Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 8, 2021

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Brian W. Everstine and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

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Military Leaders Condemn Capitol Attack, Call for Unity
By Brian W. Everstine

The Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol building has prompted senior military
officials, including the Acting Defense Secretary, to reiterate the Pentagon's
commitment to a peaceful transfer of power and to address concerns among troops.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller, in a statement released Jan. 7,
said the mob attacking the Capitol “was reprehensible and contrary to the
tenets of the United States Constitution.” He praised the Guard personnel who
responded with “honor, integrity, and alacrity.” In a thread on Twitter, Air
Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, the deputy chief of staff for strategy,
integration, and requirements, related the situation to 9/11, saying the nation
must come together as it did then.

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SECARMY Approves 6,200 Guard Troops to Quell Chaos in D.C.
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and Brian W. Everstine

Less than 24 hours after the U.S. Capitol was penetrated by violent rioting that
temporarily placed the area on lockdown, more than 6,000 Guard personnel from
Washington, D.C., and multiple states are being mobilized to address chaos in
the District. Troops are erecting a seven-foot fence around the U.S. Capitol to
stop a subsequent invasion, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called on Congress to
give it control over its own National Guard. During a Jan. 7 joint press
conference with Bowser and the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, Army
Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy said 850 troops were slated to be on the U.S. Capitol
grounds by noon on Jan. 7, and a total of 6,200 Guard troops from D.C.,
Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York would be in
the National Capitol Region by this weekend. It's not clear how many of those
are in the Air National Guard.

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B-52s Fly Direct to Middle East for 4th Time in 2 Months
By Brian W. Everstine

Two B-52s flew a direct, 36-hour round-trip flight from Minot Air Force Base,
N.D., to the Persian Gulf this week in the latest of a series of task force
missions to the region. The B-52Hs from the 5th Bomb Wing took off from Minot on
Jan. 6 and linked up with multiple refueling tankers before flying over an
undisclosed area of the Persian Gulf “to send a clear deterrent message by
displaying the ability to deploy overwhelming combat power on short notice,”
U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The long sortie is the fourth in the
past two months and the first of 2021. It comes as CENTCOM postures the USS
Nimitz aircraft carrier and other assets in the region as well.

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Department of the Air Force Cracks Down on Climate, Disciplinary Issues
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Department of the Air Force recently rolled out two policy changes aimed at
holding commanders more accountable for climate-related deficiencies and
disciplinary equity within their units. The first requires commanders with low
diversity and inclusion-related scores to develop a plan to remedy those
shortcomings. The second policy change requires commanders to record demographic
data about themselves and the Airmen or Guardians they counsel, admonish, or
punish.

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SASC to Consider Austin Nomination for Defense Secretary on Jan. 19
By Brian W. Everstine

The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the nomination of retired Army
Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be Defense Secretary on Jan. 19. Because Austin
retired from the Army in 2016, from the position of commander of U.S. Central
Command, Congress must approve a waiver before Austin can become Defense
Secretary, due to a law prohibiting a former military official from taking the
job within seven years of leaving service. Congress approved such a waiver for
James N. Mattis in 2017.

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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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This is Why the National Guard Didn’t Respond to the Attack on the Capitol

Investigations are imminent, to determine whether the Capitol Police were
undermanned and unprepared for the threat posed by two days of rallies against
the results of the 2020 election, but the answer as to why troops posted blocks
away were unable to respond to the siege is as simple—or as complicated—as a
morass of bureaucracy. Simply put, the National Guard only shows up when
they’ve been invited, and the Capitol Police did not extend that invitation
until after the breach, according to a source with knowledge of the process, who
was not authorized to speak about it on the record.

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Military Officers in Congress Join Call to Invoke 25th Amendment, Remove Trump

An Air National Guard lieutenant colonel who serves as a Republican in Congress
is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office after his
supporters stormed into the U.S. Capitol, disrupting a vote to affirm Joe Biden
as the next commander in chief.

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How the Space Force Foiled an Iranian Missile Attack with a Critical Early Warning

The public now knows what many in the national security community suspected:
That early warning system was the Space Based Infrared System, a constellation
of satellites that surveils Earth’s surface 24/7 to detect missiles. Rarely
has the Defense Department offered such a high profile example of the system’s
capabilities and its direct impact on the American warfighter.

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DARPA Satellites Damaged at Processing Facility Ahead of SpaceX Launch

The satellites are part of the Blackjack program, an effort led by DARPA and the
Air Force Research Laboratory to deploy a constellation of small satellites in
low-Earth orbit.

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As New Member of IC, Space Force Is Looking for a Clearer Picture of Orbit and Beyond

New details are emerging on how the 18th member of the Intelligence Community
will be set up as the Space Force continues to entrench itself as the newest
service of the military.

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Iran Just Fired Its Sidewinder Missile Clone from a Drone

Reports claim that the drone-launched Azarakhsh missile successfully brought
down an aerial target.

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Iron Dome Heads for Key US Integration Test

With the second battery now bound for the U.S., the Israeli-made missile defense
system must prove it works with American command networks. “We have a very
detailed plan to do the integration,” Rafael’s Pini Yungman said.

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One More Thing...
Cormac the Llama Yields Antibodies That May Prove Effective Against COVID-19

Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences recently
identified pint-sized antibodies, or "nanobodies," that could protect against
COVID-19. At least one of these nanobodies—produced by a llama named
Cormac—also appears to work well in either liquid or aerosol form, suggesting
it could also help protect a person's lungs from infections.

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