Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for June 15, 2020

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Edited by Rachel S. Cohen with Brian W. Everstine and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

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Senators Continue Building Space Force with Caution
By Rachel S. Cohen

New legislation further establishes the Space Force as the sixth branch of the
military, but wants a closer look at who will do that work and where. The Senate
Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill,
approved June 10, would temporarily stop the military from transferring its
installations into the Space Force. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett first
needs to send an analysis of those potential transfers to Capitol Hill. The
panel also directs Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley
and the service chiefs to report on which space-related missions and careers
should move to the Space Force and who those personnel should work for.

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Pentagon Lifts Some Restrictions, Begins Reopening
By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon will start reopening on June 15, after months of restricting access
due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Defense Department announced June 11 that
slightly more workers will be allowed into the building, and the building will
open more of its entrances. DOD plans to randomly test people coming into the
Pentagon in an attempt to curb the virus's spread. Chief Management Officer Lisa
Hershman said the decision to reopen was based on a 14-day downward trajectory
of influenza-like and COVID-like symptoms within a 50-mile radius of the
Pentagon, a decrease in positive test results in the general population, the
lifting of stay-at-home orders, and adequate testing capabilities and supplies.

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Pleus Takes Over at 7th Air Force
By Brian W. Everstine

Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus took command of 7th Air Force on June 12 in a first for the
numbered Air Force: a virtual passing of the leadership baton due to the
coronavirus pandemic. As commander of 7th Air Force, Pleus will serve as the
deputy commander of U.S. Forces-Korea and oversee USAF operations in South Korea
and the northwest Pacific. Pleus took over the top officer job from Lt. Gen.
Kenneth Wilsbach, who was nominated to lead Pacific Air Forces. “I am so
excited to serve the Airmen of 7th AF, our joint partners of USFK and our Korean
allies,” Pleus said during the livestreamed ceremony.

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Barrett Earns Her ‘Spirit Number’ in B-2 Flight
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett tagged along on a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber
training mission during a June 11 visit to Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The trip
earned Barrett a so-called “Spirit number”—an honor coveted by aviation
geeks the world over.

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Virtual Events: Barnes on Mitchell Institute’s ‘Aerospace Nation,’ and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On June 16, Shawn Barnes, senior executive service member in the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Space Acquisition and Integration, will appear on the
"Aerospace Nation" series hosted by AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace
Studies. Event video will tentatively be posted on Mitchell's <a
href="[link removed]">website</a> and
<a href="[link removed]">YouTube
page</a> following the event.

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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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Pentagon Starts Bailing Out Companies That Have Lost Business Due to Coronavirus

On June 11, officials announced that five mid-tier defense companies had
received a total of $135 million to “help sustain defense-critical workforce
capabilities in body armor, aircraft manufacturing, and shipbuilding,”
according to a Defense Department statement.“These actions will help to retain
critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and
to restore some jobs lost because of the pandemic,” DOD spokesperson Lt. Col.
Mike Andrews said in the statement.

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Air Force Is Looking at Using Magnetic Fields to Navigate Instead Of GPS and Flight Testing It on F-16s

The fact that GPS is vulnerable to jamming, spoofing, or physical threats from
American adversaries is widely known. What’s less well recognized is the
variety of stealthy, difficult to jam or destroy navigation alternatives to GPS.

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U.S. Naval Buildup in Indo-Pacific Seen as Warning to China

For the first time in nearly three years, three American aircraft carriers are
patrolling the Indo-Pacific waters, a massive show of naval force in a region
roiled by spiking tensions between the U.S. and China and a sign that the U.S.
Navy has bounced back from the worst days of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Experts Decry Lax Rules For 5G Sat Networks

As satellite operators scramble to join the 5G revolution, there is growing
concern that weakness in U.S. regulatory standards for cybersecurity could mean
commercial networks could be full of holes for hackers to exploit. The Defense
Department currently requires that all satellite operators who sign contracts
encrypt their data links to ground stations using National Security
Agency-approved methods.

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SecDef Orders After Action Review of National Guard Efforts During Civil Unrest Duties

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered an after-action review of the National
Guard’s response to civil unrest that roiled the nation in the wake of the May
25 killing of George Floyd, a black man prosecutors say was murdered by a white
Minneapolis police officer.

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Senate Panel Votes to Require Pentagon to Rename Bases Named after Confederates

The Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee has approved an amendment to
the annual defense policy bill that would require the Defense Department to
rename bases and other assets that are named after Confederate military leaders,
a source confirmed to The Hill.

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Air Force Museum to Reopen July 1

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and the National Aviation Hall of Fame
will reopen July 1 after being closed since March 15. Reopening will follow
Centers for Disease Control, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, local and state
guidelines.

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One More Thing...
At 64 Years Old, the U-2 Spy Plane Can Still Learn Some New Tricks

The U.S. Air Force is adapting the U-2 spy plane to act as a flying connector
for the Advanced Battle Management System, an ambitious project designed to
allow Air Force aircraft, Army ground forces, U.S. Navy ships and aircraft at
sea, and special operations forces to pass data among one another. The system
was originally meant to replace the E-8C JSTARS surveillance aircraft and later
expanded into a much, much more ambitious multi-service data initiative.

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