Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Aug. 3, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

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DOD, USAF Leaders Address Basing Concerns
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

U.S. European Command boss Gen. Tod D. Wolters issued a memo explaining the
strategic rationale behind the Pentagon's proposed posture shift within the
European theater, and cautioned that any moves will take time to implement.
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said July 29 the U.S. would move nearly 12,000
troops from Germany, shifting most elsewhere in Europe and bringing home roughly
6,000. This includes ending the fighter mission at Spangdahlem Air Base and
moving the base's F-16s to Italy. Also on July 31, U.S. Africa Command announced
that preparations for its move out of Germany have begun. The Stuttgart-based
command will consider both European and stateside options, and possibilities
will be evaluated “to ensure appropriate positioning of forces to deal with
future challenges,” a command release said.

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House Passes 2021 Defense Spending Legislation
By Rachel S. Cohen

House lawmakers approved next year’s military funding as part of a six-part
legislative package in a 217-197 vote July 31. The $1.3 trillion group of bills,
known as a “minibus,” funds several areas of the federal government from the
Justice Department to the Transportation Department. For the Pentagon and others
that handle defense-related programs, like the Energy Department’s nuclear
weapons work, the House offers $694.6 billion, or $1.3 billion above its current
allocation, in base defense funding and more than $68 billion for combat
operations overseas. Senate appropriators have yet to release their own defense
spending legislation for 2021.

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Goldfein Tribute Headed to Air Force Memorial
By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force leaders honored outgoing Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein July 31
at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., as he heads for retirement in the
coming days. Goldfein is leaving his post as the Air Force’s top uniformed
official on Aug. 6 after four years in the job and nearly 40 years of military
service. Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett presented a stone panel
inscribed with Goldfein’s words that will be added to the memorial: “This is
our sacred duty. When protecting Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, we fly
to the sound of the guns … or we die trying.”

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Experimental Satellite Design Ready to Build
By Rachel S. Cohen

A promising experimental Air Force satellite is one step closer to being ready
to launch. The Air Force Research Laboratory on July 30 said the service’s
Navigation Technology Satellite-3 passed a critical design milestone in June
that lets the contractor, L3Harris Technologies, start to build and test the
system. It is on track to launch in 2022. NTS-3 is designed to improve on the
directions and timing, now provided by GPS, that power everything from mapping
apps to ATMs. It also offers the U.S. a backup option in case GPS satellites
become targets in a future conflict.

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Russia Claims Another USAF Intercept Over the Black Sea
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Russia purportedly intercepted a U.S. Air Force RC-135 surveillance plane and a
U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft over the Black Sea on July 30.
Neither American aircraft crossed the Russian border, noted the post, which
included a 36-second video that appeared to depict both aircraft. U.S. Air
Forces in Europe would neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the Russian
claim or footage. This would be at least the third alleged intercept of a USAF
RC-135 aircraft over the Black Sea in about a month.

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Virtual Events: Berman on Mitchell’s Nuclear Deterrence Forum, and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On Aug. 6, AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will present a Nuclear
Deterrence Forum with Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign
Policy Council. Event video will tentatively be posted on Mitchell’s <a
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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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After Spiking through June and July, Military COVID-19 Cases Level Off

The last week in July showed a sizeable slowdown in the increase of coronavirus
cases among service members, from a peak of more than 4,000 cases in one week
earlier in the month. With a total of 27,536 infections as of the morning of
July 31, Defense Department officials have attributed the rapid rise in cases to
increased testing and community transmission in states like California, Arizona,
Texas and Florida, which set records for new numbers of cases throughout the
month.

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Department of the Air Force Stands Up Task Force to Combat Interpersonal Violence

The Department of the Air Force launched a task force to address concerns
regarding interpersonal violence among service members. Secretary of the Air
Force Barbara M. Barrett appointed Brig. Gen. April D. Vogel, the director for
manpower, personnel, recruiting, and services at the National Guard Bureau, to
lead the task force, which will support members of the Air Force and Space
Force.

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Space Force on Alert: Behind Russia's Mysterious Testing of Deadly Anti-Satellite Weapons in Orbit

Last week, the head of the U.S.'s newest military branch, the Space Force,
cautioned publicly for the first time that Moscow had undertaken at least two
concerning anti-satellite weapon tests in recent months, in a potential bid to
develop on-orbit efficiency that could dangerously hinder the U.S.'s heavy
dependency on space-based systems … While no targets were destroyed in either
the April or July experiments, the pattern—coupled with the notion of two
Russian satellites following an American spy satellite—is enough to stir up
some anxieties.

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OPINION: Potential Defense Budget Cuts Demand a New Calculus

With the U.S. election around the corner and the economic impact of COVID-19
mounting, calls for defense spending cuts are on the rise. The practicality of
reductions is questionable given the scale and scope of the threat environment,
the reality that key elements of the military are decaying, and that defense
jobs represent one bright spot in an otherwise bleak economy. If cuts are
coming, it is crucial to execute them in a fashion that prioritizes the most
effective, efficient and valuable capabilities within the Department of Defense.
This requires a new approach to assessing weapon systems’ value, write
Mitchell Institute Dean retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula and Executive Director
Doug Birkey.

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926th Wing Gets the Green Light for Active Association

Air Combat Command published a Total Force Integration Record of Decision on
July 15, stating the 64th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.,
will become an Air Force Reserve Command Active Association, officially setting
up the 926th Wing to take responsibility for the aircraft and leading the
squadron. “The Air Force Reserve provides essential manpower and capabilities,
enabling rapid global response, operational surge, and long term operational
sustainment,” said Air Force Reserve Commander Lt. Gen. Richard W. Scobee.
“This strategic depth is critical to our national defense.”

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New Community College of the Air Force Degree Coming for Thousands of Airmen

The Associate of Applied Science in Military Technology and Applied Sciences
Management degree will be a more flexible option for airmen who don’t have
enough formal skills training to meet the requirements for current degree
programs, Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama announced in a
release July 20.

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'The Jet Doesn't Care:' 1st Female F-35 Demo Pilot Says She's Focused on Excellence

Capt. Kristin "Beo" Wolfe, the new face of the U.S. Air Force's F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter demonstration team, is "used to" being outnumbered as a female
pilot. Wolfe, of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has served
in the Air Force for nearly a decade. But now, as the first woman ever to hold
her job, she knows there’s an additional expectation to perform with
superiority and excellence.

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Plan to Change VA Motto to Include Women Draws Republican Support

The measure—sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.)—would change the
current statement from “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise ‘To care
for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his
orphan,’” to the less specific “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise
to care for those ‘who shall have borne the battle’ and for their families,
caregivers, and survivors.”

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AFSOC Airman First in Command to Gain Sikh Religious Accommodation Waiver

On June 7, 2020, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Dominic Varriale, a geospatial
intelligence analyst with the 11th Special Operations Intelligence Squadron,
became the first member of Air Force Special Operations Command to gain a
religious accommodations waiver. He accomplished this by way of the Sikh
American Veterans Alliance, who helped guide him through the process from start
to finish.

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The Royal Air Force Is Running Out Of Options. It Needs To Buy More F-35s

The RAF must choose between optimizing itself for high-intensity warfare against
a technological foe—in other words, Russia—or tailoring its forces for
low-intensity operations. At current spending levels, the United Kingdom can’t
afford to pay for an air force that does both, analyst Justin Bronk wrote for
the Royal United Services Institute. “The government will either have to
significantly raise defense spending or make some hard decisions.”

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One More Thing...
Female Military Pilots See the Next Barrier to Break: Getting More Black Women to Fly

The women who were the first to break gender and race barriers as military
pilots understand the isolation that comes with being the only female in their
squadron. They have spent years encouraging more women to fly, but as new data
obtained by McClatchy shows, there are still few in the ranks, and even fewer
who are Black.

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