Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for May 29, 2020

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

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Trump to Extend National Guard Title 32 Orders into August
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

President Donald Trump on May 28 announced he will extend the Title 32 orders of
National Guard personnel activated to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic through
the middle of August, ensuring thousands of Guardsmen will get access to certain
federal benefits. As of the morning of May 28, more than 40,400 Air and Army
National Guard members were battling the new coronavirus outbreak in a Title 32
capacity, the National Guard Bureau said. A legislative push to ensure Guard
personnel activated until Title 32 orders in the war on COVID-19 and their
families will get access to TRICARE health insurance coverage once their
activations end is still underway, however.

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What’s a Space Weapon? The Answer Can Be Complicated.
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Pentagon has declared space a warfighting domain. A new Space Force is
preparing to defend its assets from attack, and hit others if needed. But what,
exactly, is a space weapon? A new report from the Center for Strategic and
International Studies published May 27 tries to answer that question. Todd
Harrison, director of CSIS’s Aerospace Security Project and the report’s
author, puts space weapons into six categories: kinetic and non-kinetic
Earth-to-space weapons like projectiles or jammers, dazzlers, and cyberattacks;
kinetic and non-kinetic space-to-space weapons like on-orbit projectiles or
microwaves; and kinetic and non-kinetic space-to-Earth weapons like jammers,
lasers, or projectiles that come down from orbit.

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DOD to Test 5G Network at Nellis
By Rachel S. Cohen

Another fifth-generation wireless connectivity initiative will come to Nellis
Air Force Base, Nev., as part of the Pentagon’s broader push into 5G research.
The Defense Department announced May 28 its research and engineering branch will
partner with the Air Force Warfare Center to build a 5G cellular network at
Nellis for defense and civilian use. Officials aim to use the network for two
main purposes—to set up 5G-enabled command and control operations and to
practice chopping up the network into portions with different speeds and
reliability levels needed for a range of uses, an approach known as network
slicing.

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Sam Johnson, 1930-2020
By John A. Tirpak

Former Rep. Sam Johnson (R), a founder of the Air Force Caucus in Congress, a
seven-year POW in Vietnam, a former Thunderbird, and a Korean War veteran, died
May 27 in Plano, Texas, at age 89.

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Despite Frustration, Leaders Tout Success of Stop Movement Order
By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon is rolling back some of its stringent restrictions on travel,
allowing for more permanent change of station moves and deployments, saying the
military’s largely been spared in the COVID-19 outbreak by the effectiveness
of such measures. During a May 28 town hall, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Chief Master Sgt.
Ramon Colon-Lopez, the senior enlisted adviser to the Chairman, faced repeated
questions from service members and families about the extended impact of the
stop movement order. “There’s been a lot of death, pain, suffering
throughout the entire country,” Milley said during the virtual town hall May
28. “So the Secretary and the Department of Defense took those measures that
were very strict in order to protect the force and to protect the families. And
it was exactly the right thing to do, and those efforts have proven to be
effective.”

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USAF Delays Uniform Changes During Pandemic
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force delayed the date some Operational Camouflage Pattern and Two-Piece
Flight Duty Uniform changes will become mandatory by two months to make life
easier for USAF and Space Force troops during the pandemic, the Air Force
Personnel Center announced May 27. Although the OCP uniform will still become
mandatory next April, several OCP uniform changes, including rank insignia, as
well as T-shirt, boot, and sock color, now will take effect Sept. 1.

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Virtual Events: Shanahan Talks AI, Defense, Intel with CSIS, and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today, from 9:30-10:30 a.m. EDT, the Center for Strategic and International
Studies will host "AI, Defense, and Intelligence: A Conversation with JAIC
Director Lt. Gen. John N.T. ‘Jack’ Shanahan." CSIS Fellows Brian Katz and
Lindsey Sheppard will also take part in the conversation. You can learn more
about, register for, or watch the event livestream <a
href="[link removed]">here</a>.

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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 Air Force’s Platform One Team Thought It Was Agile. Then COVID-19 Hit.

The pandemic pushed the service’s internal DevOps team to hit a
10-updates-a-day deployment schedule for a new secure communications platform.

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OPINION: The Pacific Deterrence Initiative: Peace through Strength in the Indo-Pacific

“The Pacific Deterrence Initiative will enhance budgetary transparency and
oversight, and focus resources on key military capabilities to deter China,”
write Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and
Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). “The initiative will also reassure
U.S. allies and partners, and send a strong signal to the Chinese Communist
Party that the American people are committed to defending U.S. interests in the
Indo-Pacific.”

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Senior Senate Dem Begins Pushback Against New Saudi Arms Deal

The latest Trump Administration sale to Saudi Arabia is tied up with the recent
firing of the State Department's Inspector General, congressional unease, and a
Saudi regime with few friends outside the White House.

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FCC Stands by Ligado Decision as Lawmakers Step Up Criticism

The FCC pushed back on new criticism from the Senate and House Armed Services
Committees. Committee leaders on May 27 accused the FCC of issuing the order
without having received classified briefings from the Defense Department or
other agencies on the impact of Ligado’s wireless network on the Global
Positioning System that also operates in the L-band spectrum.

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OPINION: The F-22 Imperative

“The loss of an F-22 Raptor during a training flight on May 15 serves as a
wake-up call regarding the size of the Raptor inventory,” write retired USAF
Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace
Studies, and Douglas Birkey, the think tank’s executive director. “Tunnel
vision over a decade ago related to counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq saw the nation buy too few F-22s, with just 187 purchased versus the
381 official military requirement. Now, with those wars largely in the rear-view
mirror and a new National Defense Strategy, the capability attributes afforded
by the F-22 are more important than ever.”

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Air Force Unveils First Test of Arsenal Plane Concept and New CLEAVER Munition

The U.S. Air Force conducted a test earlier this year of a palletized munition
concept to launch new stand-off precision-guided munitions from its airlifters,
allowing the service to relatively quickly turn them into weapons trucks, as
necessary. This has also prompted important discussions within the service about
command and control issues and other operational considerations that would be
involved when rapidly shifting cargo aircraft into a strike role.

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Italy Defense Minister Commits to F-35 after Calls to Suspend Program

Italy’s defense minister has thrown his weight behind the F-35 program to
counter demands from within his coalition government to suspend purchases of the
aircraft to help Italy’s coronavirus-stricken economy. Lorenzo Guerini said he
“confirmed that the program would continue,” after calls from Italy’s Five
Star party to halt F-35 purchases for a year as Italy seeks cash to help rebound
from the virus, which has killed 33,000 in Italy.

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One More Thing...
U.S. Space Force Debuts New Recruiting Ad Entitled ‘Make History’

The 30-second ad, dubbed “Make History,” opens with a star-filled evening
sky followed quickly by scenes of space-related activities, launches, and
technology. “I see the future,” the narrator says. “I see exploration and
courage. I see myself; the future is where I’ll make history.”

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