Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Aug. 20, 2020

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

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USAF Rethinks Relationship Between Conventional, Nuclear Weapons
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force is crafting new policy that envisions more fluidity between
conventional and nuclear weapons, as well as a broader range of options to keep
others from using their own nuclear weapons. The U.S. has long treated
conventional and nuclear warfare as separate concepts, but that’s beginning to
change, said Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff
for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. Over the past year and a half,
nuclear experts on the Air Staff have crafted an overview of “conventional and
nuclear integration,” in which American service members must be able to
survive a conflict that involves a nuclear weapon.

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‘Mayhem’ Will Be Larger, Multi-Role Air-Breathing Hypersonic System for USAF
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force is pursuing a speedy program for a new air-breathing hypersonic
missile, equipped with a modular payload bay that apparently will be used for
something other than submunitions, according to a service solicitation. USAF
solicited Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon for the work, saying they alone
have the expertise to perform. A 15-month program is envisioned, and the Air
Force wants the companies to consider teaming arrangements on the propulsion
system, air vehicle, and payload integration. The new system still has to fit on
fighters and bombers.

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Coronavirus Returns to USAFA as School Year Begins
By Rachel S. Cohen

U.S. Air Force Academy cadets are starting a fall semester unlike any other, as
the school tries to prove on-campus classes can work amid the coronavirus
pandemic. About 4,400 students are back in class at USAFA in Colorado Springs,
Colo., after the academy cut short the spring 2020 semester and sent all but the
seniors home ahead of an early graduation. Positive COVID-19 cases turned up
over the Aug. 15 weekend, the first weekend after classes began Aug. 12. Academy
spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Andrews declined to say how many people have tested
positive so far.

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B-1, B-2 Bomber Task Forces Simultaneously Operate in the Indo-Pacific
By Brian W. Everstine

Two of the Air Force’s three bombers recently flew simultaneous long-range
missions across the Indo-Pacific, with two different sets of B-1s training
alongside Japanese fighters and Navy ships, while stealth B-2s flew their own
training mission in the Indian Ocean. Two bomber task forces are deployed to
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, with B-1s at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and B-2s
at Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia. On Aug. 17, two B-1s took off from
Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and flew to the East Sea, where they linked up
with two B-1s from Andersen and four F-15Cs from Kadena Air Base, Japan, as well
as Japan Air Self Defense Force F-15Js, Marine Corps F-35Bs from Marine Corps
Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group for a
large force exercise. At Diego Garcia, two B-2s deployed to the Indian Ocean
base from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., flew “joint interoperability tactics
training” and returned to the base, according to Pacific Air Forces.

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California Fire Triggers Personnel, Aircraft Evacuations at Travis
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Non-essential personnel and their families evacuated from Travis Air Force Base
on Aug. 19 because of the threat of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, 60th Air
Mobility Wing spokesperson Capt. Amanda M. Farr confirmed to Air Force Magazine.
The base also began evacuating its aircraft around 8:30 the same night, with the
wing's C-17s headed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., its C-5s to Kelly Field
at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and its KC-10s to Fairchild Air Force
Base, Wash., Farr said.

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Guard C-130s Fighting California Fires
By Brian W. Everstine

Specially equipped C-130s are supporting fire responses across California, where
numerous blazes have destroyed dozens of homes and prompted evacuations
throughout the state. Four C-130s from the California Air National Guard’s
146th, the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd, and Nevada Air National
Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wings are activated and flying sorties, dropping fire
retardant with the aircraft’s Modular Airborne Firefighting System. The four
aircraft conducted 15 sorties on Aug. 18, conducting 12 drops on the Lake Fire
north of Santa Clarita, the Salt Fire near Stockton, and the LNU Lightning
Complex Fire west of Sacramento, according to 1st Air Force-Air Forces Northern.
“The aircraft are working at a quick pace,” said Col. Gregory Berry,
commander of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group, in a statement. “The C-130
crews are flying an average of six drops a day and about five hours a day
depending on the fire.”

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Virtual Events: Roper Hosts ABMS ‘Ask Me Anything’, and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On Aug. 25, Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper will host an "Ask Me Anything"
event about the Advanced Battle Management System that will be moderated by Air
Force Chief Architect Preston Dunlap. The <a
href="[link removed]">event</a>
will be livestreamed on YouTube, and you can learn more about it <a
href="[link removed]">here</a>.

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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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The New Air Force Chief Wasn’t Sure How to Address George Floyd’s Killing. Then He Talked to His Son.

The general, then commander of Pacific Air Forces, or Pacaf, said he wasn’t
sure how he should respond to the killing of another Black man by police. Not
yet confirmed as Chief, he did not want to get in the way of anything the Air
Force’s top leaders had planned, he said. But then his son asked,
“ ‘Dad, what is PACAF saying?’ ” Brown recalled. “Which is code
for, ‘Dad, what are you going to say?’ ”

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Inspectors Said Her Toxic Leadership Was 'Worst Seen in 20 Years.' She Just Became a 1-Star

Nine months before Air Force Brig. Gen. Jennifer L. Grant pinned on her first
star, members of the team tasked with investigating her behavior in the years
leading up to her promotion said they'd never seen Airmen so afraid to face
their commander.

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Missile Defense Agency Director Lays Out Hurdles in Path to Layered Homeland Missile Defense

The Missile Defense Agency is planning to develop a layered homeland
intercontinental ballistic missile defense architecture, but it must clear a
range of hurdles to get after an approach that addresses emerging threats and
fills a gap while a next-generation interceptor is developed, according to the
agency’s director.

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Two MQ-9 Reaper Drones Collide over Syria after Days of Sightings from Those on the Ground

MQ-9s in unusual configurations have been seen in the area following a strike
involving the Hellfire missile variant with pop-out sword-like blades.

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US Drops Death Penalty for ISIS ‘Beatles’

The United States will not pursue the death penalty against two British Islamic
State group detainees who are accused of beheading U.S. journalists and have
been held in indefinite military detention in Iraq, if the U.K. agrees to turn
over vital evidence in the case, Attorney General Bill Barr has confirmed in a
letter to United Kingdom officials. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh have
been held at al-Asad airbase in Iraq since October, where they were moved during
the Turkish invasion of Syria last fall over concerns that there could be mass
breakouts from the Kurdish-guarded prisons.

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OPINION: China Must Be Held Accountable for Its Actions on Earth and in Space

“A disregard for terrestrial international norms has also been witnessed with
regard to space,” writes Heritage Foundation Research Fellow Dean Cheng.

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Mocana to Provide Cybersecurity Support to US Air Force

The Air Force Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract is worth $1.5
million. As agreed, Mocana will deliver advanced cyber protection for military
systems, establishing end-to-end digital supply chain security.

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Air Force Selects 8,246 in Technical Sergeant Promotion Cycle; List Posts Aug 24

Air Force officials have selected 8,246 staff sergeants for promotion to
technical sergeant out of 28,358 eligible for a selection rate of 29.08 percent
in the 20E6 promotion cycle.

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How the Battle over the US Postal Service Is Costing Veterans Dearly

While public anxiety over the declining efficiency of the postal service has in
recent weeks focused on how USPS would be able to handle absentee ballots during
the upcoming November election—an issue that has become a politically charged
battle over mail-in voting—those concerns are far more immediate for veterans
and countless others across the country who get their medicine through the mail.

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One More Thing...
Moving Company Illegally Auctioned Off Service Member’s Family Heirlooms and Other Possessions, Justice Alleges

Justice Department attorneys filed a lawsuit against a Massachusetts moving and
storage company alleging the company illegally auctioned off the belongings of
an Air Force technical sergeant while he was deployed—including military gear
and mementos that belonged to a cousin who was killed in action, his
grandfather’s military service medals, and a dresser that was handmade by his
great-grandfather.

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