Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 21, 2020

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

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Space Force is Here
By Rachel S. Cohen

For most, space policy is still more science fiction than reality—the stuff of
a galaxy far, far away. People imagine laser-toting gunships and interplanetary
bases, not airmen at consoles adjusting satellites in orbit. Those perceptions
have persisted through about 18 months of pressure from the White House to make
the Space Force a reality. Cheered by years-long proponents in Congress,
legislators approved the new service as part of the Air Force in the fiscal 2020
defense policy and spending bills. The US Space Force was officially launched
Dec. 20, 2019. As Gen. John W. Raymond and others from Air Force Space
Command—the nearly four-decade-old organization that oversaw space personnel
and programs and now forms the basis of the Space Force—begin to define and
build the fledgling service, the Pentagon will have to dispel misconceptions and
get to the real work of bringing in members.

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Hyten Lays Out Priorities as Pentagon’s No. 2 Officer
By Rachel S. Cohen

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten, now two months into
the job of second-highest ranking Pentagon officer, said Jan. 17 he will tackle
three main priorities: giving sound military advice to Defense Secretary Mark
Esper and President Donald Trump, revamping acquisition, and improving deeply
rooted personnel problems like sexual assault and suicide. Hyten, who spoke at
the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed his shift from
serving as the four-star head of US Strategic Command to a post where he holds a
bird’s eye view of people and programs across the Defense Department.

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DOD: 11 Troops Treated for Injuries Following Iranian Attack
By Brian W. Everstine

At least 11 US service members have been flown out of Iraq for medical care
following the Jan. 7 Iranian ballistic missile attack on Al Asad AB. Despite
initial claims that there were no American injuries in the attack, US Central
Command and senior Pentagon officials said many Americans were evaluated for
concussion-like symptoms after 11 ballistic missiles impacted the flightline and
multiple buildings inside the sprawling base. Eight service members were taken
to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to receive magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) scans, and three more were taken to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait for
further evaluation, according to CENTCOM.

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Lawmakers Warn Against Africa Drawdown as Pentagon Reviews Deployments
By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon’s review of its force structure in Africa, and the likely
reduction of deployed personnel, is already meeting harsh pushback on Capitol
Hill, even before the review is completed. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has
ordered a “zero-based” review of US forces deployed globally, with the
intent to shift the bulk of the attention to the Indo-Pacific. As a result, the
US mission in Africa will be an “economy of force,” meaning the least amount
of personnel and resource to meet mission objectives, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a meeting with his French counterpart
in Brussels. Key lawmakers sent a letter to Esper dated Jan. 15 expressing
concerns about the reported drawdown. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chris
Coons (D-Del.) wrote they are particularly concerned about the reduction of
forces in the Sahel.

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NATO Receives First Air Ground Surveillance Aircraft
By Brian W. Everstine

NATO on Jan. 17 received the first two of five Air Ground Surveillance system
drones at NAS Sigonella, Italy. The AGS system, a variant of the RQ-4 Global
Hawk already in use by multiple nations, will be used by NATO to watch over
Europe, and it will also conduct operations in the Sahel region of Africa and
the Middle East as tasked, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a
ceremony. A collection of 15 NATO allies, including the US, acquired the
aircraft. About 600 personnel will fly and maintain it, largely from the main
operating base at Sigonella along with small groups of personnel in Belgium and
Germany, according to NATO.

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Radar Sweep

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Federal Government of Somalia, US Conducted Airstrike Against Al-Shabab Terrorists

In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US Africa Command
conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabab terrorists in the vicinity of Qunyo
Barrow, Somalia, on Jan. 16.

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DHS Seeks Pentagon Funds for 270 Miles of Border Wall

The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon to fund the
construction of 270 miles of border wall this year as part of a counter-drug
effort, defense officials said Jan. 16. The officials said the request came in
Jan. 15, and the Pentagon is beginning what will be a two-week assessment to
determine what will be approved.

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The Pentagon Wants Help for its Satellites to Talk to Each Other

The Space Development Agency wants its satellites to be able to easily talk to
each other and is considering using optical intersatellite links for
communications within its future low earth orbit space architecture. Now, the
organization is looking for industry’s help on what standards should be used
for those links.

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DIU Seeks Commercial Remote Sensing Technology

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking commercial remote sensing technology to
perform peacetime indications and warning. In a Jan. 13 notice, DIU states that
it plans to initiate an 18-month competition, and will award other transaction
agreements to prototype capabilities in five areas: small-satellite collection
capabilities, advanced analytics software that uses cloud-based machine learning
algorithms, edge compute capabilities, reduced latency direct downlink, and
in-theater data processing.

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What Do You Think About Artificial Intelligence? The Pentagon’s AI Center Wants to Know

The Pentagon’s nascent center devoted to artificial intelligence research and
development wants to learn more about people’s perceptions of the budding
technology. According to a proposed information collection notice published in
the Federal Register on Jan. 16, the Defense Department’s Joint Artificial
Intelligence Center is funding a RAND Corporation-led study “exploring
civil-military views regarding AI and related technologies.”

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OPINION: The US Navy’s So-Called Budget Salvo Demands Too Much

"Gilday’s budget salvo should be seen for what it is: a return to a zero-sum
argument to increase the Navy’s budget at the expense of the Army, which also
needs to modernize; at the expense of the Air Force, which now operates the
smallest and oldest force in its history; and at the expense of the Space Force,
which needs more funding if it is to become a true war-fighting entity that
dominates the highest frontier," writes retired USAF Col. Mark Gunzinger,
director of future aerospace concepts and capability assessments at AFA's
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. "A better approach would be to argue
for changes to the DOD’s planning and budget processes that remain stove-piped
and focused on assessing each service’s annual budget proposals, rather than
seeking the best value for the nation as a whole."

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One More Thing...
Survey: How Do You Spell the Sound that an A-10 Warthog's Autocannon Makes?

There are few sounds more welcome to US military personnel than the sound of an
A-10 Thunderbolt II's GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm autocannon raining down a hail of
lead on an unsuspecting enemy force. But here's a question: How the hell do you
actually spell (and, in turn, pronounce) that sweet, sweet sound of freedom? To
that end, we're attempting to build a regional map of A-10 autocannon
pronunciations, from BRRRT to VVVTTT—and we need your help.

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