Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Sept. 4, 2020

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

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Editor’s Note

There will not be a Daily Report on Monday, Sept. 7 due to the Labor Day
holiday. We'll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

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Five DOD Medical Facilities to Participate in COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
By Rachel S. Cohen

Volunteers at five military medical facilities across the U.S. will become part
of the Phase III trial to vet biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s
coronavirus vaccine, the Pentagon announced Sept. 3. Naval Medical Center San
Diego, Calif.,; Joint Base San Antonio’s Brooke Army Medical Center and
Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center in Texas; Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center, Md.; and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Va., will take part.
The trial is part of the push to safely create a COVID-19 vaccine by January
2021.

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USAF Asks Airmen, Civilians to Sound Off on Uniforms, Appearance Regs
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

When it comes to telling its troops how to suit up and stay sharp-looking, the
Air Force wants to make sure Airmen feel like their perspectives matter. Thus,
the Department of the Air Force has created a crowdsourcing campaign that will
empower Airmen and USAF civilians to share their ideas about how it can improve
its uniforms, gear, and dress and appearance rules, the service announced Sept.
3. Beginning the same day, service members and civilians can submit their ideas
by logging into USAF's IdeaScale platform, navigating to its homepage, and
locating the “Dress and Appearance” tile there, a USAF release stated. Idea
categories include grooming and appearance standards, physical training gear,
maternity uniforms, and more, according to the release. Airmen may also share
their thoughts on Air Force policy regarding accessories, badges, and specialty
insignia.

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Holloman MQ-9 Damaged in Runway Accident
By Amy McCullough

An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., was
damaged when it skidded off the runway on Sept. 2, the base announced. The
incident remains under investigation.

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B-1s, B-2s Train Down Under
By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force B-1s and B-2s deployed to the Indo-Pacific came together to train with
U.S. and Australian joint terminal attack controllers down under, dropping
training bombs at three different training ranges throughout August. The B-1s,
deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and B-2s deployed to Naval Support
Facility Diego Garcia, made multiple passes over the Delamere, Bradshaw, and
Mount Bundley training areas where Marine Rotational Force-Darwin and Australian
JTACs controlled the strikes, according to a Pacific Air Forces release. The
bombers were refueled by KC-135s deployed to Australia from Kadena Air Base,
Japan.

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Two Spaceflight Experiments Win AFRL Approval
By Rachel S. Cohen

Two spaceflight experiments on object tracking and atmospheric ionization won
the Air Force Research Laboratory’s latest competition for promising
technologies, the lab said Sept. 2. The “Precise” project and the Cislunar
Highway Patrol System beat out 25 other internal proposals in a six-month bid to
win further military backing. That competition, dubbed Space Warfighting
Operationally Resilient Demonstrations (SWORD), will become an annual event
within AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate. The programs must still submit their
budgets, anticipated timelines, and technical objectives to the lab but are
slated to begin work Oct. 1.

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

On Sept. 8, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
will host Brig. Gen. Adrian L. Spain, director of plans, programs, and analyses
at U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa on the latest installment of
its “Aerospace Nation” series. 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.

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Radar Sweep

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Register Now for Virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference

The Air Force Association's annual Air, Space & Cyber Conference kicks off Sept.
14 with Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett and Chief of Staff Gen. Charles
Q. Brown Jr. The annual conference, which will be held virtually this year for
the first time, runs through Sept. 16. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W.
“Jay” Raymond speaks on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Registration is open now and
space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.

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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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7th US Service Member Has Died from COVID-19

The Pentagon’s latest update, on Sept. 2, showed an increase from the previous
tally of six COVID-19 troop deaths, but did not identify the individual or
service branch of the deceased. Pentagon officials did not immediately respond
to a request for comment from Military Times seeking more details.

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Poland, Romania Tee Up Helicopter Tenders, Target 2 Percent Defense Spending

A number of Eastern European allies aim to maintain their defense expenditures
at 2 percent of their respective gross domestic products despite the current
economic downturn. Poland and Romania are at the forefront of the region’s
military modernization efforts, and both plan to spend billions of dollars on
helicopters in the near future. However, local observers say the countries’
defense acquisitions are facing delays due to organizational limitations.

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Air Force Tests New Bomb That Could Replace Controversial Cluster Munitions

The Air Force recently tested a new next-generation fragmentation bomb on the
F-16 Fighting Falcon meant to be an alternative to cluster munitions that
diminishes the risk of unexploded ordnance, according to a news release.

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The Latest on JADC2

Joint all-domain command and control is redefining how the U.S. military will
operate in the future joint fight—and how systems must be designed today. For
the latest on all things JADC2 and to stay tuned to the latest developments,
check out our JADC2 landing page.

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Joint Air Defense Exercise 20-2 Increases Readiness, Strengthens Partnerships

U.S. Central Command Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and space warfighters
joined regional and coalition partners last week for Joint Air Defense Exercise
20-2. Led by U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the bi-annual exercise focused on
improving readiness of air defense assets within the CENTCOM area of
responsibility.

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AUAB, Qatar Sign Agreement on Air Space Operations

An Air Traffic Control Letter of Agreement was signed by U.S. personnel, the
Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), and Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) to
better work together to ensure safe air space operations at Al Udeid Air Base,
Qatar.

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Davis-Monthan Airmen Rescue Injured Chinese Mariner

The 55th Rescue Squadron and a combat systems operator from the 79th RQS
executed a long-range mission off the California coast to rescue an injured
Chinese mariner on Aug. 28. The Chinese mariner was severely injured from a
33-foot fall on the bulk carrier, Ocean Applaud, 1,100 nautical miles west of
San Francisco on Aug. 26. The Chinese mariner was working aboard the Ocean
Applaud, which was transferring cargo to Stockton, Calif.

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Boeing Delivers SOCOM’s First Next-Gen Chinook Helicopter

Boeing’s Philadelphia team recently delivered the first MH-47G Block II
Chinook to SOCOM on time. “This delivery marks a major step for the Chinook
program,” said Andy Builta, vice president and H-47 program manager. “The
new Chinook will give U.S. Special Operations Forces significantly more
capability for extremely challenging missions and will enable them to conduct
those missions on the future battlefield.”

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Proposal Would Give Some TRICARE Users a Wider Choice of Health Care Providers

The next iteration of TRICARE will give some military families and retirees the
option to choose a health network other than the two selected to manage the
TRICARE East and West regions, according to a report delivered by the Pentagon
to Congress in August.

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One More Thing...
Air Force Academy Names Newest Mascot ‘Nova’

The female gyrfalcon, who was hatched in May, was the USAFA Falconry Team’s
first feathery addition since the October 2019 passing of Aurora, another
gyrfalcon, at the age of 23, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

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