supposed to determine which Airmen would represent the service at both this
year’s Defense Department Warrior Games and Invictus Games. It’s still
unclear whether the COVID-19 virus will impact either event.

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GAO: DOD Needs to Track Data to Improve F-35 Logistics
By Rachel S. Cohen

The F-35’s troubled Autonomic Logistics Information System has somewhat
improved over the past five years, but still causes significant challenges for
the Joint Strike Fighter enterprise every day, according to a new Government
Accountability Office report published March 16. The F-35 program office hopes
that designing totally new hardware and software will solve the premiere fighter
program’s woes. It is slated to send a plan to the Pentagon’s top
acquisition official by the end of March for developing the system that will
replace the faulty logistics system. A new Operational Data Integrated Network
(ODIN) will start to replace ALIS by the end of the year under that plan.
Officials hope ditching the problem-ridden software for a totally new set of
tools will be smaller, faster, less expensive, and compatible with older data.

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Taiclet Succeeds Hewson at Lockheed, St. John as COO
By John A. Tirpak

Marillyn Hewson is stepping aside as head of Lockheed Martin, to be succeeded by
board member James Taiclet, while Frank St. John steps up to be Chief Operating
Officer. Taiclet is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with degrees in
engineering and international relations, and he served on Active duty as a
pilot. He received a master’s from Princeton University in public affairs and
was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School there.

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Airstrikes in Afghanistan Continue at Steady Rate Despite Peace Deal Progress
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan continued at a steady rate in February, despite
progress toward a peace deal with the Taliban, as counter-terror operations
targeted the Islamic State group’s Khorasan offshoot and al-Qaeda. In
February, U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft dropped 360 weapons—the lowest
monthly total since the same month of 2019, but the second highest February on
record since 2009.

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Lietzau Named Chief of New Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

William Lietzau will take charge of the the Defense Counterintelligence and
Security Agency, the agency now responsible for background investigations for 95
percent of the federal government, the Pentagon announced March 16. The agency
is responsible for security clearances and background vetting of 95 percent of
the federal workforce, including more than 100 federal agencies and more than
10,000 companies that require government security clearances. Lietzau succeeds
Charles Phalen Jr., who had served as acting director since last July. Under his
tenure, the agency absorbed the National Background Investigations Bureau from
the Office of Personnel Management. The transfer was one result of the massive
data breach at OPM in 2015, which exposed the personal data of more than 4.2
million people.

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Air Force Managers Can Call in Hackers-for-Hire Under New Contract
By Shaun Waterman

The Air Force’s current procedure for certifying new IT equipment or software
is infamous. To get Authority to Operate (ATO) requires voluminous documentation
and can take weeks or months. To get new capabilities to the warfighter faster,
Air Force leaders last year authorized a new fast track ATO process. Instead of
completing a compliance checklist, new systems are penetration tested to see if
they are secure. Now, under a new umbrella contract, program managers can order
up hackers-for-hire to do their penetration testing.

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Radar Sweep

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OPINION: Andrew Cuomo to President Trump: Mobilize the Military to Help Fight Coronavirus

"The time is growing short and fewer options are available," writes New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "Using federal troops to help create hospital beds is one we
should try."

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As the War on Terror Winds Down, The Pentagon Cuts Social Science

The fragile peace deal taking shape in Afghanistan could spell the end of an era
of for the U.S. military, one marked by efforts at nation-building and winning
hearts and minds. It appears that the Pentagon is also intent on ending a
research program from that era—to fund social science for the military.

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Four Russian Reconnaissance Aircraft Intercepted while Spying on U.S. ICEX Submarine Exercise Again

Russian maritime reconnaissance aircraft are really interested in an ongoing
U.S. submarine exercise near Alaska known as ICEX—the spy planes were
intercepted three times last week by U.S. and Canadian aircraft, according to
the U.S. military. On March 14, North American Aerospace Defense Command said
F-22s, KC-135 Stratotankers, and E-3 Sentry aircraft intercepted two pairs of
Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft near Alaska.

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Attacks on DOD Networks Soar as Telework Inflicts ‘Unprecedented’ Loads

As the Defense Department scrambles to find equipment for those who can work
from home, Pentagon leaders tell personnel: ‘No hand-shaking, no
high-fives,” and clean your workstations.

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US Navy and Special Operations Telegraph Message to Tehran

What do you get when you combine a Special Operations AC-130W Stinger II gunship
with the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon recon plane and a patrol coastal ship? A big
boom and a spray of debris. A joint exercise launched March 8 and 9 in the
Persian Gulf involving the Cyclone-class Monsoon and the two aircraft was
designed to see how well a surface patrol ship and a long-range spy plane could
select targets in the Persian Gulf for a Special Operations Command Central
gunship to blast to bits.

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Space Force May Be Too Small: RAND

The Space Force should be expanded to include most Defense Department space
operational and acquisition organizations, including those of the Army and Navy,
says a study released today by the RAND Corporation’s Project Air Force.

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OPINION: National Security Launch Not Ready to Commit to Commercial Practices

“Launch providers should understand that mission success is not measured by
the cost of adequate mission assurance, but the price of inadequate mission
assurance,” writes former Air Force Space Command boss retired USAF Gen. Lance
Lord, founder and chairman of L2 Aerospace LLC and a member of Aerojet
Rocketdyne’s board.

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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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The Military Surveyed Troops on Extremist Activity Decades Ago. Here's What it Found

U.S. troops will soon see a new question on routine workplace surveys: one
asking whether respondents have ever "experienced or witnessed extremist
activity in the workplace [or] reported such activity."

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One More Thing...
This Slow Motion Footage of an F-22 Raptor Maneuvering Is Mesmerizing

The clip shows all the work being done by the Raptor's huge control surfaces and
thrust vectoring nozzles to make the maneuvers happen.

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