Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for March 31, 2020

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

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2 Cadets Found Dead in 3 Days at Air Force Academy
By Amy McCullough

Two cadets have been found dead within three days at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Air Force officials say both were cadets first-class, and their deaths were not
related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first cadet was found dead on
campus on March 26 and the second on March 28. An investigation is underway, but
officials say foul play is not suspected. “These tragedies have caused
incredible shock and pain throughout our USAFA family,” said Lt. Gen. Jay
Silveria, Air Force Academy Superintendent, in a March 30 statement. “Right
now, we are all focused on taking care of the cadets’ families and each
other—our cadets, our faculty, our staff—as we grieve this loss. We ask for
everyone’s patience and respect for the families’ privacy at this time.”

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First U.S. Service Member Dies from Coronavirus
By Brian W. Everstine

An Army National Guardsman died on March 28—seven days after being
hospitalized with COVID-19—becoming the first U.S. service member to die from
the disease. "This is a stinging loss for our military community, and our
condolences go out to his family, friends, civilian co-workers, and the entire
National Guard community," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in March 30
statement. "The news of this loss strengthens our resolve to work ever more
closely with our interagency partners to stop the spread of COVID-19." As of
March 30, there are 1,087 total COVID-19 cases in the military community, with
569 of them Active-duty service members. Inside the Air Force, 164 Active Airmen
have tested positive.

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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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USAF Announces New KC-46 ‘Category One’ Deficiency
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force’s troubled new tanker has another serious deficiency: a fuel
leak problem that Boeing must fix at its own cost. The service’s KC-46 program
office first discovered a fuel leak during a flight test in July 2019, and the
Air Force announced March 30 the problem has been upgraded to a “Category
One” deficiency, meaning it could cause severe damage. “The Air Force and
Boeing are working together to determine the root cause and implement corrective
actions,” the service said in a statement.

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Air Force to Test-Run BMT at Keesler
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force will send 60 Basic Military Training recruits to Keesler Air Force
Base, Miss., “no earlier than” April 7 to try and prove that locations other
than Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, can also host BMT during
contingencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, 2nd Air Force Commander Maj. Gen.
Andrea Tullos told reporters March 30. The contingency option is just that and
is not intended to be a long-term construct, Tullos said. It is designed to be
implemented on a surge timeline of 180 days, but can be sustained for longer if
necessary.

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‘Gray Zone’ Conflict Drives Space Weapons Development
By Rachel S. Cohen

Foreign countries are boosting their investments in “gray zone” weapons that
can confuse and disable satellites, are harder to attribute to a specific
attacker, and fall below the level of overt war, posing regulatory challenges,
according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International
Studies. The Washington think tank’s third-annual assessment of space threats
argues that space is growing more diverse and more disruptive as governments
pursue new capabilities and commercial companies increasingly enter the fray.
Space is becoming more dangerous as well, amid a lack of widely accepted norms
for behavior on orbit and gaps in current laws and treaties. The CSIS report
warns against centering too much on the bureaucratic aspects of reorganizing
military space forces and ultimately getting distracted from the burgeoning
capabilities of other nations.

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Report: ICBMs to Fall Short of Mission Needs in 2026
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force expects to lose confidence in the full viability of its 400
intercontinental ballistic missiles starting in 2026, three years before
replacement nuclear missiles start entering the ground, according to a new
Government Accountability Office report.“ According to Air Force officials, as
a result of the expected attrition of current field assets, the Minuteman III
weapon system will be unable to meet full mission requirements after 2026,
should full deployment be required,” the March 26 report said. “Continued
asset attrition is also affecting the Minuteman III retirement schedule.”

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Pentagon Wants to Classify Its Future Plans
By Brian W. Everstine

New documents released March 30 show the Defense Department asking Congress for
authority to stop producing an unclassified version of its Future Years Defense
Program—its five-year plan for future spending that is released alongside its
budget. Required since 1989, the FYDP shows the Pentagon’s near-future
priorities and spending plans in the “out-years,” which drive its decision
making. According to a March 6 proposal, first published by the Federation of
American Scientists, the Pentagon argues the document should remain classified
starting with the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill.

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Kadena Takes Tactical Pause after 2 Airmen Test Positive for COVID-19
By Jennifer Hlad

Kadena Air Base’s 18th Wing is in the midst of a two-day COVID-19 tactical
pause, after two Airmen with separate units became the first and second
Active-duty U.S. troops on Okinawa, Japan, to test positive for the new
coronavirus. Brig. Gen. Joel Carey, commander of the 18th Wing, in a video
posted to the base Facebook page March 28, said both Airmen had recently
traveled to Europe and were in restriction of movement status when they
developed symptoms. The Airmen’s close contacts also are now in restriction of
movement, he said. Carey announced the tactical pause on March 29.

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Radar Sweep

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Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19

Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding
to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE: We Are a Nation at War

"We are a nation at war, and our U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force remain in
the fight every day, at every hour, to fight through the attack," writes retired
Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, president of the Air Force
Association. "The enemy is stealthy, fast, mobile, ubiquitous, and smart. All
viruses are."

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US-Led Forces Pull Out of Third Iraqi Base This Month

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq withdrew March 29 from a military base in the
country’s north that nearly launched Washington into an open war with
neighboring Iran. The K1 Air Base is the third site coalition forces have left
this month, in line with U.S. plans to consolidate its troops in two locations
in Iraq.

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Here's What Will Happen If the VA Runs Out of Space for Patients

The Veterans Affairs Department is beginning to divide its inpatient units into
two zones to separate non-infectious patients from those with novel coronavirus,
officials said. And when the need arises, as the new phased plan predicts it
will, officials plan to discharge non-critical patients and even build new
facilities.

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AFLCMC Delivers C-37B Early

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center delivered the latest C-37B special
air mission aircraft to the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Md., March
25. The program, managed by the Presidential and Executive Airlift Division,
delivered the aircraft one week ahead of schedule.

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Keesler AFB Ensures Cyber Training Continues Online

To prevent the spread of the virus, the 333rd Training Squadron has implemented
new online classes to safely teach the students of cyber warfare operations.

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Space Fence Surveillance Radar Site Declared Operational

The $1.5 billion Space Fence—located on Kwajalein Island in the Republic of
the Marshall Islands—is a ground-based radar system that tracks satellites and
space debris primarily in low Earth orbit. Lockheed Martin was selected as the
prime contractor in 2014.

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GPS Ground System Gets Cybersecurity Upgrade as OCX Faces New Schedule Setback

An upgraded ground control system for the Global Positioning System
constellation developed by Lockheed Martin has passed tests and is now being
used to operate the satellites, the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile
Systems Center announced March 27.

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One More Thing...
Blissful Ignorance? Submariners Likely Unaware of Pandemic

Of a world in coronavirus turmoil, they may know little or nothing. Submariners
stealthily cruising the ocean deeps, purposefully shielded from worldly worries
to encourage undivided focus on their top-secret missions of nuclear deterrence,
may be among the last pockets of people anywhere who are still blissfully
unaware of how the pandemic is turning life upside down.

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