Joint Chiefs’ Warning to Troops | What Another Waiver for SECDEF Means

Jan. 13, 2021

Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, shown during a March 2, 2020, Pentagon press briefing, was among the letter's signatories. Defense Department photo by photo by Lisa Ferdinando.

Joint Chiefs Condemn Capitol Attack, Say Inauguration Will Proceed

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald J. Trump's supporters, who were looking to interrupt the certification of electoral votes, calling the attack “a direct assault on the U.S. Congress, the Capitol building, and our Constitutional process.” Six people died as a result of injuries sustained in the riot, including two Capitol Police officers. “We witnessed actions inside the Capitol building that were inconsistent with the rule of law,” wrote the Joint Chiefs in the undated internal memo, a copy of which was obtained by Air Force Magazine on Jan. 12. “The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition, and insurrection.”

Granting Austin’s Waiver Could Damage US Politics, Experts Tell Senators

By Rachel S. Cohen

Experts warned the Senate Armed Services Committee at a Jan. 12 hearing that approving a waiver for retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as Defense Secretary would damage the norm of civilian control of the military and cautioned against relying on veterans to lend credibility to American politics. Senators are now in the position of deciding whether to waive that seven-year requirement for only the third time in U.S. history and the second time since 2017. It’s not only a matter of whether he has the integrity or the respect to lead, they said, but what is at stake by allowing him to do so. The question of whether Austin is truly the best candidate for Defense Secretary hung over the hearing, one week ahead of when the secretary-designate is slated to appear before the committee. The House Armed Services Committee plans to vet Austin at a similar hearing on Jan. 21.

Northrop Grumman EW System Could Be Installed On About 450 F-16s If Successful

By John A. Tirpak

Northrop Grumman bested L3 Harris to win the right to develop a Next-Generation Electronic Warfare system for Air Force F-16s, potentially worth $2.5 billion in production, the company and Air Force officials reported. The development contract is worth $250 million, and if successful, installs could begin as early as 2024. Northrop also makes the AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar radar, which is upgrading USAF's F-16 fleet.

Air Force, Space Force Leaders Now Vaccinated Against COVID-19

By Rachel S. Cohen

The top three leaders in the Department of the Air Force have received their first coronavirus vaccinations, as the shot rolls out across U.S. military bases worldwide. Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. were both vaccinated Jan. 12, service spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond received the vaccine earlier in January. Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass is also vaccinated, according to a Jan. 12 Facebook post. “Didn’t even feel it,” she said.

F-104 Record-Setter, River Rats Founder Howard Johnson, 1920-2020

By John A. Tirpak

Howard C. “Scrappy” Johnson, a Collier Trophy winner and founder of the Red River Valley Pilots Association—also known as the “River Rats”—died Dec. 9, 2020, at age 100. Johnson flew hundreds of combat missions in Korea and Vietnam. He also served in World War II.

Virtual Events: Navy’s Wolfe on Mitchell’s Nuclear Deterrence Forum

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On Jan. 14 at 9 a.m. EST, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a virtual Nuclear Deterrence Forum featuring Navy Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, director of the service's Strategic Systems Program. In that role, Wolfe is a key leader in the management of the seaborne leg of the U.S. triad. Leveraging his extensive experience, Wolfe will share his insights into the modernization of the Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile Weapons Systems, U.S.-U.K. nuclear deterrence cooperation, and the U.S. Navy-Army joint hypersonic missile development program, among other topics. Advanced registration is required. Sign up here.

Radar Sweep

Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19

Air Force Magazine

Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Military Has a Hate Group Problem. But It Doesn't Know How Bad It's Gotten.

POLITICO

The rise of extremism in the ranks is seen as a "crisis issue" but the military's efforts to weed out radicals are "haphazard" at best.

Due on Inauguration Day: An Acquisition Strategy for the Air Force’s Next-Gen Battle Management System

C4ISRNET

The U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System effort is a program like no other: a complicated and sometimes confusing web of communications, IT, and artificial intelligence systems that the service plans to continuously test and develop with the goal of connecting sensors and shooters across the joint force. But over the next few weeks, Air Force leaders are aiming to finally answer looming questions about ABMS and transition it into more of a traditional defense program, all in the hopes that both Congress and the Biden administration carry it forward.

Member of Famed Tuskegee Airmen Dies from Coronavirus

The Associated Press

One of the famed Tuskegee Airmen—the first Black pilots in the segregated U.S. military and among the most respected fighter pilots of World War II—has died from complications of the coronavirus, it was announced Jan. 8. Theodore Lumpkin Jr. was just days short of his 101st birthday.

What Will Spur Open Standards for 5G: DOD, NTIA Ask Industry

Breaking Defense

The Defense Department and the Commerce Department are seeking help from industry to set up a “challenge” competition to help accelerate development of open software for 5G networks, including potential market incentives for companies willing to eschew proprietary tech.

Pompeo Says Iran Gives Al Qaeda New 'Home Base,' Analysts Skeptical

Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Jan. 12, without providing hard evidence, that Al Qaeda had established a new home base in Iran and the United States had fewer options in dealing with the group now it was “burrowed inside” that country.

Trump Hits Cuba with New Terrorism Sanctions in Waning Days

The Canadian Press via Military.com

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the step, citing in particular Cuba’s continued harboring of U.S. fugitives, its refusal to extradite a coterie of Colombian guerrilla commanders, as well as its support for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

This Is Our Best Look Yet at China's Z-20F Seahawk Clone Toting Air-to-Surface Missiles

The Drive

The Z-20F's configuration is different from one recently seen on a standard Z-20 helicopter and mirrors the setup on U.S. Navy Seahawks.

One More Thing

That Time A B-52H Stratofortress Bomber Lost Its Tail over New Mexico but Managed to Land 6 Hours Later.

The Aviationist

On Jan. 10, 1964, Boeing civilian test pilot Chuck Fisher and his three man crew launched from Wichita, Kan., for a mission aboard B-52H serial number 61-0023. The aircraft was involved in a test mission whose purpose was to examine the effects of turbulence at varying altitudes and airspeeds. In other words the aircrew would shake, rattle, and roll the Stratofortress bomber at high speed and low altitude to record sensor data on how such conditions could affect the plane’s airframe.