Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 4, 2021

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

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Congress Overturns Trump’s NDAA Veto to Start New Year
By Rachel S. Cohen

Congress voted to enact a $741 billion defense policy bill over the objections
of President Donald J. Trump, who vetoed the long-running annual legislation on
Dec. 23. The Senate overrode Trump’s veto 81-13 on New Year’s Day, following
the House’s 322-87 vote on Dec. 28. Their rare bipartisan move greenlighted
billions of dollars for troop pay, weapons programs, and military construction,
plus hundreds of provisions directing how the military should spend that money
and detailing reports due to Congress. “Not only does this bill give our
service members and their families the resources they need, but it also makes
our nation more secure,” Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), head of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, said in a Jan. 1 release.

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B-1s Can Make it to Finish Line, But Big Repairs Will Be Common Along the Way
By John A. Tirpak

Air Force logisticians believe the B-1 bomber, despite having outlived its
service life, can last until its replacement, the B-21, comes along. But its age
means frequent, and significant, repairs for its remaining years.

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Q&A: USAF’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection
By John A. Tirpak

Lt. Gen. Warren D. Berry is the deputy chief of staff for logistics,
engineering, and force protection. His portfolio includes everything from
aircraft readiness to base housing. Editorial Director John A. Tirpak spoke with
Berry about new logistics concepts, air base defense, and managing the health of
the Air Force’s facilities.

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How Dover Air Force Base is Accelerating Change
By Brian W. Everstine

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del.—When new Air Force and Air Mobility Command leaders
called on Airmen to “accelerate change” and expand their capabilities beyond
their sole duty, Airmen here were already working on two major efforts to
broaden their skill sets. The 436th Airlift Wing opened two facilities and
training programs within six months of each other in 2020—the Tactical and
Leadership Nexus training facility and the Bedrock innovation hub, aimed at
pushing Airmen to improve their combat skills and to innovate in new, high-tech
ways. “I think that the culture has been shifting, and the empowerment is
there,” Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Jaqueline D. Van Ovost said during a
recent visit here. “And they’re excited when they’re empowered.”

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Communicating on the Fly
By Jennifer Hlad

As the Air Force leans in to the agile combat employment concept—in which
smaller groups of Airmen can deploy rapidly to locations with varying degrees of
austerity— communications and cyber Airmen must find ways to be lighter and
leaner as well. Enter “communications flyaway kits”: light packages that can
“fit into a few transit cases” and be “called upon at a moment’s notice
to provide DOD networks and voice services to environments ranging from
something extremely expeditionary to something more modern and built up,” Lt.
Col. Daniel Waid, commander of the 18th Communications Squadron, told Air Force
Magazine in a phone interview.

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Lockheed Aeronautics VP Michele Evans Dies
By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics division leader Michele A. Evans died Jan. 1, the
company announced Jan. 2. Evans went on medical leave Nov. 17 due to an unnamed
illness, which the company said was unrelated to COVID-19. Gregory M. Ulmer,
Lockheed F-35 VP and program manager, has been performing Evans' corporate
duties as well as his own since Dec. 1, and will continue to do so until Evans'
permanent successor is named.

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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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2021: Air Force’s Nuke Mod Efforts Service’s Biggest Challenge

"Not sure if this is a black swan, but I would not be surprised if the next
administration kicks off an internal review of the services’ roles and
responsibilities, with an eye toward reducing excessive redundancy in force
structure and capabilities," said Mark Gunzinger, director of future projects at
AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

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2021: A Space (Force) Odyssey: Norms, Arms Control & Warfighting

"I will be very curious to see how the Space Force shakes out in the next year
or so. It's not going away but how it manifests itself could be different," said
Victoria Samson, Washington Office director for Secure World Foundation.

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New in 2021: Are Your Latest Housing Protections in the Tenant Bill of Rights Under Threat?

Military housing tenants are still waiting for four of the 18 rights promised as
part of a tenant bill of rights, aimed at fixing core issues with unsafe and
unhealthy conditions in their privatized housing. DOD officials gave the
privatized housing companies a deadline of Dec. 15 to say whether they will
commit to the bill of rights, according to one source. In October, lawmakers
were pressing defense officials for more information on what was holding up
progress. As of Dec. 15, the senators hadn’t received a response from DOD.
With the transition to a new administration, it’s unclear when the processes
will be complete.

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Travis Air Force Base Is First to Get Drone Sentry for Protection

A Security Forces unit in California now has a new sentry: a small quadcopter
that will conduct perimeter security for its 6,000-plus acre facility.

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In Europe, US Air Force Brings Back Cold War Mobility Concept

The shift from countering terrorists to Russia is also bringing cutting-edge
fighter-jet simulators.

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Guam, US Military Agree to Guidelines to Prevent Site Damage

The governor of Guam, a military official and the island’s historic
preservation officer have signed off on a new agreement that outlines how to
mitigate damage to historic and culturally significant sites on the island
during military training.

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'We Don't Have a Choice:' Military Exercises in 2021 Will Focus on This Big Problem

Wargaming how and where data moves may not sound as exciting as planning a
top-secret infiltration mission. But leaders must understand how quickly troops
and their equipment can communicate when up against an enemy. For the next year,
the services will be running data-heavy exercises to determine how much and how
fast data can be pushed through to warfighters.

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Air Force Persistent Logistics: Sustaining Combat Power During 21st Century Competition and Conflict

“Adaptability, agility, and resilience are key attributes that will dominate
the 21st century security environment. Persistent logistics—posture, sense,
and respond—provides our strategic approach to delivering those attributes for
the Air Force, and it solves the key operational problem of conducting logistics
under attack in an era of great power competition,” writes Lt. Gen. Warren
Berry, USAF deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering, and force
protection, in a December forum paper released by AFA’s Mitchell Institute for
Aerospace Studies.

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One More Thing...
Raise the Black Flag: Nellis Launches New Air Force Operational Test Event

The 53rd Wing has consolidated its series of large-scale tests at Nellis Air
Force Base in Nevada into a new event called Black Flag. Black Flag aims to be
the testing equivalent of the Air Force’s Red Flag training exercise, the wing
said in a press release. Instead of building readiness, as Red Flag does, Black
Flag is designed to build capability.

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