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May 8, 2020 |
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 Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 7, 2020, in Washington. SASC video screenshot. |
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CSAF Nominee Seeks Roles and Missions ReviewPacific Air Forces boss Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. is arguing for a wholesale refresh of the Air Force’s roles and missions as he prepares to take the service’s top job. Brown, a decorated combat pilot, faced the Senate Armed Services Committee May 7 during a confirmation hearing to become the Air Force’s 22nd Chief of Staff. In answers to advance policy questions provided to the committee, Brown made the case for a sweeping review of what work the service should manage. There’s no better time to consider those changes than during the first few years of a new National Defense Strategy and the infancy of the Space Force, and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, he said. |
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Brown Vows New Measures to Boost USAF ReadinessThe Air Force inspector general is conducting a sweeping review of the service’s readiness assessments and reporting, the year after a Pentagon-wide order directed the armed forces to improve the state of key fighter fleets, according to the service’s presumptive next Chief of Staff. Air Force department leadership told the inspector general in mid-March to begin the classified review, Pacific Air Forces boss Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of his May 7 confirmation hearing. The review’s findings will shape the service’s path forward as it looks for more comprehensive metrics for whether it can spring into action. Overall readiness reportedly grew 16 percent from April 2018 to February 2020. |
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Next ABMS Experiments to Focus on Space Force, Indo-PACOMThe next Advanced Battle Management System experiment, slated for late August or early September, will focus on supporting U.S. Space Force, and the one after that will be centered on Indo-PACOM, Air Force chief architect Preston Dunlap said May 7. Speaking during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual event, Dunlap said the next ABMS event will expand on things learned in last September's "on-ramp," while the Pacific event will be the first to take place "in the field." Dunlap also discussed distribution of secure personal devices that can download classified data but are "safe" when not being used for secret transmissions. |
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Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of V-E DayMay 8 marks the 75th anniversary of the official end of the war against Nazi Germany. In 1945, the Allied powers accepted unconditional surrender from representatives of Adm. Karl Dönitz, the hand-picked new leader of Germany upon the April 30 suicide of Adolph Hitler. “Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band,” President Harry S. Truman said in announcing the German surrender. “Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors—neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty.” |
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DOD Nominee: Afghanistan Withdrawal Will be ‘Reassessed’ if Taliban Doesn’t Stop AttacksThe Pentagon is proceeding with its planned drawdown to 8,600 troops in Afghanistan by July, but the situation will be “reassessed” with possible additional deployments if the Taliban does not stop attacking Afghan forces, a nominee to help lead Defense Department policy told lawmakers May 7. James Anderson, the nominee to be the deputy under secretary of defense for policy, told the Senate Armed Services Committee the Taliban has refrained from attacking U.S. troops and major urban centers, but the group has been “robustly" targeting Afghan forces at an “unfortunate level.” “We’re going to reassess all the conditions going forward,” Anderson said. “I would hope that the deal would not collapse.” |
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For Recruits, COVID-19 Is Just Another Preexisting ConditionThe military will accept COVID-19 survivors as recruits and new officers, contrary to reports that suggested the Defense Department planned to disqualify anyone with a history of COVID-19. But individuals who are hospitalized in connection with the new coronavirus will need a waiver to enter service, a DOD official told Air Force Magazine. |
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Hill Airmen, F-35s Return from Middle East DeploymentAirmen and F-35s from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, returned home on May 7 from the aircraft type’s second combat deployment to the Middle East. The Airmen and aircraft deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, in November 2019 for the F-35’s first “Immediate Response Force” deployment as tensions with Iran increased. During the six-month deployment, Airmen from the Active Duty 34th Fighter Squadron and Reserve 466th Fighter Squadron, as well as Airmen with the 34th and 466th Aircraft Maintenance Units, operated from multiple bases throughout the region and flew close air support, offensive and defensive counter-air, and maritime escort missions, according to a Hill release. |
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Virtual Events: Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of V-E Day | Mrs. Pence Salutes Military Spouses | & MoreToday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper will speak at a virtual Victory in Europe Day commemoration alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, ABC’s Robin Roberts, NBC’s Tom Brokaw, and Comedian Jay Leno. The event will be broadcast at 10:30 a.m. EDT on defense.gov, as well as the Defense Department’s Facebook and pages. Additionally, Second Lady Karen Pence will speak at an online town hall being hosted by the COVID-19 Military Support Initiative to commemorate Military Spouse Appreciation Day from 3-4 p.m. EDT, which you can register for here. |
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Published by the Air Force Association. |
