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Oct. 23, 2020
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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
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 Former Air Force Secretary Heather A. Wilson, who now serves as president of the University of Texas at El Paso, addresses an online conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Oct. 22, 2020. CSIS video screenshot. |
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By Rachel S. Cohen
Nearly 18 months out of office, former Air Force Secretary Heather A. Wilson indicated the service has more work to do on the reforms she championed over the course of two years. Wilson, now president of the University of Texas at El Paso, pursued multiple pet projects in the top civilian post. Three of those initiatives can go further, she said Oct. 22 during a conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
The Air Force Women’s Initiative Team has launched a survey to get female Airmen’s feedback on whether and how USAF should change its rules for how women can wear their hair while in uniform. The Women’s Initiative Team will use the data “to educate Air Force General Officers on what female Airmen desire for hair standards” during the service’s next uniform board, which is slated for Nov. 2-5, the page states. Only female Active duty, Guard, and Reserve Airmen serving within the Air Force may take part, and responses will be kept anonymous.
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By Amy McCullough
Arctic survival kits are the newest feature on the Air Force's F-35A Joint Strike Fighters at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The F-35 was not designed to carry sleeping bags and other equipment to protect pilots if they need to eject into the brutal Arctic temperatures, which regularly dip to -40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Alaska-based Airmen had to figure out how to fit roughly 10 pounds of survival gear into a 5-pound sack attached to the F-35’s ejection seat.
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By Rachel S. Cohen
Four Democratic senators are pushing the Air Force to send eight C-130J aircraft to the Nevada Air National Guard to bolster firefighting missions as the American West continues to suffer from devastating wildfires. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California—the Democratic candidate for vice president—argue that upgrading the Reno, Nev., base’s C-130H fleet with newer C-130Js will help the Guard extinguish fires in Western states. Air National Guard officials want to replace 1970s-era H-model planes with 24 newer C-130Js across three locations.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
On Oct. 27, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute will host an installment of its “Aerospace Nation” series featuring Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach. The think tank will post event video on its website and YouTube page after the live event.
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Radar Sweep
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Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19
Air Force Magazine
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Pentagon Has Not Shown COVID Stimulus Helps Small Businesses, Says HASC Chairman
SpaceNews
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Democratic lawmakers remain opposed to giving the Defense Department more money to help the industrial base. The concern is that DOD has not shown that the funds are helping the companies that truly need it, said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.).
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DOD IG Cancels Audit of Military's Efforts to Address Cyber Vulnerabilities in Weapon Programs
Inside Defense
The Defense Department inspector general has terminated an audit of what DOD did to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified during the testing and evaluation of acquisition programs, citing the effects of COVID-19. The objective of the canceled audit was to "determine whether DOD components took action to accept, mitigate, or remediate cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified during cybersecurity test and evaluations of DOD acquisition programs," Carol Gorman, assistant inspector general for the cyberspace operations, wrote in an Oct. 16 memo.
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Data Organization Is Holding Back the Advanced Battle Management System
Federal News Network
The Air Force’s top general says moving data and making it accessible is the most important and most challenging task for the service as it continues its effort to set up the Advanced Battle Management System. That program is a key component of joint all-domain command and control—the military’s attempt at an all-seeing eye for warfare that will incorporate artificial intelligence and real time knowledge to make decisions and facilitate attacks.
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Journey to JADC2
Air Force Magazine
Joint all-domain command and control is driving change throughout the Air and Space Forces. Read our latest on the quest for greater interconnectedness across the battlefield.
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CSAF Brown Hedges on 386 Squadron Goal
Breaking Defense
“I think about, more so, what is the capability that would give me the equivalent of 386? What things can I do?” he told the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on Oct. 21. “Some of that may not be exquisite and expensive; it may be doing things differently.”
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Space Force Developing a Digital Strategy for Designing and Producing Future Satellites
SpaceNews
Under this vision, military buyers and contractors will work collaboratively in virtual cloud networks. Each piece of equipment will exist as a digital model. And once the design is finished, the digital information will be used for the entire life of a system—from development to production and for eventual upgrades.
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The Navy Just Sent a Drone to Deliver Cargo to One of Its Ballistic Missile Submarines
The Drive
The Navy is exploring new options for replenishing its submarines out at sea, which could have broader impacts on how it resupplies all of its fleets.
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Outsourced Military Moves Are on Hold Again Thanks to a $20 Billion Contract Cancellation
Military.com
Under a decision issued Oct. 21 by the Government Accountability Office, the company selected to manage military moves and shipments of household goods belonging to U.S. service members has lost the contract but still may be able to bid for the job, worth up to $19.9 billion over a decade.
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One More Thing
Air Force Seeks Computer-Brain Interface
Military Times
Air Force researchers are actively working on creating an interface between the human brain and computers to improve airmen’s ability to learn and make more rapid, effective decisions. The Air Force Research Laboratory recently announced its efforts in developing an “augmented learning platform” to essentially non-invasively make the brain more receptive to soaking up information in the process of learning.
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