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Feb. 11, 2021
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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak
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 President Joe Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (right) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley (left), sign an executive order rescinding a band on transgender individuals serving in the military on Jan. 25, 2021, in the Oval Office of the White House. White House Photo by Adam Schultz. |
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By Brian W. Everstine
The U.S. military under President Joe Biden will use force as a “tool of last resort” as he aims to bring a responsible end to ongoing wars, though he told Defense Department employees during his first Pentagon visit he will never hesitate to use force if needed. “Our country is safer and stronger when we lead not just with the example of our power, but with the power of our example,” Biden said on Feb. 10. During a brief speech from the Pentagon briefing room, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, Biden also promised service members he will “never politicize the work that you do” and will ensure “every single person is treated with dignity and respect.”
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By Brian W. Everstine
President Joe Biden on Feb. 10 announced a new Defense Department quick-paced review of the military’s overall strategy toward China. Over the next “few months,” the Department of Defense China Task Force will work to define new priorities and “decision points so that we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters,” Biden told DOD personnel in a speech from the Pentagon briefing room. The results of that review are expected to be released within the next four months, according to the Pentagon.
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By Rachel S. Cohen
Space Force officials are fleshing out the details of a unique approach to military service that combines Active-duty and Reserve commitments, hoping that design will provide more flexibility for families and ultimately keep people in uniform longer. The service may decide to keep a separate Space National Guard as well, Lt. Gen. Nina M. Armagno, staff director at Space Force headquarters, said during a Feb. 10 Space Foundation event.
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By John A. Tirpak
The formation flyover of the Super Bowl is a signal of future dissimilar bomber missions, Air Force Global Strike Command said, revealing a series of recent test flights at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., to explore and experiment with such pairings. A B-1B flew a sortie with a B-52 on one flight, and bomber crew members swapped jets to see how the other system is deployed.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
At least three domestic Air Force bases have changed the way they handle base visitors since the Feb. 4 breach at Joint Base Andrews, Md., in which an adult male made his way onto a C-40B aircraft assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing and sparked a global base security review of all Air and Space Force installations. However, Andrews was the only base to identify the incident as the impetus behind its posture shift.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
Thirty-five Reservists from the 433rd Security Forces Squadron returned home to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, on Jan. 31 following a six-month deployment to Kuwait in support of Operations Inherent Resolve, Freedom’s Sentinel, and Spartan Shield, the squadron told Air Force Magazine on Feb. 9. During the deployment, the Lackland defenders “provided air base defense and base security” at Kuwait International Airport.
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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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Radar Sweep
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Air Force Reduces Exhibition Flights on New F-35 Engine Woes
Bloomberg (Subscription Required)
The Air Force F-35 jet team that performs at air shows around the world has had to scale back appearances this year. The problem: a growing shortage of engines because of longer repair periods, some due to previously unreported shortcomings with engine blade coatings. Air Combat Command, which controls the F-35 demonstration team, late last month cut the number of 2021 shows by eight performances, or about one-third, to ensure the flying doesn’t aggravate a worsening service-wide shortage of Raytheon Technologies Corp. engines.
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Air Force Buys Streaming Data Warehouse for Pathfinder, JADC2 Concepts
Nextgov
The Air Force’s digital directorate awarded a contract worth up to $100 million over five years for a data warehousing capability that will pull together information from independent systems covering the air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains to create models and visualizations that will improve situational awareness and allow operators to pinpoint threats to the homeland quickly.
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OSD, Joint Staff Double Down on DOD-Wide Data Standards
Breaking Defense
The Joint Staff and DOD’s Chief Data Office David Spirk have agreed to lead a new process to set data standards for all future military sensors and weapons to connect at machine speed—the foundation for success in all domain operations, leaders of the J6 say.
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Hypersonic Debates Shaped by Politics: Aerospace
Breaking Defense
The intense debate over the capabilities of hypersonic missiles divides US scientists and experts along political lines and that is complicating the Pentagon’s investment decisions, finds a new study by the non-profit Aerospace Corporation.
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AFRL Pursuing New Partnerships to Support Directed-Energy Experiments
Inside Defense
The Air Force Research Laboratory released a notice on Feb. 9 announcing it's launching a two-step research opportunity to work with multiple partners on directed-energy experiments.
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SPONSORED—VIDEO: 4 Principles of Agile JADC2 Development
Air Force Magazine
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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‘They Are Not Cogs in a Wheel’—Congressional Panel to Focus on Humanizing Issues Regarding Troops in 2021
Federal News Network
Entering her third year as chairwoman of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said she is on a mission to further humanize military service members to the massive organization they serve. Speier, who led the subcommittee to work on sexual assault issues, racial disparity problems, readiness gaps, and extremism in the military, told Federal News Network this year will be an extension of the progress the panel has made in the past.
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Judge to Recommend Whether Ex-AFRL Commander to Be Court-Martialed
Dayton Daily News
Government and defense attorneys traded arguments in military court on Feb. 8, with the defense for the former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory contending that USAF Maj. Gen. William Cooley is the victim of a “conspiracy” to end his career, and prosecutors arguing that Cooley sexually assaulted a woman.
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‘I Survived COVID-19’: Unofficial Patches and Coins Show Pandemic’s Impact on Troops Overseas
Stars and Stripes (Subscription Required)
The coronavirus pandemic is being immortalized in a colorful array of unofficial military patches and challenge coins sold near U.S. bases in South Korea.
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‘He Was Always Smiling’: Wife of Aviano Airman Mourns Loss of Husband Who Died After Contracting COVID-19
Air Force Times
Tech. Sgt. Michael Morris always wore a smile and was a “big brother” for the younger Airmen in his unit, his wife Amanda said. Since his sudden death last month after testing positive for COVID-19, Amanda and her family are just taking it one day at a time as they remember him.
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Bill Would Cut over 100,000 DOD Jobs
Federal Times
New legislation would require the Department of Defense to cut its civilian workforce by 15 percent by 2025, a move that would result in the elimination of over 100,000 federal jobs based on current numbers.
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Searching the Heavens for ‘the Little Guys’
Albuquerque Journal (Subscription Required)
An astronomer at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., has made a career out of studying asteroid moons.
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One More Thing
Lloyd J. Austin III Once Told This Story of Incredible Battlefield Bravery that You Can Watch on Netflix
Task & Purpose
It turns out our brand-new Secretary of Defense is something of a movie star, or at least a documentary movie star.
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