Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Dec. 22, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine and John A. Tirpak

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Editor’s Note

The Daily Report will not publish Thursday, Dec. 24-Friday, Jan. 1. We'll be
back in your inboxes on Monday, Jan. 4.

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Review Shows Widespread Racial Disparity in the Department of the Air Force
By Brian W. Everstine

A massive, 150-page report released Dec. 21 shows wide-spread racial disparities
within the Air Force, with Black Airmen reporting distrust with their chain of
command and military justice, and a review of data showing Black Airmen are much
more likely to face administrative and criminal punishment compared to white
Airmen. The Air Force Inspector General’s Independent Racial Disparity Review
is based on more than 123,000 survey responses from Airmen, 138 in-person
sessions at bases across the Department, and 27,000 pages of responses. The
review was launched in June following a nationwide reckoning on race relations
in the country, and even those behind the effort were surprised at the response.
“The pent-up anger … the volume was surprising,” USAF Inspector General
Lt. Gen. Sami D. Said said in a briefing Dec. 21. “When we asked for feedback,
I expected to get feedback. But we were just drowned with feedback. So, the
Airmen were very eager to tell the story, their story. They wanted their voices
heard. So glad we did that element of the review. And I was, at first, like
‘Wow. I realized the response would be high.’ But this was unprecedented,
overwhelming. People are eager to talk to use and share their stories.”

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Lockheed To Buy Aeroject Rocketdyne for $5 Billion
By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin will buy Aerojet Rocketdyne, maker of rocket motors and
hypersonic engines, among other products, in a $5 billion transaction, Lockheed
announced Dec. 21. The biggest issue in the potential deal is how comfortable
the industry, Congress, and the Pentagon will be with all solid rocket motor
work being consolidated with Lockheed and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed CEO James
D. Taiclet said that, like Northrop when it bought Orbital ATK, the company will
sell to any peer competitor needing such equipment. Lockheed's Missiles and Fire
Control and Space divisions would absorb most of the Aerojet work.

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10 Years After DADT Repeal, LGBTQ Airmen Say More Can Change
By Rachel S. Cohen

Ten years after the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy began to
phase out, gay and lesbian Airmen say there’s more the Department of the Air
Force can do to support the LGBTQ community. On Dec. 22, 2010, President Barack
Obama signed legislation that led to the repeal of DADT, which for nearly two
decades blocked openly gay personnel from serving in the military. The policy
formally ended in September 2011 after months of preparation within the
Pentagon. Air Force Magazine spoke with several gay and lesbian Airmen who said
they are better wingmen since the fall of DADT, and are optimistic about a
military where the LGBTQ community is better represented and accepted. All have
served for more than a decade, including multiple deployments to the Middle East
and elsewhere overseas.

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355th Fighter Squadron Activated to Fly F-35s at Eielson
By Brian W. Everstine

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, now has its second F-35A squadron. The 355th
Fighter Squadron officially stood up during a Dec. 18 ceremony at the base,
joining the 356th Fighter Squadron, which activated earlier this year. The base
will eventually be the home to 54 of the aircraft, and with F-22s at Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will be the home to the highest concentration of
fifth-generation fighters in the Defense Department. “The 354th FW has been
tasked with standing up two combat-coded F-35A squadrons for a total of 54
F-35As at Eielson AFB,” squadron commander Lt. Col. Samuel Chipman said in a
release. “The 355th FS is the final addition to this tasking.”

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AFRICOM Operation to Withdraw from Somalia Begins
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Africa Command stood up a task force and began withdrawing forces from
Somalia, while at the same time conducting a live-fire exercise to show that
American airpower will remain active in the country despite the move. On Dec.
19, AFRICOM activated Joint Task Force-Quartz to oversee the repositioning of
troops from Somalia to other bases in the region—called Operation Octave
Quartz. The task force, commanded by Special Operations Command-Africa boss Maj.
Gen. Dagvin Anderson, comes after the Dec. 4 order from President Donald J.
Trump to move almost all personnel and assets from the East African nation.
“To be clear, the U.S. is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa,”
AFRICOM boss Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said in a statement. “We remain
committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future. We also
remain capable of striking al-Shabab at the time and place of our
choosing—they should not test us.”

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Radar Sweep

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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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Free 3-Year Memberships!

The Air Force Association offers more than $190,000 annually in scholarships,
program, grants, and educator awards. AFA is a top supporter of aerospace
education, join today to be a part of the force behind the Air and Space Forces.
Airmen and Guardians—Active, Guard, Reserve and civilian—are eligible for
free 3-year memberships with AFA!

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Opinion: How We’re Building a 21st-Century Space Force

“Speed is a hallmark of our deliberately lean new service. We need to rapidly
design, test, and employ the new technologies and innovative operating concepts
we will require to compete, deter, and win. The branch’s creation came one
year after the Pentagon crafted a new National Defense Strategy designed to
pivot toward great power competition and the sophisticated threats it brings,
and away from the counterterrorism focus that has marked the past two
decades,” wrote Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond.

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Trump Officials Deliver Plan to Split Up Cyber Command, NSA

Trump administration officials at the Pentagon delivered to the Joint Chiefs of
Staff a proposal to split up the leadership of the National Security Agency and
U.S. Cyber Command. It is the latest push to dramatically reshape defense policy
advanced by a handful of key political officials who were installed in acting
roles in the Pentagon after Donald Trump lost his re-election bid.

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The Military is Scrambling to Understand the Aviation Crash Risk from a New 5G Sale

As part of a broader move to boost the 5G industry in the United States, the
Federal Communications Commission on Dec. 8 began auctioning a portion of C-band
electromagnetic spectrum, a move the committee’s chairman, Ajit Pai,
celebrated as “a big day for American consumers and U.S. leadership in 5G.”
But, in the weeks leading up to the auction, more than a dozen commercial
aviation groups warned the sale could, as one study put it, lead to
“catastrophic failures” with the potential for “multiple fatalities.”

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Biden’s Profoundly Private Pentagon Pick Joins Twitter

President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for Defense Secretary made his first foray
into the world of Twitter on Dec. 21, an uncharacteristic move for a retired
general who studiously avoided the public spotlight for much of his four decades
in the Army. Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin’s social media debut reflected a
recognition within the Biden transition team that the nomination faces hurdles
on Capitol Hill from lawmakers who balk at putting a career military officer in
what is typically a civilian post. And it suggests they believe Austin will have
to sell himself to lawmakers.

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The Military Designed Aircraft with Only Men in Mind. Now They are Working to Change That.

In an August memo, the Air Force said that past aircraft configurations had
disqualified as many as 74% of Black women, 72% of Hispanic women and 61% of
Asian women. “To put it bluntly, the U.S. faces a crisis of scale,” wrote
Will Roper, the Air Force assistant secretary for acquisitions. The August memo
eliminated height restrictions in place since a 1967 study and directed that all
future aircraft acquisition would need to be designed to accommodate 95% of body
sizes among the recruitment-eligible U.S. population.

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Military May Be Required to Report on Injuries Caused by Ill-Fitting Body Armor

With the passage of the sprawling fiscal 2021 defense policy and budget bill all
but inevitable, one U.S. senator is looking forward to a new measure that will
require the military to provide properly fitting body armor for female service
members, and to develop centralized reporting on the injuries caused by years of
requiring women to wear wrong-sized ballistic protection.

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THOR: Air Force Tests Counter-Drone Microwave In Africa

"I've watched it in action and its really quite impressive," says Air Force
Chief Scientist Richard Joseph.

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Air Force To Test Flying Cars In Springfield In January

The Jetsons' flying car is closer to reality now that the Air Force is
partnering with pioneers in the flying car field. Researchers will test and
evaluate the technology in Springfield, Ohio, for military and commercial
purposes.

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Joint All-Domain Awareness

Get a better sense of the drive for greater connectedness between air, space,
cyber, land, and maritime forces. Catch up on all-things JADC2 now.

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US Warship Transits Taiwan Strait, Prompting Outcry from Beijing

The warship’s move was done “in accordance with international law,”
according to a statement from U.S. 7th Fleet. Such trips are regularly conducted
in the strait to signal support for Taiwan, which Beijing contends is rightfully
part of mainland China.

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One More Thing...
6 Urban Legends About Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — affectionately called “Wright-Patt” for
short — is located just outside of Dayton, Ohio. If you ask the locals or the
airmen stationed there, they will tell you about the Air Force Museum, the
Oregon District, and maybe even the Dayton Dragons baseball team. But if you get
a couple of beers in them or earn their trust by shouting “O-H,” the locals
may even tell you about all the alien bodies, ghosts and secret tunnels the Air
Force hides there.

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