The Readiness ‘War Room’ | USAF Suspends Pilot Height Requirements

May 26, 2020

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

An F-15C Eagle assigned to the 493rd Fighter Squadron banks prior to landing Oct. 11, 2018, at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. The aircraft is training with 5th generation aircraft as a demonstration of U.S. commitment to European regional security. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Malcolm Mayfield)

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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 website and YouTube page later in the day.

Radar Sweep

Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19

Air Force Magazine

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

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

Military Times

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.

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

The New York Times (Subscription Required)

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

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

Breaking Defense

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.

NTIA Petitions FCC to Reconsider Ligado Decision

NTIA release

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.

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

Space News

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.

Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Satellite Completes Preliminary Design Reviews

Space Force release

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.

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

Florida Today

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.

Afghan Government Frees Taliban Prisoners as Truce Holds for Second Day

Agence France-Presse via Yahoo! News

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.

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

The Associated Press

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.

Defense Companies Scramble to Make Virtual Internships Work

Defense One

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.

One More Thing

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

Air Force Times

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.