Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Aug. 19, 2020

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Amy McCullough with Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q&A with Gen. John E. Hyten
By John A. Tirpak

The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff doesn't see a need for a new
roles and missions debate, preferring to let the services pursue their own new
capabilities—such as long-range fires—and sort them out afterwards. Gen.
John E. Hyten, in an interview set to appear in the September issue of Air Force
Magazine, said the deconfliction of missions will come in joint all-domain
command and control, not in limiting what systems the services pursue, because
offensive systems may also be offensive ones. Hyten also talked about priorities
in a flat budget, paying a "premium" to keep a limited number of legacy systems
to reduce near-term risk, budget transparency, how to accelerate space
capabilities, and whether the industrial base is up to the task of peer
competition.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How F-35 Middle East Deployments Are Shaping Future Ops
By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force F-35As from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, have patrolled the skies of the
Middle East continuously for the past 16 months. During the 34th Fighter
Squadron's eight-month deployment, the squadron tested new tactics for the
fifth-generation F-35A that will lay the groundwork for the jet’s future. It
also operated from two locations in theater, a first for the jet in combat, and
did not lose a sortie to maintenance. “Successfully implementing split
operations was the biggest takeaway for us,” Cavasos said. “To be able to
bed down in a forward location means that we now have unpredictability against
potential adversaries. They are so used to us showing up in country, staying in
the same place for half a year, doing the same things and leaving. They know it.
We know it. Now we proved we can be more agile. That principal can carry over
operationally to other regions and any potential adversaries there.”

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8th Fighter Wing Addresses Concerns about Mold, Mildew in Kunsan Dorms
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The 8th Fighter Wing is addressing concerns about the condition of dormitories
at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, after anonymous footage appearing to show mold,
mildew, and/or water damage in two of these buildings was recently posted by the
popular, but unofficial, "Air Force amn/nco/snco" Facebook page. In response to
questions from Air Force Magazine, wing spokesperson Maj. Emily C. Grabowski
said that while Kunsan’s climate has been more humid than normal—a condition
that can exasperate moisture-related building issues—these problems are
typically manageable. Grabowski outlined ways the wing is combating these kinds
of problems. Chief Master Sgt. Ronnie Woods, the wing’s command chief,
acknowledged the base’s local climate is challenging to the Wolf Pack’s
quality of life, he said the whole wing needs to be part of the solution.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep Freeze Crew in Quarantine to Keep Antarctica COVID-19-Free
By Brian W. Everstine

Airmen with the 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron are quarantining in New
Zealand, before the Air Force begins one of the most unique Operation Deep
Freeze seasons in recent history. Because of COVID-19, the 30 Airmen are in
quarantine after arriving Aug. 6 at Christchurch. The team, made up of Active
duty and Reserve Airmen from the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wing and one supply
troop from the 627th Air Base Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., will
leave quarantine next week and head to Antarctica—the only continent on the
globe free of the new coronavirus. “Antarctica is the last place on Earth that
has been, and continues to be, COVID-free,” the squadron’s commander Lt. Col
Brandon Tellez said in an Air Force Reserve Command release. “The [National
Science Foundation] teamed up with my unit and we’ve come up with a plan to
mitigate any potential transfer of the virus to any of the people we’re taking
down there.”

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

On Aug. 19, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
will host a Nuclear Deterrence Forum featuring Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the
Air Force's deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear
integration. Event video will tentatively be posted to the think tank's <a
href="[link removed]">website</a>
and <a href="[link removed]">YouTube
page</a> afterward.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radar Sweep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VA's Active COVID-19 Cases Dip as Deaths Rise Steadily in August

The number of active cases of COVID-19 at the Veterans Affairs Department has
dropped by 38 percent in the past month, but the case count continues to be
nearly three times that of late May, before much of the country began easing
stay-at-home orders.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US, South Korea to Begin Scaled-Down Drills Amid Virus Spike

The United States and South Korea will begin their annual joint military
exercises this week, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Aug. 16. But a
spreading coronavirus outbreak has apparently forced the allies to scale back an
already low-key training program mainly involving computer-simulated war
scenarios.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CEO of Boeing’s Defense Wing Talks Stumbling Blocks, from KC-46 to COVID

Leanne Caret stepped into the top Boeing defense job in 2016, after the American
company lost a lucrative contract for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation
bomber. Questions about Boeing’s future as a producer of fighter jets—and
the prominence of its defense business—lingered as the end of the F-15 and
F/A-18 production lines loomed in the near future. Now the tables have turned.
With COVID-19 devastating the travel industry and eradicating near-term sales
opportunities for commercial airliners, Boeing’s defense sector finds itself
as the company’s model pupil.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOCOM Spent More Than $800 Million on Gear It Wasn't Even Sure It Needed

The Defense Department Office of the Inspector General audit, publicly released
on Aug. 14, set out to examine whether Special Operations-Peculiar (SO-P)
equipment was thoroughly assessed as meeting mission requirements ahead of
fielding to special operations forces from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2019.
SO-P equipment specifically refers to fancy tech unique to U.S. Special
Operations Command units, and runs the gamut from communications and
surveillance gear to specialized vehicles and aircraft.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Army General to Be Sworn in as Space Commander

U.S. Army Gen. James H. Dickinson this week will take the helm as commander of
U.S. Space Command. He will be the first Army officer to lead the military’s
unified combatant command for space operations.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Chinese Air-Launched Glide Weapon Designed to Be an Airfield Killer

This latest weapon closely resembles the American AGM-154 JSOW and its design is
optimized for standoff attacks primarily against airfields.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Interview, Iraqi Leader Says Country Still Needs US Help

Iraq’s prime minister said Aug. 17 ahead of a much anticipated trip to
Washington that his country still needs U.S. assistance to counter the threat
posed by the Islamic State group and his administration is committed to
introducing security sector reforms as rogue militia groups stage near-daily
attacks against the seat of his government. Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in an
exclusive interview with The Associated Press that Iraq currently does not need
direct military support on the ground, and that the levels of help will depend
on the changing nature of the threat.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Pentagon's Missile Full of Swords Has Likely Struck Again in Syria

The U.S.-led military coalition in Syria likely used a unique variant of the
beloved Hellfire missile to kill a mercenary trainer who recently worked with an
al-Qaida-affiliated militant group there, according to photos from the scene of
the strike.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Government Spent Tens of Millions on a Treatment for Chemical Weapons Exposure. The Company That Makes It Won’t Say Whether It Works.

A Washington Post examination shows that Emergent secured contracts to supply an
unproven medical treatment at a time when the mission of protecting U.S.
diplomats against chemical attacks had taken on fresh urgency, in an effort the
government code-named Project Mandrake.

[link removed]
(Subscription Required)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Thing...
MacDill EODs Remove French Air-to-Air Missile from Florida Airport

Members of the 6th Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were called out to Lakeland
Linder International Airport on Aug. 14 after it was shut down in the wake of
the discovery of the missile, which had been delivered to Draken International.
Based at the airport, Draken has a fleet of about 150 former military aircraft
it contracts out to help train current military pilots.“Our EOD team went out
and secured the missile,” said Air Force 1st Lt. Brandon Hanner, a spokesman
for the 6th Air Refueling Wing. “It was live, but unarmed.”

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Daily Report: [link removed]
- Contact Us: [link removed]
- Advertise With Us: [link removed]
- Purchase/Reprint: [link removed]

- Air Force Association: [link removed]
- Join AFA: [link removed]

- AF Mag on Facebook: [link removed]
- AF Mag on Twitter: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published by the Air Force Association

All airforcemag.com material is under copyright of
the Air Force Association. All rights reserved.

The Air Force Association
1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA
22209-1198

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe or change your preferences, please visit the link below:
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------