Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 17, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine and Tobias Naegele

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Editor's Note

The Daily Report will not be published on Monday, Jan. 20, in observance of the
federal holiday. We'll return on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

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AFRL Boss Cooley Fired Amid Misconduct Investigation
By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force Research Laboratory Commander Maj. Gen. William Cooley was fired from
his post Jan. 15 as USAF investigators look into allegations of misconduct. Air
Force Materiel Command boss Gen. Arnold Bunch removed Cooley from his job “due
to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead,” according to the Air Force.
Cooley, who is the fourth high-profile USAF general officer to be fired in less
than a year, took over at AFRL in May 2017 but is now reassigned as Bunch’s
special assistant.

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DOD: Anti-ISIS Operations in Iraq Still Paused, Syria Ops Continue
By Brian W. Everstine

The US military is in “daily conversations” about resuming anti-Islamic
State group operations in Iraq, but the pause has not yet been lifted despite
reports of American forces targeting ISIS this week. The US-led coalition
suspended its anti-ISIS operations in Iraq earlier this month citing Iranian
threats after the Jan. 3 drone strike killed Quds Force commander Qassem
Soleimani in Baghdad. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan R. Hoffman said Jan. 16 US
forces are still co-located with Iraqi forces, and planning for operations can
continue though “specific field activities do not take place,” he said.
Regular operations inside Syria are continuing, he added.

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DOD to Unveil New Vetting, Physical Security Measures for International Trainees
By Brian W. Everstine

Defense Secretary Mark Esper will travel to NAS Pensacola, Fla., next week to
announce new safety measures and restrictions on foreign military access to US
bases in the aftermath of last month’s shooting that killed three sailors and
injured eight more, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan R. Hoffman said during a Jan. 16
briefing. “We’re looking at ways to ensure that … we’re taking all
appropriate steps. We owe that to our people, we owe that to the families,”
Hoffman said. “But we also want to ensure that this program continues. We
believe that the international military student-training program is incredibly
valuable.”

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NNSA Chief Details Uphill Slog to Nuclear Modernization
By Tobias Naegele

Extending the service live of the Air Force’s B-61-12 nuclear gravity bomb
remains on schedule a year after officials acknowledged life-cycle testing of a
commercial-grade replacement part would delay the program by 16 to 18 months. So
daunting are the nation’s nuclear modernization challenges, says Lisa
Gordon-Hagerty, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, that
simply enabling modernization is the primary task; as for the finer work of
actual weapons modernization, she says, “We’re not ready to do that.” At
least not yet. Gordon-Hagerty laid out the 10-year plan to return production of
critical nuclear pits to 80 per year. “We are waking up our system,” she
said.

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USAF Navigational Warfare Laboratory to Study PNT Threats
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force is creating a Navigational Warfare Laboratory to study how
military aircraft could still get around if an adversary attacks their GPS
signal or other positioning, navigation, and timing systems. Wright-Patterson
AFB, Ohio, will host the lab, which is slated to be up and running by May 2021.
Their research comes as the military focuses on competition and possible
conflict with Russia and China, and the advanced technologies those countries
might wield to render US combat power useless. Jamming and other threats on the
electromagnetic spectrum are a key piece of those considerations.

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Radar Sweep

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Eleven US Troops Were Injured in Jan. 8 Iran Missile Strike

Nearly one dozen American troops were wounded in Iran’s Jan. 8 missile attack
on Iraq’s al-Asad air base. This week, they were medically evacuated to US
military hospitals in Kuwait and Landstuhl, Germany, to be treated for traumatic
brain injury and to undergo further evaluation, several US defense and military
officials have confirmed to Defense One.

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Study Raises Prospect of Space Conflict If US and Russia Abandon Nuclear Arms Control Treaty

The military and intelligence community’s space agencies may have to cope with
growing instability in outer space if the United States and Russia don’t renew
the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) that is set to expire
on Feb. 5, 2021, experts warn in a new report. A study released Jan. 15 by the
Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy notes that
abandoning the New START Treaty could not only reignite a nuclear arms race, but
also destabilize outer space.

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Intel Agencies Push to Close Threats Hearing after Trump Outburst

The US intelligence community is trying to persuade House and Senate lawmakers
to drop the public portion of an annual briefing on the globe’s greatest
security threats—a move compelled by last year’s session that provoked an
angry outburst from President Donald Trump, multiple sources told POLITICO.
Officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, on behalf of
the larger clandestine community, don’t want agency chiefs to be seen
on-camera as disagreeing with the President on big issues such as Iran, Russia,
or North Korea, according to three people familiar with preliminary negotiations
over what's known as the Worldwide Threats hearing.

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Army May Send Missile-Defense Systems to Middle East to Counter Future Iran Strikes

The US Army may send missile-defense systems and other capabilities to the
Middle East to ensure US forces there are prepared to deal with future Iranian
attacks.

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Taliban Say They Handed Cease-Fire Offer to US Peace Envoy

The Taliban has given the US envoy a document outlining their offer for a
temporary cease-fire in Afghanistan that would last between seven and 10 days,
Taliban officials familiar with the negotiations said Jan. 16. The offer is seen
as an opportunity to open a window to an eventual peace deal for Afghanistan
that would allow the United States to bring home its troops and end the 18-year
war, America’s longest conflict.

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Conservative Vets Launch Ads Urging Afghanistan Withdrawal

A conservative veterans' group backed by the Koch family is launching a
multimillion-dollar ad blitz in three presidential battleground states on Jan.
16, seeking to tap into rising public support for withdrawing all American
troops from Afghanistan. The appeal organized by Concerned Veterans for
America—"Tell Washington it's time to bring our troops home!"—marks a new
and more aggressive effort to roust voters in both parties to demand an end to
the United States' longest war, which has killed nearly 2,400 US troops since
2001.

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Royal Australian Air Force Completes Training Mission, Departs from Luke

After achieving all training milestones, the Royal Australian Air Force began
returning its F-35A Lightning II pilots, maintainers, and aircraft to Australia
from Luke AFB, Ariz., in December 2019. The RAAF began training with the 61st
Fighter Squadron and Aircraft Maintenance Unit in December 2014 with two F-35s.
Since then, 34 Australian pilots and 16 instructor pilots have earned their
certification, and as of January 2020, the RAAF owns 20 F-35s.

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One More Thing...
Blueprint Leadership with CMSAF Kaleth Wright: Episode 3

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright talks leadership, lessons
learned, and shared experiences with the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, SEAC Ramón Colón-López.

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