Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for May 6, 2020

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen and Brian W. Everstine

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goldfein: Time to ‘Dust Off’ the MOPP Gear Because COVID-19 Isn’t Going Away
By Brian W. Everstine

Current predictions show a COVID-19 vaccine is still 18 months away, so the Air
Force must find ways to survive and operate in a world where the virus keeps
coming back, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein wrote in an April 28 letter to
commanders. “It’s time to dust off those Ability to Survive and Operate
manuals,” Goldfein wrote. “Many of us grew up in the age of Apple Orchards,
MOPP levels, operations with PPE, aircraft decontamination procedures, etc.
While we have not required it in recent years given our focus on the Middle
East, the ability to survive and operate in a CBRNE environment is in our
DNA.” Goldfein said the pandemic is now the "defining moment" for Airmen,
comparing it to Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks for previous
generations. "The command characteristic of each defining moment is the world
never returned to where it was before the event," Goldfein wrote.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the Air Force’s Scramble to Telework During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force’s information technology enterprise is facing an unprecedented
test. The coronavirus pandemic has shocked global economies, sent nations into
lockdown, and overwhelmed hospitals in some of the largest American cities. As
the U.S. workforce adjusts to the new reality of working from home, the
virus’s spread is forcing the IT that supports millions of military and
civilian personnel to sink or swim. Building on incremental changes that were
already in progress, Air Force officials are trying to turn what they call
“20th-century IT for a 21st-century service” into an enterprise that keeps
their air, cyber, and space missions going uninterrupted. If they succeed, this
urgent recognition of IT as a top priority could reverberate far into the future
for a better connected, digitally savvy force.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
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.
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can DOD Testimony Change FCC’s Mind on Ligado?
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Senate Armed Services Committee is convening a panel of current and former
military officials May 6 in a last-ditch attempt to get the Federal
Communications Commission to change its mind about approving a Ligado Networks
plan opposed by the Pentagon. Committee leaders believe the FCC ignored the
nearly unanimous concerns raised by the rest of the federal government, a SASC
spokeswoman said. The goal of this week’s hearing is to amplify those warnings
that the commission may have overlooked. SASC is in talks with the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which holds oversight
responsibility for the FCC, about potential next steps if the FCC does not
change course.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NORTHCOM Isolating Personnel, ‘Driving Risk to Zero’ at Cheyenne Mountain
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Demand personnel who work in
certain “no fail” missions are sequestered inside the Cheyenne Mountain
Complex in Colorado to avoid any possible contact with the new coronavirus and
ensure the homeland is protected, the head of NORTHCOM said. Starting in
February, NORTHCOM and NORAD moved critical personnel into Cheyenne Mountain, a
5.1-acre complex situated under 1,800 feet of rock. “What I’ve been trying
to do is ... drive risk to zero,” NORTHCOM boss Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy
said during a May 5 Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual event.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOD Finishes ‘Tier One’ COVID-19 Testing, Plans to Test Asymptomatic Troops
By Brian W. Everstine

The military has finished testing its top-tier forces and is planning to test a
selection of asymptomatic personnel across the force to understand how the virus
has spread through the ranks. The Pentagon announced a four-tier testing plan,
starting with key strategic and homeland defense personnel, followed by troops
in the combat zone, those deployed or returning from overseas, and lastly other
forces. DOD currently can test about 20,000 people per week, but ultimately the
need is for about 56,000 tests per week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in
the same briefing. These numbers have changed as the situation develops.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B-1s Fly Training Mission to Estonia
By Brian W. Everstine

Two B-1Bs flew directly from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., to train with NATO
forces in Estonia on May 5, the latest long-distance training mission for the
bombers. The Lancers worked with forces on the ground from Estonia, the United
Kingdom, and Denmark as part of the “Spring Storm” exercise, according to
the Estonian Ministry of Defense. “The U.S. Air Force values opportunities
such as these to build readiness capacity and capability alongside the Estonian
air force,” the U.S. Embassy in Talinn said in a news release. “Regardless
of any global challenge, the U.S. remains committed to our allies and partners
and stands ready alongside them.”

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virtual Events: Space Foundation Hosts Space Force Webinar Featuring Barrett, Raymond
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

At 11 a.m. EDT, the Space Foundation will host a live webinar entitled
“America’s Space Force: Building the Future Today," that will feature Air
Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond,
and include opening comments from retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Tom Zelibor, CEO
of the Space Foundation. The nonprofit is partnering with the Office of the
Secretary of the Air Force and the Space Force to present the event, which "will
cover the current state of the Space Force, operational priorities over the next
year, and views on a number of pertinent issues,” and include a Q&A, according
to the <a
href="[link removed]">event's
webpage</a>. The event is free, but <a
href="[link removed]">pre-registration
is required.</a>

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radar Sweep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COVID-19 Hospitalization Rate 50 Times Higher in the Military Than in Overall U.S.

With 100 coronavirus-positive service members hospitalized so far, the
military’s cumulative hospitalization rate of 2 percent is 50 times higher
than the U.S. hospitalization rate reported by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carrier Prepares to Go Back to Sea after Virus Outbreak

On board the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt, the crew is getting
the aircraft carrier ready to head back out to sea. For the ship’s commander,
Capt. Carlos Sardiello, the road to recovery has been a challenge. For the crew
sidelined in Guam for more than a month, it’s been an emotional roller
coaster.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Pacific Air Forces Issues Travel Restrictions Waiver for Unaccompanied Short Tour Assignments

U.S. Pacific Air Forces has issued a waiver for unaccompanied short tour
assignments for PACAF Airmen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a memo
obtained by Air Force Times. Although the Pentagon issued a stop movement order
that has limited travel for service members and temporarily suspended almost all
permanent-change-of-station moves due to the virus, the command has issued a
waiver loosening restrictions for some PACAF Airmen.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

L3Harris Announces $330 Million Charge Related to Coronavirus

L3Harris Technologies said May 5 its commercial and international businesses are
facing a higher risk of challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. In its
earnings announcement, L3Harris disclosed it recognized a $330 million charge
during its most recent quarter for impairment of goodwill and other assets as
well as other COVID-19-related impacts.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aerospace Nation: A Conversation with Gen. O'Shaughnessy

Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North
American Aerospace Defense Command, discussed both commands’ efforts in
combating COVID-19 and the role of Joint All-Domain Command and Control among
other critical missions of homeland defense with retired USAF Lt. Gen. David
Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, during the
May 4 installment of the think tank’s “Aerospace Nation” series.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OPINION: A Smart Approach To Retaining Most Of The A-10s

The Air Force leaders who sought to retire the A-10 in 2014 did not want to cut
the aircraft, but they had no other choice due to the Budget Control Act of
2011. While that era has passed, the same dynamics are still at play—a service
that is under-resourced, overtasked, compelled to retire aircraft to free up
resources to modernize the remaining inventory of mostly geriatric aircraft.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Toxic Drug Combination Killed Two Airmen in Spangdahlem Dorm

Two Airmen who were found dead in a dorm room at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany,
in January had a toxic, fatal combination of drugs in their systems. Air Force
Office of Special Investigations spokeswoman Linda Card said in an email May 4
that the final autopsy reports and death certificates of Airman 1st Class Xavier
Leaphart and Airman 1st Class Aziess Whitehurst, who were both 20 years old,
listed their causes of death as “multiple drug toxicity," and that their
deaths were recorded as accidents.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Thing...
‘The New Normal,’ Episode 5 Featuring Retired Army Gen. Colin Powell

On the fifth episode of Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright's
webseries "The New Normal," he and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
retired Army Gen. Colin Powell discuss leadership.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Daily Report: [link removed]
- Contact Us: [link removed]
- Advertise With Us: [link removed]
- Purchase/Reprint: [link removed]

- Air Force Association: [link removed]
- Join AFA: [link removed]

- AF Mag on Facebook: [link removed]
- AF Mag on Twitter: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published by the Air Force Association

All airforcemag.com material is under copyright of
the Air Force Association. All rights reserved.

The Air Force Association
1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA
22209-1198

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe or change your preferences, please visit the link below:
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------