Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for June 22, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory, John A. Tirpak and Shaun Waterman

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Bass Tapped as Air Force’s First Female Enlisted Leader
By Rachel S. Cohen

Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne Bass will become the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the
Air Force, and the first female enlisted Airman to lead one of the military
services. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who will take over as Chief of Staff later
this summer, picked Bass to follow outgoing CMSAF Kaleth Wright. Bass’s
selection sets up a historic leadership slate for the Air Force: It will become
the first military branch run by a Black Chief of Staff and a female enlisted
Chief. Bass currently serves as command chief master sergeant for Second Air
Force at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. She is the top enlisted adviser for Air
Force-run training courses that graduate 150,000 military personnel each year.

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Pringle Takes Helm at USAF Research Lab
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force Research Laboratory welcomed Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle as its new
commander on June 18, marking its third leadership change in six months. Pringle
follows Brig. Gen. Evan Dertien, who has served as the lab’s top officer since
January. He replaced Maj. Gen. William Cooley, who was abruptly fired Jan. 15 as
the Air Force Office of Special Investigations opened an inquiry into misconduct
allegations. Pringle previously worked as Air Force director of strategic plans
and held a similar position at Air Force Materiel Command.

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F-15E Missing Man Formation Honors Fallen Lakenheath Pilot
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

As members of RAF Lakenheath’s 493rd Fighter Squadron gathered on the RAF
Mildenhall flightline on June 18 to pay their final respects to their deceased
colleague, 1st Lt. Kenneth “Kage” Allen—who died in a June 15 F-15C crash
in the North Sea—F-15Es from the 494th Fighter Squadron flew a Missing Man
formation to honor him.

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Gen. Thomas S. Moorman Jr., 1940-2020
By John A. Tirpak

Gen. Thomas S. Moorman Jr., who developed and led a sizable portion of the Air
Force's space organizations and capabilities, died June 17 at age 79. Moorman
played a “pivotal role” in Air Force and defense space, laying the
foundation for Space Force, said the new service's leader, Gen. Jay Raymond.


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Air Force Space Accelerator Will Nurture Tech Startups Focused on Cybersecurity
By Shaun Waterman

The competition is open for the next cohort of small and innovative companies
vying to benefit from a three-month residency at the Colorado Springs campus of
the Catalyst Space Accelerator. As many as 40 startups are expected to apply for
the eight slots available, developing technology that can secure increasingly
software-driven spacecraft against foreign hackers and cyberspies. The contest
comes as the program is being moved to the new Space Force.

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

On June 22, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mike Holmes 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> after 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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Navy Upholds Firing of Carrier Captain in Virus Outbreak

The two senior commanders on a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier didn’t
“do enough, soon enough,” to stem the outbreak, the top U.S. Navy officer
said Friday, a stunning reversal that upheld the firing of the ship’s captain
who had pleaded for faster action to protect the crew.

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Keep Modernization of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Program on Track

Six former Air Force Secretaries and six former Chiefs of Staff penned an op-ed
urging the Defense Department to prioritize efforts to modernize the nuclear
triad.

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TRICARE Prescriptions Would Be Free During Pandemic Under New Proposal

Two U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would let TRICARE waive
prescription drug copayments for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or other
national emergency. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
proposed the TRICARE Prescriptions Relief Act bill on June 17 to provide
financial help for Active-duty and retiree families experiencing unexpected
increases in prescription drug costs during the pandemic.

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Navy Clear on Causes of Physiological Events in Pilots; Final Recommendations Released for PE Mitigation

The Navy now understands what has been causing physiological events in
aviators—which spiked so sharply in 2017 that flight instructors refused to
get into their jets to train new student pilots—with a recently completed root
cause analysis pointing to a complex relationship between aircrew, their flight
gear, and their aircraft.

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Space Development Agency Wants to Demonstrate Hardware Before Merging with Space Force

The director of the Space Development Agency Derek Tournear again made the case
that the agency needs at least two years to prove its business model before it
is merged with the U.S. Space Force. “I would contend that we need enough
runway to be able to demonstrate that military utility,” Tournear said June 18
during an online chat with Chuck Beames, chairman of the industry group SmallSat
Alliance.

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State Media: Iran Test Fires Cruise Missiles in Naval Drill

Iran test fired cruise missiles in a naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman and
northern Indian Ocean, state media reported June 18. The report by the official
IRNA news agency said the missiles destroyed targets at a distance of 170 miles.
It said the tests took place during a naval drill by Iran’s navy in the Gulf
of Oman and Indian Ocean.

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NSW Government was Target of Major Cyber Attack Operation Linked to China

A wave of sophisticated cyber attacks against the NSW government and other
critical Australian infrastructure spurred Prime Minister Scott Morrison's
warning for the nation to be on guard against more attempted hacks. Australian
security agencies believe China is behind the cyber raids on all levels of
government, industry and critical infrastructure including hospitals, local
councils and state-owned utilities.

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Shifting Gears, DOD Moves to LEO for Future OPIR Sats

As the Defense Department deliberates future missile warning plans, senior
officials say the second iteration of the Next Generation Overhead Persistent
Infrared constellation could include multiple satellites in low Earth orbit, a
revolution in the traditional U.S. approach to early warning.

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Six Small Launch Companies to Receive DOD Contracts under Defense Production Act

Aevum, Astra, X-Bow, Rocket Lab, Space Vector, and VOX Space each will receive
contracts to launch two rideshare missions.

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Vice Chief’s Challenge Submission Deadline Extended

Airmen can participate in the challenge by submitting their ideas via the Airmen
Powered by Innovation platform to solve problems related to automation or
elimination of menial tasks. Additionally, peers can provide live input and vote
for their favorite proposals.

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Texas Guard Team Wins First NGB Innovation Competition

The Texas Guard team, whose entry focused on development of 3D printer
technology, beat out 110 submissions nationwide. Competitors pitched their ideas
in rounds at the unit, state, and regional levels. The winners advanced to the
final round, held June 12.

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For First Time in Decades, Female Soldier Completes Final Phase of Special Forces Training

A female National Guard Soldier has successfully completed the final stage of
the Army's Special Forces Qualification Course (Q Course), but she's not a Green
Beret yet. The soldier finished the grueling three-week evaluation known as
Robin Sage this week, but she is still in the final counseling phase, in which
she and other students receive evaluations from course staff.

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Turkey Now Has Swarming Suicide Drones It Could Export

The Turkish military reportedly plans to buy more than 500 quad-copter-type
Kargu series loitering munitions, or suicide drones, in the near term. The
Kargus, at present, can operate in semi-autonomous or manually controlled modes,
but work is underway to give up to 20 of them the ability to carry out mass
attacks as a swarm, which could give Turkey's troops a potentially game-changing
new capability.

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Supreme Court Ruling Protects DACA Service Members from Deportation

Several hundred "Dreamers" in the military received a conditional guarantee from
the Supreme Court on June 18 that they could continue serving without fear of
deportation by the Trump administration. In the second surprising ruling this
week with major implications for the military, the Supreme Court barred the
administration from ending protections for about 700,000 immigrants brought to
the U.S. illegally as children.

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One More Thing...
Alaska Has Removed the "Into the Wild" Bus

More than 28 years after Chris McCandless took up residence there, an Army
National Guard helicopter airlifted the abandoned vehicle out of the
backcountry.

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