Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Dec. 17, 2019

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
C3.ai transforms Aerospace & Defense.
See how
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congress Announces Appropriations Deal
By Brian W. Everstine

Lawmakers on Dec. 16 struck a deal for a $1.4 trillion bipartisan, bicameral
spending plan to fund the government through fiscal 2020, including $695.1
billion for the Defense Department.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congress Wants to Grow Organic USAF Aggressor Capability
By Amy McCullough

The draft 2020 defense policy bill prohibits the Air Force from transferring any
low-rate initial production F-35 strike fighters to the adversary air role until
the Chief of Staff submits a report to Congress detailing the service’s plan
for modernizing its organic aggressor fleet. “It is critical that the Air
Force has the capability to train against an advanced air adversary in order to
be prepared for conflicts against a modern enemy force, and that in order to
have this capability, the Air Force must have access to an advanced adversary
force prior to United States adversaries fielding a 5th-generation operational
capability,” according to the policy conference report released on Dec. 9.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
Empowering Disaster Response and Recovery From Space
When a natural disaster or emergency occur, an immediate and seamless response is necessary to
save lives. Operational and situational awareness becomes increasingly important to responders.
If critical infrastructure is down in the disaster zone, then the systems and networks required for
powering the relief efforts are compromised. Ground operations must look to space to solve their
communication needs. Read the full story.
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pararescuemen Awarded Silver Stars for Afghanistan Battles
By Brian W. Everstine

Two pararescuemen on Dec. 13 were awarded Silver Stars for their actions during
separate battles in Afghanistan in 2018 and earlier this fall. TSgt. Gavin
Fisher, a PJ with the 350th Special Warfare Training Squadron at JBSA-Lackland,
Texas, received the medal for a two-day fight in Ghazni Province. SSgt. Daniel
Swensen, a PJ with the 58th Rescue Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., received the
award for a two-day fight in September in Farah Province. Combined, the two PJs
are credited for saving nearly 40 lives and eliminating more than 100 enemy
fighters, according to an Air Force release.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Defense Bill Would Promote Cole, McGee
By Brian W. Everstine

Two US Air Force legends will be promoted, one posthumously, under the draft
fiscal 2020 defense policy bill. The bill includes language honorarily promoting
retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, the last living Doolittle Raider who died earlier
this year, to colonel. It also honorarily promotes retired Col. Charles McGee, a
famed Tuskegee Airman who flew 409 combat missions through three wars, to
brigadier general.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
C-17 Global Sustainment
UNMATCHED READINESS
Boeing
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
SimpliSafe
Save on SimpliSafe Home Security.
Exclusive AFA Member Holiday Savings
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radar Sweep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turkey Could Close Incirlik Air Base in Face of US Threats: Erdogan

Turkey could shut down its Incirlik Air Base, which hosts US nuclear warheads,
in response to threats of US sanctions and a separate US Senate resolution that
recognized mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide, President
Tayyip Erdogan said on Dec. 15. “If it is necessary for us to take such a
step, of course we have the authority ... If this is necessary, together with
our delegations, we will close down Incirlik if necessary,” Erdogan said on A
Haber TV.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boeing Skips Bid on $85 Billion ICBM

Boeing Co. said it won’t compete for the Pentagon’s program to develop and
procure the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, leaving Northrop
Grumman Corp. as the sole bidder for a project valued at almost $85 billion.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US Secretly Expelled Chinese Officials Suspected of Spying After Breach of Military Base

Chinese Embassy officials trespassed onto a Virginia base that is home to
Special Operations forces. Their expulsions added to tensions between Washington
and Beijing.

[link removed]
(Subscription Required)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Battle of the Bulge: US Troops Stopped Hitler's Last-Ditch Effort to Turn Tide of WWII 75 Years Ago

Side by side, the Allies and former enemy Germany together marked the 75th
anniversary of one of the most important battles in World War II—the Battle of
the Bulge. The landmark battle stopped Adolf Hitler's last-ditch offensive to
turn the tide of the war. Defense Secretary Mark Esper paid tribute to over
19,000 US troops who died in one of the bloodiest battles in the nation's
history.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two KC-46s, Up To 14 V-22s For Israel

The Israeli Air Force will ask the US Air Force to give up two of its production
slots for the Boeing KC-46A so it can get early delivery of the aerial refueling
aircraft, a senior military source tells Breaking Defense.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The US Air Force Needs More Tankers. Does the Defense Industry have the Answer?

With no end in sight to the demand on the tanker fleet, the US Air Force is
actively seeking agreements with defense contractors for aerial refueling
services. On Dec. 17, Air Mobility Command will hold an industry day at Scott
AFB, Ill., in the hopes of better understanding how it can contract for
commercial air refueling services to supplement tanking missions performed by
the Air Force’s KC-135s, KC-10s, and KC-46s.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
A Legacy of Partnership Committed to The Future
Pratt & Whitney
Go Beyond
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pentagon Eyes Big Expansion of Foreign Military Training Program

Defense Secretary Mark Esper wants to drastically expand the foreign military
training program despite fallout stemming from the deadly shooting at NAS
Pensacola, Fla., that claimed the lives of three service members and wounded
eight others. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Dec. 13, Esper
described America’s foreign military training program as a “critical
long-term investment” that “makes for great partnerships."

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pentagon Chief Urges Iraq to Stop Attacks on Bases Housing US Forces

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Dec. 16 urged Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul
Mahdi to take steps to prevent bases housing US troops from being shelled, a
statement from the premier’s office said. Esper’s call came after a senior
US military official warned last week that attacks by Iranian-backed groups on
bases hosting US forces in Iraq were pushing all sides closer to an
uncontrollable escalation.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

North Korea Says New Tests Will Help It Counter US Threats

North Korea said it successfully performed another “crucial test” at its
long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its nuclear
deterrent. The test—the second at the facility in a week, according to North
Korea’s Academy of Defense Science—possibly involved technologies to improve
intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the continental
United States.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Bad Paper' Discharges Would Get Final Pentagon Review in Defense Bill

The massive defense policy bill that passed the House last week called for the
Defense Department to review upgrade requests to so-called "bad paper"
discharges that have already been rejected by military service branches. The
bill would also require the Boards of Correction of Military Records and
Discharge Review Boards of the service branches to seek the "advice and counsel"
of a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker—one with with training on
mental health issues including post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain
injury—before deciding on upgrades.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Forgotten Crisis

HuffPost spent a year interviewing military wives and girlfriends who said they
were abused by their partners. The women’s stories, which take place all over
the country, among all branches of the military, are stark in their
similarities.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Thing...
US Army’s High-Powered Skull Study May Yield Better Helmets

Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, and
Northwestern University are collecting and deciphering data from high energy
x-rays beamed onto human skulls to better grasp bone mechanics and develop
smarter, more protective military helmets.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
Secure, powerful connectivity for your government aircraft.
Intelsat General Flex|Air
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Daily Report: [link removed]
- Contact Us: [link removed]
- Advertise With Us: [link removed]
- Purchase/Reprint: [link removed]

- Air Force Association: [link removed]
- Join AFA: [link removed]

- AF Mag on Facebook: [link removed]
- AF Mag on Twitter: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published by the Air Force Association

All airforcemag.com material is under copyright of
the Air Force Association. All rights reserved.

The Air Force Association
1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA
22209-1198

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe or change your preferences, please visit the link below:
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------