Air Force World By Michael Sirak, Senior Editor, with Marc Schanz, Associate Editor USAF Targets 850 Officers transcontinental flight. Air Force Secre- The Air Force plans to hold its first tary Michael W. Wynne and a horde of force-shaping board for Fiscal 2008 on energy and airline officials and others, screenshot March 31. In the crosshairs are some including Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.), 120 lieutenants in eight specialties. met the aircraft at McGuire AFB, N.J., The number changes almost daily as on Dec. 17. officers opt to take voluntary separa- The Air Force already has certified tion programs. the synfuel blend for use on the B-52 Late last year, the service identified bomber and expected to complete about 850 officers in the 2005 year certification for the C-17 fleet early this group who were serving in “overage” year. As the largest military consumer career fields, making them eligible to of energy—80 percent of which is face the force-shaping board. Exempt aviation fuel—the Air Force plans to from this force-shaping effort are of- pursue the use of a synfuel blend for ficers in the civil engineer, intelligence, all its aircraft, achieving certification for public affairs, and security forces career “every engine and every airframe” by fields. The option to elect voluntary early 2011 and purchasing 50 percent separation ends on March 20. of its fuel requirement from domesti- Overall, the Air Force has said it cally produced synfuel, according to expects to cut fewer airmen in 2008, William C. Anderson, assistant secre- as it moves toward an end strength tary of the Air Force for installations, base of 316,000 by 2009. environment, and logistics. Some have questioned the practicality of switching C-17 Now Burns Synfuel to a synfuel blend because there’s no The Air Force flew a C-17 airlift- ready source, but Anderson said that er—burning nothing but a blend of estimates from the marketplace mark synthetic and aviation fuels in its four 2016 as “about the time that a robust engines—from Washington state to commercial synthetic fuel market may New Jersey, marking the first such be in significant growth stage.” New Aircraft To Appear at Cannon Cannon AFB, N.M., saw the last assigned Air Combat Command F-16 fly off late last year, making way for Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft. By the end of this month AFSOC plans to have the 73rd Special Operations Squadron fully manned at the base. The unit flies the MC-130W and expects to receive its last of 12 aircraft by 2010. Col. Tim Leahy, the commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing, said the base has undergone modification and has been constructing new facilities for the AFSOC aircraft, which this summer should include Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. The command’s dedicated UAV squadron—the 3rd SOS—will be picking up and moving down from Creech AFB, Nev. Part of the construction effort included UAV pads and ground stations for Predator operators, as well as conversion of simulation facilities and squadron operations office space. And AFSOC plans to house a relatively new and low-profile airframe—the Pilatus PC-12—at Cannon. Leahy said the aircraft were the product of the emphasis placed on special operations forces in the last Quadrennial Defense Review. A more highly militarized version, the U-28A, is currently operated by the 319th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. AFSOC gained the small U-28 airlifter in August 2005, equipping it with advanced communications and navigation gear and various classified capa- bilities to provide specialized intratheater support to special ops forces. —Marc V. Schanz 14 AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2008 USAF Shifts Mx to Flying Units of partnership between crew chiefs that support them, while other mainte- The Air Force is moving ahead with and aircrews. His predecessor com- nance units will combine with logistics its plan to realign aircraft maintainers bined maintenance and logistics as a readiness squadrons and aerial port with the operations units they support, means to broaden career possibilities squadrons to comprise new materiel at least for the fighter and combat for young officers. Moseley said that he groups. search and rescue forces. The moves took “inputs ... from crew chiefs to com- will begin this summer and conclude manders” before deciding to reorganize Langley F-22s Ready for War by November, according to a directive the flying and maintenance squadrons, Air Combat Command has declared issued in December 2007 by Gen. T. which he terms the “building block of full operational capability for the F-22A Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff. the Air Force structure.” force at Langley AFB, Va. Moseley broached the idea publicly Now, fighter and CSAR squadrons Gen. John D.W. Corley, ACC com- last summer, citing the long heritage will include aircraft maintenance units mander, determined that the integrated DOD photo by TSgt. Quinton T. Burris Northeast to Alaska. Three F-16s wearing radically different colors soar above South Korea. For the moment, they belong to the 80th FS, Kunsan Air Base. However, this nest of Vipers is about to split up. The two in the foreground will transfer to the 18th FS, Eielson AFB, Alaska; they will become Red Flag aggressors. The nearest Viper 01.09.2008 sports the new black, white, and gray “arctic” scheme. The middle one wears standard aggressor markings. Kunsan maintainers helped out by painting the airplanes ahead of their departure time. AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2008 15 Air Force World USAF officials have met with the Energy Department and talked with technology leaders—most of whom, Anderson said, are foreign “at this point.” They believe the latest technol- ogy, something called a “small-pack- aged nuclear facility,” has potential. First Lt. Jason Edwards, This spring, the service plans to gather USAF photo by SSgt. Douglas Olsen part of this B-1B’s air crew, financiers, developers, and operators conducts a preflight check together for a discussion. Anderson of the big bomber’s weapon added, “It’s worth continuing to look load before a December at.” mission over Southwest Asia. The 9th Expeditionary F-22s Intercept Russian Bombers Bomb Squadron has become The new F-22 force at Elmendorf increasingly active in Opera- tion Enduring Freedom, the AFB, Alaska, chalked up an operational war in Afghanistan. first when it scrambled to intercept and monitor two Russian Bear-H bombers on Nov. 22. Officials revealed the intercept in December, noting that the Alaskan NORAD Region launched F-22s as- signed to the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf and tanker and com- mand and control aircraft to identify and monitor the two bombers. Region active duty 1st Fighter Wing and Air the Air Force has been exploring spokesman Maj. Allen Herritage con- National Guard 192nd FW at Langley, whether an Air Force base would be firmed also that the mission was the have “sufficient Raptors, equipment, “an appropriate host for a nuclear first time F-22s had been called to and trained airmen” to sustain FOC “for [energy] facility,” according to William support a NORAD mission in Alaska many years to come.” C. Anderson, assistant secretary of since Elmendorf received its first Rap- The two units jointly fly and maintain the Air Force for installations, environ- tors last August. 40 fighters, which are assigned to ment, and logistics and the Air Force’s The Alaskan NORAD Region con- This animated image sequence, produced by Boeing’s Phantom Works, recreates the catastrophic Nov. 2 breakup of an old F-15C fighter over Missouri. The pilot, of the 131st FW of the Missouri Air National Guard, barely escaped death. USAF grounded all F-15s the next day, and nearly 200 have yet to resume flight operations. the 1st FW’s 27th Fighter Squadron lead on energy initiatives. Talking with ducts air surveillance on all aircraft and 94th FS. Between the active and Pentagon reporters in late December, entering Alaska airspace, utilizing Air Guard units, there are 80 trained he said that the service is “in the very Alaska-stationed F-15Cs, E-3s, KC- Raptor pilots. infancy stages” of considering this 135s, and now the F-22. This past request. summer, Russian President Vladimir USAF Seeks New Power Sources The two lawmakers were Sen. Pete V. Putin reactivated regular bomber At the request of two senior lawmak- V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and Sen. Larry patrols—a practice that had been ers on the Senate Energy Committee, E. Craig (R-Idaho). dormant since the early 1990s. 16 AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2008 USAF photo TSgt.by Shane CuomoA. Maj. James Sage, having finally gotten back to flying, finishes off a Jan. 9 training flight in an F-15A—the first since all of the Air Force’s old Eagles were grounded on Nov. 2. Sage is part of the Hawaii ANG’s F-15 unit at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Test Proves High Mach Release the effort, Jim Grove, said this innovative Pryor, Chambliss, and other Sena- The Air Force and Boeing have technology “will enable safe separation tors sent a letter to Air Force Secretary demonstrated the ability to release of weapons from weapons bays of future Michael W. Wynne, expressing their munitions from an aircraft weapons high-speed aircraft.” alarm and disappointment at “the level bay while the aircraft flies at high Privatization Oversight Pushed of failure at these four projects [Little supersonic speeds. The program is Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Sen. Rock, Patrick, Moody, and Hanscom called High Frequency Excitation Active Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) have taken Air Force Bases], all of which have been Flow Control for Supersonic Weapon the next step in their drive to straighten under work stoppages for months, are Release, or HIFEX for short.