Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for May 26, 2020

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

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Pathfinder Paves Way to a More Ready Air Force
By Rachel S. Cohen

A readiness task force spanning several major Air Force organizations is looking
at new ways to measure fleet readiness other than the controversial
mission-capable rate. After trying and largely failing to get certain fighter
jet fleets to reach 80 percent mission-capable, or ready to enter combat when
called upon, the Air Force says MCR doesn’t tell the whole readiness story.
Digital models using the F-22 and KC-135 can help change that. The service also
is in the process of establishing a "war room" so the Air Staff can manage
readiness numbers and analytics. Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command
will launch similar efforts to train people how to use the new data-crunching
tools next, once the KC-135 and F-22 pilot programs are done.

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Air Force Removes Height Requirement for Pilot Applicants
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force removed the minimum height requirement for applicants who want to
fly as it looks to increase the diversity of those entering USAF cockpits. Under
previous standards, pilots must reach a standing height of 64 inches to 77
inches—5 feet, 4 inches to 6 feet, 6 inches—with a sitting height of 34-40
inches. This disqualified about 44 percent of the U.S. female population between
the ages of 20 and 29, according to an Air Education and Training Command
release. USAF now will apply an “anthropometric screening process” that
measures a candidate's physical attributes, such as arm length and seated
height, to match them with an aircraft they can safely fly. “We’re really
focused on identifying and eliminating barriers to serve in the Air Force,”
Gwendolyn DeFilippi, assistant deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel,
and services, said in the release.

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Air Force Delays PT Tests Until October
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force announced May 22 that all physical fitness tests are suspended
until Oct. 1, an update from the original goal to resume testing by June 1. Lt.
Gen. Brian Kelly, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services,
announced the changes in a memo, saying “Airmen remain our top priority, and
we will ensure their health and safety as we maintain our force readiness
posture.” The service will take a “systematic approach” to integrating
testing, based on whether fitness centers are reopened and local travel and
movement restrictions are lifted.

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How AFROTC Is Adapting to COVID-19’s New Normal
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Remote commissioning ceremonies, physical fitness training, and leadership labs
have become part of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps’ new—or, at
least temporary—normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The format of college life
may be changing in response to the pandemic, but the expectation for the corps
to bring forth “a couple thousand lieutenants every year” isn't slated to
let up any time soon, AFROTC Commander Col. Christopher Bennett told Air Force
Magazine. For this reason, he said, it must “adapt and prepare” to sustain
officer production for the Air and Space Forces no matter what tomorrow brings.
“We're postured and leaning forward to continue to meet that requirement for
the Air Force,” he said. “It won't be without challenge. It won't be without
difficulty. But with the benefit of innovation and some really motivated folks
at the various levels of the enterprise, I think we're gonna have a good
solution going forward.”

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Pandemic Offers Opportunity for USAF’s New Joint Task Force
By Rachel S. Cohen

One of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein’s pet projects has evolved
into a joint task force tackling the coronavirus pandemic. In his first address
as Chief at the Air Force Association’s September 2016 conference, Goldfein
listed the goal of building joint leaders within USAF among his top three focus
areas for the years ahead. That initiative made it possible for 9th Air Force at
Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., to stand up a joint task force when needed by
combatant commanders. The fight against COVID-19 marks the first time 9AF was
used as part of a joint task force in the real world.

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Kadena’s Airborne Hospital Continues Treating Patients Despite COVID-19 Threat
By Jennifer Hlad

The 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron transports patients from all over the
Indo-Pacific theater, serving as an airborne hospital for newborn babies, burn
victims, critical care patients, and others who need transportation. And though
the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way the entire world lives, it hasn’t
stopped people from requiring other types of medical care. So the 18th AES has
had to adapt.

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Virtual Events: Walter on Mitchell’s Nuclear Deterrence Forum
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today, Drew Walter, who is performing the duties of deputy assistant secretary
of defense for nuclear matters at the Defense Department, will appear on a
virtual installment of the Mitchell Institute's Nuclear Deterrence Forum. The
event will tentatively be posted on the think tank's <a
href="[link removed]">website</a> and <a
href="[link removed]">YouTube page</a>
later in the day.

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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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The Ban on COVID-19 Survivors Joining Up Has Lifted, but Some Cases Could Still Be Denied

What started as an all-out ban evolved into barring those who had been
hospitalized after contracting the virus. And now it’s changed again. Matthew
Donovan, defense under secretary for personnel and readiness, said during the
press conference he had canceled that guidance in favor of reverting back to
pre-coronavirus accessions standards.

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African-Americans Are Highly Visible in the Military, but Almost Invisible at the Top

Seventy-five years after integration, the military’s upper echelons remain the
domain of white men.

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B-1B Flies Dark Close To Russia, Over Kurils; China Announces Defense Budget

Around the same time China was announcing a 6.6 percent defense spending
increase on May 21, civilian aircraft trackers spotted a US B-1B bomber flying
dark (refusing to answer calls from civilian airliners) over the waters near the
Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, not far from China and Japan—a
rare move that could be a harbinger of things to come under the Defense
Department’s emerging strategy for the Indo-Pacific region that includes a new
‘dynamic deployment’ concept for bombers.

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NTIA Petitions FCC to Reconsider Ligado Decision

On May 22, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on
behalf of the Executive Branch petitioned the Federal Communications Commission
to reconsider its order and authorization that conditionally granted license
modification applications filed by Ligado Networks LLC. The FCC action permits
Ligado to provide terrestrial wireless services that threaten to harm federal
government users of the Global Positioning System along with a variety of other
public and private stakeholders.

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Air Force: Report on Space Acquisition Reforms ‘Not Finalized’

The Air Force sent the report to congressional committees May 21 and notified
them the next day that what they had received was not the final version.

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Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Satellite Completes Preliminary Design Reviews

The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, Next Generation
Overhead Persistent Infrared Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting satellite program,
commonly referred to as NGG, completed its preliminary design reviews for its
two candidate mission payloads on May 21. “NGG is a critical piece of our
missile warning architecture that will deliver a capable, resilient, and
defensible missile warning system to counter determined adversaries,” said
Col. Dennis Bythewood, program executive officer for space development.

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Father Urges Congress to Fund Filters to Remove Air Force Base Cancer-Causing Fire-Foam Chemicals from Drinking Water

After devoting 30 years of his life to the U.S. military, Jim Holmes always
thought the top brass would have his back. Now, after losing his daughter Kaela
to brain cancer, he says he couldn’t have been more wrong.

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Afghan Government Frees Taliban Prisoners as Truce Holds for Second Day

Afghan authorities released 100 Taliban prisoners May 25 as part of the
government's response to a surprise, three-day ceasefire the insurgents called
to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival. The pause in fighting, only the second of its
kind in Afghanistan's nearly 19-year-old war, was for the most part holding
across the country on day two after the government welcomed the truce by
announcing plans to release up to 2,000 Taliban inmates.

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SpaceX’s 1st Astronaut Launch Breaking New Ground for Style

The first astronauts launched by SpaceX are breaking new ground for style with
hip spacesuits, gull-wing Teslas, and a sleek rocketship—all of it white with
black trim. The color coordinating is thanks to Elon Musk, the driving force
behind both SpaceX and Tesla, and a big fan of flash and science fiction.

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Defense Companies Scramble to Make Virtual Internships Work

While many U.S. firms are cancelling internships this pandemic-stricken summer,
large aerospace and defense companies are scrambling to make sure their
temporary hires can still show up, if only virtually.

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One More Thing...
Watch This Tinker Airman with a Need for Speed Get Busted After 183-mph Motorcycle Chase

An airman from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is facing legal trouble after
taking police on a high-speed motorcycle chase that authorities say reached up
to 183 miles per hour. Senior Airman Michael Alexander Workman, 24, of the 965th
Airborne Air Control Squadron at Tinker, was arrested after taking his
motorcycle for a spin, according to a report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

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