FAIRCHILD AFB, Wash.—Air Mobility Command’s war of the future is playing out right now in the rolling mountains and plains of the Inland Northwest. The command recently kicked off Mobility Guardian 2019, the second iteration of its premier exercise, on a size and scale the command has not trained before. For three weeks, AMC aircraft, representatives from other services, and 30 international partners are fighting their way through complicated threat simulations that affect aircraft and bases alike. The command is learning how to be more agile in an era where advanced enemies can stymie USAF operations at all levels. “We always just assume we’re going to be able to go into a permissive big base. Those days are over,” exercise director Lt. Col. Joseph Monaco said. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

Boeing is proposing a two-step solution to address a major new deficiency with its KC-46 tanker, which limits the aircraft’s ability to carry personnel or cargo. Air Mobility Command on Sept. 11 revealed the deficiency and the restrictions it imposed after multiple incidents in which cargo restraint devices broke free during operational test and evaluation flights. First, the company is eyeing tie-down straps to allow the KC-46 to resume some cargo flights. Second, the company is testing a separate, “robust” fix for the locking mechanism. It plans to present proposals to the Air Force the week of Sept. 15. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

Northrop Grumman has rejected a Boeing overture to form a joint team on the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent nuclear missile, intended to replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, Boeing said in a Sept. 13 statement. The move leaves Northrop as the sole anticipated bidder for the contract, expected to be at least $85 billion. “In our discussions to date, Northrop Grumman has expressed that they are not interested in partnering with Boeing to form a best-of-industry GBSD team,” a Boeing spokesman said in an email. Read the full story by John A. Tirpak.

Senate appropriators are scolding the Air Force for what lawmakers see as misguided spending decisions that are now carrying into the service’s five-year funding plan, despite ever-growing Pentagon budgets. As part of a multibillion-dollar fiscal 2020 USAF budget proposal, the Senate Appropriations Committee wrote that in the past three years, the Air Force had the “opportunity to make responsible and deliberate strategic budgeting decisions as well as plan for the prospect of a topline leveling or downturn.” “The committee fears that the lack of strategic budgeting decisions, which can be delayed in the current budget environment, could have a detrimental impact on the effectiveness of the Air Force in the future budget environment,” lawmakers said. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

The Air Force on Sept. 12 published an artificial-intelligence strategy recognizing that, in order to take full advantage of data-crunching algorithms, the service must modernize the technology airmen use to do their jobs every day. The strategy, an annex of the Defense Department’s own AI plan, lays out five focus areas to help the Air Force move through a process that will lead it to daily operational use of self-learning software. “Everyone is responsible to purposefully consider and attempt to include AI in everything we do,” the strategy states. “Exploration, prototyping, and collaboration are not only encouraged, but critical to our future.” Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

Newly minted Defense Secretary Mark Esper will take questions from airmen Sept. 18 at AFA’s 2019 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, AFA Executive Vice President and retired USAF Maj. Gen. Douglas Raaberg said. “What a great way for airmen and their families to ask the secretary of defense how this service meets the needs of the National Defense Strategy,” Raaberg said. This will be his first major address as secretary to members of the Air Force community. The choice to take questions in such an event bears out Esper’s promise to engage the press and informing the American public about the Defense Department’s work. Read the full story by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory.

AFA’s 2019 Air, Space & Cyber Conference kicks off Sept. 16 in National Harbor, Md., bringing together the entire Air Force family—enlisted, officers, civilians, industry, academia, and Capitol Hill—to explore perspectives and focus on “expanding the competitive edge” of the Air Force. This year’s event will boast an all-star cast of keynote speakers and a slate of sessions touching on everything from space and innovation to Mosaic Warfare and family resilience. But since such a packed agenda can be intimidating, here’s a starter list of five things you won’t want to miss. Read the full story by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory.

Former CMSAF Gerald Murray Elected Chairman of AFA Board

Gerald Murray, the 14th chief master sergeant of the Air Force, will become the next chairman of the Air Force Association, replacing F. Whitten Peters on Oct. 1. Peters, a former secretary of the Air Force, held the chairman post for the past three years. Murray ran unopposed and was elected without objection to a one-year term Sept. 14. He will be the second former enlisted leader to hold the association’s top volunteer leadership position. Read the full story by Tobias Naegele.

Mitchell Institute Announces New Moseley Chair for Aerospace Research

AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies announced Sept. 13 the establishment of the Gen. T. Michael Moseley Chair for Aerospace Research. Made possible through the financial support of Air Force veteran H. Ross Perot, Jr., and named for Moseley, the 18th Air Force chief of staff, the new chair will focus on policy research supporting air and space power in the 21st century, according to Mitchell's dean, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Lawrence Stutzriem, a recognized expert in national security, aerospace power, and combat aircraft operations, will occupy the new chair. Over more than 30 years as a fighter pilot, commander and strategist, Stutzriem was also a professor of national security studies at the National War College and pioneered time-sensitive targeting in Afghanistan. He was acting deputy secretary of state for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and later helped forge the nation’s first Arctic defense strategy as strategy, plans, and policy director for US Northern Command. Deptula announced the appointment at a special Mitchell Institute panel discussion, “An Evening with the Chiefs." Moseley and current Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein shared a stage for the first time to offer their unique perspectives on the Air Force's past and future. —Tobias Naegele

The article “Goldfein to Present Air Force Cross to JTAC for 2017 Afghanistan Action” in Friday’s Daily Report incorrectly described TSgt. Daniel Keller’s specialty. He is a Joint Tactical Attack Controller.