Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Dec. 16, 2019

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SMC Boss Open to New Space Acquisition Council
By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center boss Lt. Gen. John Thompson appeared
optimistic about the future of acquisition under the Space Force, despite
industry's concerns about changes foreshadowed in the draft fiscal 2020 defense
policy bill. Bipartisan, bicameral language would create a space acquisition
council for the Space Force that leaves out SMC. It also establishes the
position of an acquisition executive for space, breaking those duties off from
the Air Force's procurement chief. While Thompson declined to address the
legislation, he painted the congressionally directed changes as an opportunity.

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Donovan Tapped to be Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
By Amy McCullough

Matthew Donovan will assume a new role as acting Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness following the resignation of Jimmy Stewart on Dec. 13,
Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced. Donovan has served as under secretary of
the Air Force since August 2017, though he was named acting Secretary of the Air
Force after Heather Wilson stepped down to become president of the University of
Texas-El Paso. Stewart also is an Air Force veteran who retired as a major
general in 2014. “It's people like Jimmy, the selfless individuals who put
service before self, who are the backbone of this country,” Esper said.

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Colon-Lopez First Airman to be Senior Enlisted Adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
By Brian W. Everstine

CMSgt. Ramon Colon-Lopez on Dec. 13 took over as the newest senior enlisted
adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Colon-Lopez, who
previously served as the top enlisted leader in US Africa Command, is the first
airman in the job. The position of SEAC was created in 2005, and Colon-Lopez is
the fourth to hold the title.

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Continued Airstrikes Show Lingering IS Presence in Syria, Iraq
By Brian W. Everstine

US and coalition aircraft continued to strike Islamic State group targets in
Iraq and Syria in November as US forces drew down in size, according to new
statistics from Air Forces Central Command. Last month, aircraft as part of
Operation Inherent Resolve conducted 153 airstrikes, down from the previous
month’s total of 166, for a total of 4,570 so far in 2019.

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Draft NDAA Saves Recon Planes From Retirement—For Now
By Rachel S. Cohen

Two Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft escaped
the chopping block in the joint, draft fiscal 2020 defense policy bill, but the
aircraft are still under congressional scrutiny. At issue are the RC-135, a
small fleet with multiple varieties of planes used to gather information on
things like electromagnetic signals and ballistic missile launches, and the
RC-26, a niche Air National Guard aircraft that helps track suspects in civilian
and military missions such as counter-drug cases. Its cameras and communications
equipment also assist with disaster response, maritime patrol and more.

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Operation Christmas Drop Underway in the Pacific
By Brian W. Everstine

The world’s longest-running airdrop training mission, bringing aid to 20,000
people across 1.8 million square nautical miles, is in full swing in the
Pacific. The USAF-led, 68th annual Operation Christmas Drop began on Dec. 7 and
runs through mid-December. About 175 bundles full of food, medicine, and other
aid are being dropped from C-130s to about 55 remote islands.

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Radar Sweep

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US Military Needs Better Data On Itself to Exploit AI

While the US military has “tons of really good information on the adversary”
that can be used to teach future artificial intelligence systems about enemy
targets, it actually lacks the necessary data about its own forces, says Col.
Enrique Oti, head of the Air Force’s key software innovation hub Kessel Run.
Until the Defense Department gets that data on itself, he said, there’s a host
of AI applications out of reach.

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Here Are Some Early Adopters of the Controversial JEDI Cloud

There will be 14 early adopters of the Pentagon’s controversial new
enterprise-wide general-purpose cloud, Defense Department CIO Dana Deasy said
Dec. 12. Deasy, speaking at the AFCEA NOVA Air Force IT Day, said parties eyeing
a move to the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud are US
Transportation Command, Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations
Command, and the Navy.

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Air Force Seeking Commercial Technologies for Cislunar Space Operations

The Air Force Small Business Innovation Research program has released a new list
of topics for companies to submit proposals. On the wish list for the next round
of SBIR bids are technologies for operations far beyond geosynchronous Earth
orbit, near the moon’s orbit.

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Rocket Lab to Debut Virginia Launch Pad with US Air Force Mission Next Year

Rocket Lab plans to launch a research and development microsatellite mission for
the US Air Force in the first half of 2020 on the first flight from the
company’s new launch facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, officials
announced Dec. 12.

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House Defense Bill Would Mandate Carbon Capture Program for the Military

Efforts to suck greenhouse gases from the atmosphere would get a boost from the
House version of the 2020 defense authorization bill, which requires the Defense
Department and other federal agencies to create a program to turn carbon in the
air and seas into fuel or other products of military use.

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Lawmakers Cheer Bid to Ease Air Force Contamination Impact

A defense spending bill that's close to clearing Congress is getting praise from
members of New Mexico's congressional delegation, who say it includes some
relief for communities affected by contamination at Air Force bases in the state
and elsewhere around the country.

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DOD Releases 2020 Rates for Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, and Basic Pay

The Defense Department has released the 2020 Rates for Basic Allowance for
Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence, and Basic Pay. These rates will take
effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Basic Allowance for Housing rates will increase an
average of 2.8%, Basic Allowance for Subsistence rates will increase 0.9%, and
Basic Pay will increase 3.1% over the entire force.

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Here's What the Guard and Reserve Gets in the 2020 Defense Spending Bill

Reservists and National Guard members could soon see expanded access to Tricare
for some troops, the return of some benefits after certain deployments, and help
for students through an annual defense spending deal brokered on Capitol Hill
this week.

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Schriver, Pentagon Asia Policy Lead, Exits Building

Randall Schriver, the Defense Department’s top policy official for Asia, has
left the Pentagon. Schriver, who has served as assistant secretary of defense
for Asian and Pacific security affairs since January 2018, is exiting the
government to return to private life, according to chief Pentagon spokesman
Jonathan Hoffman.

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3 Female Staffers Sexually Harassed by Top Pentagon Official: IG Report

A top defense official sexually harassed three female staffers before ultimately
resigning from his post last April, according to a report from the Pentagon
Inspector General's office released on Dec. 12. The official, Guy Roberts, was
the assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense
programs—as well as a former Marine Corps infantry officer, judge advocate,
and staff officer.

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One More Thing...
FCC Launches Plan to Make Suicide Hotline Accessible through a 3-Digit Dial Code

“988 has an echo of the 911 number we all know as an emergency number,”
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said as the mandate was
under consideration at the agency’s December open meeting. “We believe that
this 3-digit number dedicated for this purpose will help ease access to crisis
services, it will reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health
conditions, and ultimately, it will save lives.”

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