 |  | Dec. 21, 2020 | Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak | | View In Browser |  The Space Force unveiled its name for service personnel on Dec. 18, 2020. USSF graphic. | By Rachel S. Cohen Space Force members
will be known as “Guardians” from now on, Vice President Michael R. Pence announced Dec. 18. “Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come,” he said at a Dec. 18 White House ceremony celebrating the Space Force’s Dec. 20 birthday. As the Space Force turns 1 year old, abandoning the moniker of “Airman” is one of the most prominent moves made so far to distinguish space personnel from the Air Force they came from. |
| By John A. Tirpak The Air Force's in-house software factories have become hacking targets because they are accelerating the service's fielding of new capabilities, and must be defended as the "crown jewels" they are. The Pentagon needs to apply "Zero-Trust" technology in its data systems, not only keeping hackers out, but having a way to deal with
the aftermath once they inevitably get in, Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper said Dec. 18 |  | By Rachel S. Cohen The Air Force’s science advisers say the service needs to make its approach to cutting-edge “Vanguard” programs more concrete and repeatable—and to ditch them when things don’t work out. USAF leaders asked the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board to grade how the Vanguard concept is doing so far in a brief study earlier this year. The panel published its findings this month. Three of the six recommendations are aimed at improving the initiative now, while the rest are intended to enshrine Vanguards in the Air Force science and technology world over time. |
| By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory The Air Force Weapons School has recognized Capt. Woodruff “Thunder” Johnson, an F-15E Weapons
Officer assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., with its 2020 Robbie Risner Award. The annual award—whose namesake, Brig. Gen. James Robinson “Robbie” Risner, was the first living service member to receive the Air Force Cross—recognizes the Weapons School alumnus who makes the greatest contribution to USAF’s combat capability in the year following his or her graduation from the elite institution. In this case, it recognized Johnson's leadership from the time he departed Nellis in the pre-pandemic days of 2019 through June 2020. |  | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory On Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. EST, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute will host a Space Power Forum featuring USAF Brig. Gen. Brook J.
Leonard, U.S. Space Command chief of staff, at 11 a.m. EST. As one of the key players in the development of this “new” COCOM and the U.S. military’s space enterprise writ large, Leonard will discuss key issues confronting USSPACECOM, including competition in space, partnering with commercial industry, and the Space Force’s relationship with the Intelligence Community in addition to other issues. Advanced registration is required. Sign up here. |  | | | | | Radar Sweep | | | Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19Air Force Magazine Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Fewer Military Recruits Dropped Out of Boot Camp in 2020. Here's WhyMilitary.com Military entry-level training, like most things in 2020, has been anything but normal this year. |
| ‘It’s Going to Take a Lot of Digging’: The Pentagon’s Long Search to See If Anyone’s Hiding in Its NetworksC4ISRNET The military and intelligence community is scrambling to conduct a daunting hunt across disconnected networks to assess potential damage from an extensive federal cybersecurity breach by suspected Russian hackers. |
| Amid Massive Hack, Lawmakers Urge Trump to Sign Defense Bill with
New Cybersecurity LegislationDefense One As the government scrambles to understand the widening compromise, legislation to shore up the nation’s cyber defenses sits unsigned on the President’s desk. |
| Air Force Opened Criminal Probe after a Lockheed F-35
GroundingBloomberg (Subscription Required) Air Force and Pentagon investigators opened a criminal probe of Lockheed Martin Corp. in 2016 over faulty coolant line tubing inside F-35 jets after 57 were either temporarily grounded or required production line fixes, according to officials confirming the previously undisclosed inquiry. |
| Tensions Flare Between Pentagon, Biden Team over Transition MeetingsPOLITICO The tension between the Trump administration and President-elect Joe Biden's team spilled out into the open on Dec. 18, as officials traded accusations over the status of a series of Defense Department transition meetings that a Biden spokesperson called "invaluable" for national
security. |
| Statement on New Appointments to the Defense Science Board Defense Department release Today, the Department of Defense announced that Acting Secretary Chris Miller intends to appoint former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower &
Reserve Affairs Tidal McCoy and former NASA Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit to the Defense Science Board. |
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| General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. Named 2020 Great American Patriot Award RecipientArmed Forces Bowl release Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, has been chosen as the recipient of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Great American Patriot Award. Presented annually by Armed Forces Insurance at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, the Great American Patriot Award honors a candidate in recognition of their exemplary service to the United States. |
| Body Armor Designed for Women Comes to Wyoming’s F.E. WarrenAir Force Times Female security forces Airmen at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., on Dec. 11 became some of the first to start using new body armor designed to fit women. |
| Free 3-Year Memberships! Air Force Magazine Airmen and Guardians—Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian: Join your Air Force Association today and get a 3-year membership free—a savings of $85! Act now–this is a limited-time offer. Be a member of the only association totally dedicated to advancing Air and Space Power, Airmen, Guardians, their families, and the industries that support
them. |
| DOD Back on the Road to Outsourcing the Management of Military MovesMilitary Times Following a heavily contested contract awarded earlier this year, U.S. Transportation Command is now reviewing several revised proposals for a new contract to manage
household goods moves worldwide, officials said. Bidders submitted revised proposals by Dec. 2; the contract is expected to be awarded in June, said André Kok, spokesperson for TRANSCOM. |
| When Fixing Navy Readiness Problems, Money Helps. But So Does Data.Federal News Network’s “On DOD with Jared Serbu” podcast Bigger maintenance budgets over the last few years have helped, but money isn’t everything. The Navy is trying to innovate its way out of the readiness problem too, and with some success, thanks to a combination of processes borrowed from the commercial airline industry, data analytics, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. |
| SPONSORED—VIDEO: 4 Principles of Agile JADC2 DevelopmentAir Force Magazine Innovation has always been a hallmark of the U.S. Air Force. But with the accelerating pace of technology development, the service needs a new approach to modern design to make the latest technologies profoundly more accessible. | | | One More Thing‘Wise Guy’ Is Back! Regenerated After 10 Years at the ‘Boneyard,’ B-52H Flies AgainThe Aviationist “Wise Guy”, the B-52H Stratofortress bomber tail number 60-034, is preparing to return to service with the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. The aircraft was filmed flying from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., where the aircraft had arrived on April 1 to undergo programmed depot maintenance at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. |
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