Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Feb. 4, 2021

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

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Air Force Association Celebrates 75th Anniversary

The Air Force Association is celebrating 75 years of educating, advocating, and
supporting the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. AFA was incorporated on Feb.
4, 1946, to form a grassroots network across the country to educate the public
about air power and to advocate for the Air Force to become a separate military
service branch. Less than 18 months later, in September 1947, the Air Force
gained its independence. Under the leadership of Gen. James Harold Doolittle,
its first president, and generations of volunteer and professional leaders
since, AFA became a critical advocate and supporter of air power, space power,
and the means and resources needed for a ready and robust national defense.
“AFA has been the force behind the forces for the last 75 years,” said AFA
President, retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright. “It’s the privilege
of a lifetime to be able to dedicate my time and energy on behalf of Airmen,
Guardians, and their families."

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Plans to Draw Down in Germany on Hold as New Administration Considers Options
By Brian W. Everstine

Plans to significantly reduce the U.S. footprint in Germany are now on hold as
the new administration reviews the decision and its impacts, the head of U.S.
European Command said Feb. 3. In July, then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and
EUCOM boss Gen. Tod D. Wolters announced that DOD would remove nearly 12,000
troops from Germany, shift F-16s from Spangdahlem (the base's only flying
mission), and halt plans to move tankers and special operations forces from
England to Germany, among other changes. But once Defense Secretary Lloyd J.
Austin III took charge, those plans immediately stopped, Wolters said.

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Austin Orders Stand Down to Address Extremism in the Ranks
By Brian W. Everstine

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Feb. 3 ordered a military-wide “stand
down” over the next 60 days to have units discuss extremism in the ranks, the
Pentagon announced. The stand down, similar to the Air Force’s 2019 resiliency
tactical pause to address suicide, directs individual units to select a day to
cut back on its operations to discuss the growing problem. The order comes as
senior DOD officials have said the department is struggling to grapple with the
problem of extremism in its ranks.

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Air Force Establishes Office of Diversity and Inclusion
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Department of the Air Force on Jan. 11 officially stood up its Office of
Diversity and Inclusion, according to a Feb. 2 release. The office’s job is to
cultivate an “equitable environment for all Department of the Air Force
personnel” by finding and fixing “policies and procedures” that might have
adverse impacts on underrepresented troops, and eliminating “barriers and
other practices” that might impede their careers in the Air and Space Forces,
the release explained.

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Pleus: US Capitol Attack Reverberated on the Korean Peninsula
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

While the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building happened thousands of miles
away from his office at Osan Air Base, South Korea, 7th Air Force Commander and
U.S. Forces Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus said the event’s
aftershocks still were felt on the Korean Peninsula. “People ... here are
watching, just like people all across the world, right?” he said during a Feb.
2 installment of the Air Force Association’s “Air and Space Warfighters in
Action” virtual discussion series. “So for all of us that are ... deployed,
whether we're PCSed or we're actually ... in a deployed status, what happens in
the United States affects us, because that's where our families are, that's
where our hearts are, that's the flag we wear, that is the flag we gave an oath
to. And when you see something like that where you see extremism, it is not only
incompatible with our service, it goes against our moral fabric."

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Space Force Makes Its Pitch to Woo Other Troops
By Rachel S. Cohen

Active-duty Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines will soon be able to apply for jobs
in the Space Force, as the new service begins to include people outside of the
Department of the Air Force for the first time. The Space Force is looking for
about 30 members of the Army and Navy departments to come on board this year,
before ramping up to several hundred next year. “We're going to need that
joint expertise,” Brig. Gen. David N. Miller Jr., the Space Force’s deputy
chief operations officer, said in an online town hall Jan. 28. “You have an
advantage, coming from another service, that we need to latch onto. We value
that warfighting experience that you may bring ... into the space cadre.”

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EUCOM Moving Ahead with Massive ‘Defender Europe’ Exercise Despite COVID-19
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. European Command is moving forward with its biggest exercise—expecting
about 31,000 personnel from 26 countries—despite the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, but officials are ready to scale back if health concerns require it.
The annual Defender Europe exercise will bring together air, land, and sea
participants to operate in 12 countries from the Baltics to Africa in late
spring and early summer. Last year’s exercise had to be dramatically scaled
down as COVID-19’s spread shut down much of the world.

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Red Flag 21-1 Readying Airmen, Guardians for Great-Power Competition
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The 2021 iteration of the annual Red Flag combat air exercise at Nellis Air
Force Base, Nev., is focused on great power competition, two of the minds behind
the event told Air Force Magazine on Jan. 29. With 27 unique scenarios (a
mixture of offensive and defensive situations) inspired by the 2018 National
Defense Strategy, this year’s exercise kicked off Jan. 25 and will run through
Feb. 12. About 2,400 people are taking part, and USAF aircraft representation
includes the A-10, F-15E, F-16, F-22, F-35, B-1B, and B-2, according to a Nellis
release.

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30 Years after Desert Storm: Feb. 4

In commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, Air Force
Magazine is posting daily recollections from the six-week war, which expelled
Iraq from occupied Kuwait.

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Correction

The Feb. 2 story, <a
href="[link removed]">"Boeing
F-15EX Makes First Flight,"</a> misstated the date of the fighter's inaugural
flight. It was Feb. 2, 2021. The story has been updated.

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Radar Sweep

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Biden Administration Extends Nuclear Arms Treaty With Russia But Highlights Mounting Tensions

The U.S on Feb. 3 extended a key nuclear arms treaty with Russia just days
before it was set to expire, even as the Biden administration escalated
criticism of the Kremlin and set the stage for a rise in tensions.

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Space Force Considering Role in Tactical Intelligence Mission

Asked on Feb. 3 during a Defense Writers Group virtual event whether the mission
resides within the Space Force's portfolio, Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said
though the mission has traditionally fallen to the intelligence community, the
service is exploring whether it can develop a low-cost, small satellite to
contribute to the broader capability.

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Army, Navy Funds Unlikely for Space Force Until 2023

"The last thing Congress intended when creating the Space Force was to end up
with four different space forces," says the Center for Strategic and
International Studies’ Todd Harrison in a new analysis promoting a roles and
missions review.

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Can't Hug a Satellite: General Addresses Space Force's PR Problem

The head of the U.S. Space Force said it hasn't been easy to get the American
public to understand what the military's newest branch does, but vowed to keep
working on getting its message across.

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VCSAF Visits Malmstrom AFB, Sees Accelerating Change

Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., welcomed Gen. David W. Allvin during his first
visit to the field as the Air Force’s Vice Chief of Staff, Jan. 29. The visit
provided Allvin the opportunity to meet with—and personally recognize—the
341st Missile Wing’s Total Force Airmen who support, safeguard, and execute
the nation’s long-range precision nuclear strike capability.

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SPONSORED—VIDEO: 4 Principles of Agile JADC2 Development

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.

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Russia Developing First Brand-New Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile Since the End of the Cold War

The Russian military primarily relies on a dogfight missile the design of which
dates back decades, but change could finally now be on the way.

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Foreign Training Programs Could Become a Priority in Biden Administration, Experts Say

As the world witnessed President Joe Biden take his oath of office on Jan. 20,
he vowed to “repair our alliances and engage with the world once again” as a
“strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security.” At the
Pentagon, that could mean foreign military training programs, some of which came
under attack during the Trump administration, could regain their previous status
as what former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper called a “critical long-term
investment.”

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One More Thing...
Check Out These Fascinating, Declassified Photos of The A-12 Oxcart RCS Tests Inside Area 51

In another remarkable chapter in the history of the A-12 Oxcart (as well as the
M-21/YF-12A/SR-71 family of Lockheed Skunk Works aircraft), Mr. Thornton D.
“TD” Barnes, prolific author and former Area 51 test engineer, has provided
a series of fascinating photos from the early radar cross section tests of the
Lockheed/CIA A-12. The photo series was posted to Facebook by TD Barnes in the
last few days.

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