Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Oct. 6, 2020

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

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Eglin F-35 Crash Blamed on Landing Speed, but Software, Helmet, Oxygen Also Faulted
By John A. Tirpak

Excessive landing speed was the primary cause of the May 19 crash of an F-35A at
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., though faulty flight control logic, the helmet
mounted display, the jet's oxygen system, and improper training and were all
contributing factors, according to an Air Force investigation. An Accident
Investigation Board found that the principle reason for the crash was the pilot
setting a “speed hold” of 202 knots indicated airspeed for the landing,
which was 50 knots too fast, while the jet's approach angle was too shallow,
according to the report released Sept. 30. The second main cause was the tail
flight control surfaces “conflicting” with the pilot’s apparently correct
efforts to recover the jet after it bounced on the runway, a problem the Air
Force said was a “previously undiscovered anomaly in the aircraft’s flight
control logic.” The plane and pilot “quickly fell out of sync,” as the
flight computer commanded nose down while the pilot commanded nose up,
attempting to abort the landing and go around. Sensing that he was being
“ignored” by the airplane, the pilot ejected, sustaining significant but
non-life-threatening injuries.

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Pentagon Publishes Digital-Age Personnel Strategy
By Rachel S. Cohen

The U.S. military’s workforce can’t succeed in the long run unless it fully
embraces the digital age, overhauls its lagging information technology systems,
and pursues a more flexible and diverse workplace, according to the Pentagon’s
new personnel strategy. The document from Pentagon personnel and readiness boss
Matthew P. Donovan enshrines many of the realizations the Defense Department has
come to over the past several years. “The department’s success depends on a
digitally savvy military and civilian workforce that can operate within a
security environment fueled by groundbreaking technology, and exploit
information as the connective tissue to dominate in competition and conflict,”
the strategy said.

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Search for ‘Doomsday’ Jet Replacement Pushed Into 2021
By Rachel S. Cohen

A formal search for designs for the Air Force’s new nuclear command plane is
again delayed into 2021, the service said Oct. 2. The Survivable Airborne
Operations Center is meant to replace the Air Force E-4B “doomsday” jet that
can send the command to launch nuclear missiles if crews on the ground cannot,
and that allows government officials to communicate in times of crisis. The
effort is falling into the group of the Air Force’s highest and most expensive
acquisition programs, known as Acquisition Category 1. Those efforts cost more
than $480 million to develop and more than $2.8 billion to produce. The
replacement program's price tag is still evolving.

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Focus on Arctic Comes at ‘Pivotal Time,’ USAF Official Says
By Brian W. Everstine

The release of the Air Force’s Arctic Strategy comes at a “pivotal time on
the timeline of the Arctic,” as global powers exert their influence in an
increasingly important region where climate change is also taking its toll, the
head of Alaskan Command said Oct. 5. The service in July released its first-ever
strategy on the Arctic, which argues the Air Force is the most active and
invested U.S. military department in the region. Airmen must remain vigilant,
project military power, cooperate with allies, and prepare for possible conflict
in the area, the strategy said. Lt. Gen. David A. Krumm, commander of Alaskan
Command and 11th Air Force, said Oct. 5 during an online event hosted by the
Wilson Center that the Arctic is a “demanding environment, and it’s changing
rapidly.”

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First Female ANG Deputy Director: ‘There Isn’t a Ceiling’
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Maj. Gen. Dawne L. Deskins recently became the first woman and non-pilot to
become the deputy director of the Air National Guard. She formally stepped into
ANG’s number two spot in July. Though her priority has always been doing the
best possible job and being recognized for that effort—rather than the boxes
she might happen to check off in the process—she told Air Force Magazine that,
with age, she’s come to understand why her personal role in increasing female
representation among ANG ranks matters so much. Giving women “a point … to
be able to aspire to” is a responsibility she takes “quite seriously,” she
said.

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Virtual Events: Epstein on Mitchell’s ‘Aerospace Nation,’ & More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On Oct. 6, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
will host the latest installment of its “Aerospace Nation” series featuring
Ronald Epstein, managing director in equity research at Bank of America Merrill
Lynch who covers aerospace, defense, and multi-industrials with large aerospace
components. 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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Speaker Sessions from AFA’s vASC Now Available

Now you can view video and transcripts from the Air Force Association’s
virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, including interviews with industry
leaders and a panel on defense budget transparency.

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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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Prison Guards Living in Jail and COs Not Allowing Telework: Inside the Military’s Coronavirus Complaints

Obtained by Military Times in a response to a Freedom of Information Act
request, the complaints reflect the fear and uncertainty rippling through
society back then, before this all became the new normal.

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Case Closed: California Judge Ends SpaceX’s Lawsuit against the US Air Force

The judge said the Air Force's actions were "not arbitrary, capricious, or in
violation of the law, and that SpaceX was not entitled to any relief in this
action.”

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Air Force's F-22 Program Now Officially Hill AFB's Baby

After an eight-year process, the Air Force’s effort to transfer its F-22
program to Hill Air Force Base is now complete.Earlier this week, two F-22
program management positions were transferred to Hill from Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base in Ohio, wrapping up a process that began clear back in 2012 with a
call by Congress to shift the program to a location best suited to handle work
on the fifth-generation fighter jet.

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Q&A with Joint AI Center Chief Technology Officer

Nand Mulchandani serves as the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s chief
technology officer. On Oct. 1—the first day back in his CTO position following
the confirmation of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Groen as the new head of the
center—Mulchandani spoke with National Defense Magazine Senior Editor Yasmin
Tadjdeh about the trajectory of the JAIC, what the future has in store, and how
the center is managing through both a pandemic and budget uncertainty.

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OPINION: Rules for Space Warfare

“With the creation of the U.S. Space Force, it is imperative to better
understand how to fight in space and important to ask the question: Does the
nation have the foundational principles by which future space wars can be
won?” writes Space Strategies Center President Paul Szymanski.

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US Military Dependent Dies in Collision with Japanese Driver South of Misawa Air Base

The teenage dependent of a U.S. service member died following a two-vehicle
accident that seriously injured four others in northeastern Japan. At
approximately 11 p.m. Sept. 26, a car carrying four Americans, ages 16 to 19,
collided with a vehicle driven by a Japanese man, 49, from Hachinohe city, a
Misawa Police spokesman told Stars and Stripes on Oct. 3. The accident happened
on a two-way road in the town of Oirase, south of Misawa Air Base, that was wet
from rain.

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Arlington National Cemetery's Most-Visited Gravesite Reopens to Public

The gravesite of President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery
reopened to the public Saturday for the first time since access to the cemetery
was limited in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors to the site will
have to follow one-way signage, wear masks and socially distance, Arlington
officials said in a release.

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One More Thing...
Robins NCO Earns Airman’s Medal for Heroic Efforts at 2017 Las Vegas Shooting

Tech. Sgt. Jordan Benson, an aircraft battle damage repair technician in the
402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., was awarded the
Airman’s Medal Oct. 2, at the Museum of Aviation. One of the most prestigious
decorations awarded to U.S. Armed Forces members, the medal is presented to
military members who, while serving in any capacity with the Air Force after the
date of the award's authorization, has distinguished oneself by a heroic act,
usually at the voluntary risk of one’s own life but not involving actual
combat.

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