DOD Leaders on the Hill | Building Better Security Forces

July 10, 2020

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

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on July 9, 2020, in Washington. YouTube screenshot.

DOD Closing Out Reviews of Protest Response

By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon is wrapping up multiple reviews of how the military supported local law enforcement and deployed aircraft during widespread protests across the country, particularly in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon’s top leaders told House lawmakers July 9. Officials are also looking for lessons that help avoid confusion during similar events in the future. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee on July 9, said an Army investigation into the use of the UH-72 Lakotas, including one marked with a red cross denoting its medical mission, to suppress civilian crowds is in its final stages of review. He added that he directed Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett to investigate the “exact facts and circumstances” of Guard RC-26s flying over protests.

USAF Tackles 900 Action Items To Strengthen Security Forces

By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force is addressing some 900 action items under its Reconstitute Defender Initiative to ensure the 38,000 Airmen standing guard across 120 military bases around the world have the training, equipment, and esprit de corps they needed to get the job done. Lt. Gen. Warren D. Berry, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering, and force protection, said more must still be done to institutionalize changes like mandatory time off and to adapt to evolving base defense needs, but progress has been made.

USAF Pilot Safe After A-29 Crashes in Afghanistan

By Brian W. Everstine

A U.S. Air Force pilot flying an Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano safely ejected before the aircraft crashed during a July 9 training flight in Afghanistan. U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said the pilot was recovered after the crash. While the cause of the mishap is under investigation, preliminary indications show mechanical issues are to blame. USFOR-A did not disclose where the crash occurred. This is the first A-29 crash since June 2018.

Defense Giants Seek More Money for COVID Rebates

By John A. Tirpak

The heads of eight top defense contractors are urging the White House and Pentagon not to cut modernization and research and development funding to come up with the money to pay for expenses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The companies said they're worried modernization will be derailed if the Pentagon isn't given extra funds to comply with CARES Act mandates. The message was sent in letters dated July 7.

Democrats Ask DOD to Rescind Transgender Military Service Ban

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

A group of Democratic House members wants the military to nix its ban on service members who are openly transgender in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County ruling. The June 15 opinion, written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and issued June 15, made it illegal to fire lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people over their sexual orientations or gender identities by extending the protections afforded by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. More than 110 legislators wrote to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr July 8 asking the Pentagon to immediately change its policies.

Wilsbach Takes Over Command of Pacific Air Forces

By Brian W. Everstine

Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach received his fourth star and took over command of Pacific Air Forces during a July 8 ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Wilsbach took the guidon from Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who will take over as the next Air Force Chief of Staff on Aug. 6. Wilsbach comes to PACAF after commanding 7th Air Force in South Korea, and also has led 11th Air Force in Alaska. All told, Wilsbach has had nine assignments in the Pacific, where the Pentagon is now focusing more attention and resources to counter Chinese influence in the region.

Virtual Events: Rubin on Mitchell’s Nuclear Deterrence Forum, and More

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On July 14, the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a Nuclear Deterrence Forum featuring Uzi Rubin, former director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization. Event video will tentatively be posted on Mitchell’s website and YouTube page after the event.

Correction

The article “Report: Cost-Per-Effect Is Best Way to Compare Weapons’ Value” in yesterday’s Daily Report included an earlier title of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies report. It is called “Resolving America’s Defense Strategy-Resource Mismatch: The Case for Cost-Per-Effect Analysis.” Also in yesterday’s Daily Report, the article “Proposal to Roll Over Some Pentagon Funds Could Help Save Money” incorrectly characterized the legislative proposal. It would let the Pentagon roll over 50 percent of operations and maintenance money that remains unspent at the end of a fiscal year.

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.

Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Returning to San Diego after Deployment Marked by Coronavirus Outbreak and Political Scandal

San Francisco Chronicle

After almost six months at sea fighting a deadly coronavirus outbreak, a controversial change in command and international attention, the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier was scheduled to return to its home port in San Diego on July 9, The Chronicle has learned.

Trump Picks Army Lieutenant General to Lead Pentagon's Spy Branch

Politico

Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the deputy chief of staff for Army intelligence, was one of a handful of candidates submitted by the military branches to Pentagon brass earlier this year to be the next director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. The continuation of his rank was submitted to the Senate on July 1. The people who confirmed the appointment spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss information not yet publicly announced.

Russia Nuclear Treaty Lapse to Degrade US Influence: Ex-Military Leaders

Newsweek

A group of more than 60 former military leaders and national security officials have written to Congress urging the extension of the U.S.-Russia New START arms control agreement, which is now the only deal restricting the nuclear armories of the two most heavily armed nations in the world.

How the Coronavirus Has Changed the Way America Prepares for Nuclear War

U.S. News & World Report

The threat of the virus forced the Air Force to take new measures to adapt the crews overseeing U.S. arsenals of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

OPINION: Moving Further into the Information Age with Joint All-Domain Command and Control

C4ISRNET

“The United States is highly unlikely to regain its competitive advantage through like-for-like replacements of its legacy platforms with incremental improvements while remaining beholden to industrial age notions of warfare focused on individual weapon systems focused on inflicting attrition,” writes retired USAF Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

GPS OCX IIIF Target Award Date Pushed from October to February

Inside Defense

A planned contract award to Raytheon for the GPS IIIF Operational Control Segment is delayed four months to February 2021, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center announced today. The presolicitation notice, released July 8, does not offer details on the reason for the delay. It follows a sources-sought notice issued in May 2019 that indicated the service would select OCX incumbent Raytheon to develop the follow-on capability.

Three Companies Selected to Develop Military GPS Handheld Devices

SpaceNews

Collins Aerospace, Raytheon Technologies, and the Technology Advancement Group were awarded contracts to develop Global Positioning System handheld devices for the U.S. military. The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center said on July 8 that the three companies collectively received $41.1 million to develop small handheld devices that will be used in field tests.

Soldier Makes History as First Woman to Join the Green Berets

Military.com

U.S. Army Special Operations Command would not identify the soldier, but confirmed that she graduated from the 53-week course in a ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to a USASOC release.

Decades After World War II, DOD Struggles to Clear Unexploded Ordnance at Navy, Air Force Bases on Guam

Navy Times

Roughly 11,000 bombs and other munitions were dropped on Guam in World War II, but never detonated. Decades later, the U.S. Defense Department is still struggling to clear out unexploded ordnance and other discarded munitions on the strategically vital South Pacific island used by the Navy and Air Force, according to a Defense Department Inspector General report released in June.

One More Thing

Here Are the Names Space Force Rejected in Favor of Calling Its New Units "Deltas"

The Drive

The War Zone reached out to the Space Force to try to get more information about the decision-making process, as well as what names it passed over in favor of deltas.