Screenshot 22 Was Cleared to Commence Initial of His Body and Remained in a Coma Operations by Gen
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Air Force World By Michael Sirak, Senior Editor, with Marc Schanz, Associate Editor Cyber Unit Starts Operations rating. He will train tactical air control Twenty-fourth Air Force, USAF’s party airmen. new cyber operations arm, on Jan. Del Toro was burned over 80 percent screenshot 22 was cleared to commence initial of his body and remained in a coma operations by Gen. C. Robert Kehler, for three months, and, if he survived, head of Air Force Space Command. doctors believed he would not walk AFSPC oversees the new numbered again. He endured 120 surgeries, but air force, which is headquartered at he not only survived but is also running Lackland AFB, Tex. in 10K races. USAF photo by A1C Brett Clashman “This is a big day for the United States He persisted for more than four years Air Force,” said Kehler. His certifica- to remain in the active duty service. A tion that 24th Air Force had achieved medical board finally offered the TACP initial operational capability means airman two choices: medically retire that the organization is now deemed and train TACP airmen as a civilian or capable of performing elements of its remain in the service, training TACPs. mission to operate and protect the Air He chose the latter. Force’s portion of the US military’s cyber network. C-5M Ends Operational Tests Maj. Gen. Richard E. Webber, 24th Officials at Dover AFB, Del., an- Air Force commander, said, “Cyber nounced Jan. 30 that they had completed mission assurance is a top priority of operational testing and evaluation of the the Air Force,” and his airmen are “well C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft. under way” toward that goal. The OT&E phase comprised nearly four months of missions and demonstrations, Mullen: Get New Bomber Right with the three C-5M test aircraft amass- Defining the Air Force’s future long- ing about 1,300 flying hours. range strike platform poses a difficult The tests included training sorties and challenge for Pentagon planners, mak- wartime surge operations to overseas ing it prudent to proceed slowly in bases to validate the performance of acquiring the new capability, said Adm. the upgraded C-5 configuration, which Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the features new engines, avionics, and Joint Chiefs of Staff, Feb. 2. reliability enhancements. “We want to get it right,” Mullen told The test data will be used to inform the Senate Armed Services Committee the Air Force and Office of the Secre- while testifying on the Administration’s tary of Defense acquisition officials as Fiscal 2011 budget proposal. After all, they mull future production decisions to the chosen system would have “a huge complete the C-5 Reliability Enhance- impact” on the Air Force’s future, he ment and Re-engining Program for the noted. The new bomber is not expected 52 planned Super Galaxy aircraft. The to enter the force until the mid-2020s. Air Force is now transitioning the C-5M Mullen said previous Pentagon test aircraft into normal operations. analyses such as that reflected in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review F-35 Engine War Reheats that envisioned the new bomber being Pratt & Whitney announced Feb. 2 that available around 2018 were “incredibly it had delivered the first F135 production aggressive.” Better, he indicated, is the version engine for the F-35 Lightning deliberative process upon which the II strike fighter, a “clear demonstration DOD is now embarked.” of the maturity of the F135,” which has accrued more than 13,000 hours in Severely Injured Airman Re-enlists tests thus far. During a special ceremony Feb. 8 at Meanwhile, for the fourth consecu- Randolph AFB, Tex., TSgt. Israel Del tive year, the political battle heated up Toro, who had been severely burned again with the release of the President’s after his vehicle hit an improvised explo- budget on Feb. 1 over whether to main- sive device during a 2005 deployment tain the General Electric-Rolls Royce to Afghanistan, re-enlisted even though F136 engine for the F-35 in addition he has a 100 percent medical disability to the F135. 12 AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2010 Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates initiative in Fiscal 2011 to acquire the planned retirement of eight old said Feb. 1 he would “strongly recom- 16 new gunships based on modified, AC-130Hs. mend” that President Obama veto any new-build MC-130J special operations The first aircraft would be bought in Fiscal 2011 legislation that sustains the tankers that are outfitted with a “preci- Fiscal 2012, followed by two in Fiscal F136 engine, arguing the Pentagon can- sion strike package” to give them an 2013, five in Fiscal 2014, and the final not afford to mature two engine types attack capability. eight in Fiscal 2015. and that he has confidence in the F135 The Air Force is requesting $1.6 bil- design. But the F136 still enjoys strong lion from Fiscal 2011 through 2015 for Encroachment Pact Reached support on Capitol Hill. this buy. These aircraft would increase The Arizona state government and the size of the Air Force’s highly taxed Arizona’s Maricopa County reached a USAF Acquiring New Gunships gunship fleet to 33 aircraft, a net in- settlement Feb. 2 to stop the construc- The Air Force plans to launch an crease of eight, after accounting for tion of new single-family homes in high- This B-1B heavy bomber, trailed by a swirl of heat, dust, and exhaust, takes off from Nellis AFB, Nev., for a training flight. The 146-foot-long Lancer, assigned to the 7th Operations Group at Dyess AFB, Tex., is headed into a mission during Red Flag, the highly realistic combat exer- 03.03.2010 cise centered at Nellis and taking in not only USAF units but also those of other US services and those of allies. The sleek, variable-sweep winged B-1B, once a nuclear-armed aircraft, now is dedicated to conventional theater warfare and can carry up to 84 500-pound bombs. AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2010 13 Air Force World noise and accident-potential zones Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, 1921-2010 near Luke Air Force Base, and, in the process, remove one issue potentially Retired Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, the Air Force’s first female brigadier detracting from the base’s allure to host general and, later, the US military’s first female major general, died Feb. future F-35 strike fighters. 15. She was 88. The Arizona Republic reported Feb. A native of Portland, Ore., Holm enlisted in the Army in 1942, serving 3 that the agreement was meant to initially as a truck driver, and then, after attending Officer Candidate School, resolve the years-long dispute be- she received a commission in 1943 in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. tween the two parties over residential Holm left active duty in 1946, was recalled in 1948 during the Berlin crisis, encroachment of the base, which is an and, in 1949, transferred to the Air Force. important F-16 fighter hub today and She served in various personnel and plans assignments at wing, Air is in the running for the F-35 training Staff, and NATO levels and became the first woman to attend Air Com- mission. mand and Staff School. The state government had fought Holm served as director of Women in the Air Force on the Air Staff from in the courts against the construction, 1965 to 1973, during which time she was instrumental in policy revisions while the county had been supporting that greatly expanded job and assignment opportunities for women in landowner property rights. Arizona Gov. USAF. She received the Distinguished Service Medal for her work in this Jan Brewer (R) stated Feb. 4 that the assignment. agreement makes clear that “Arizona In 1973, she became director of the Secretary of the Air Force Person- stands ready” for the F-35 mission. nel Council, in which position she received her second star. She retired in 1975 after some 34 years of total service. B-2 Flies With Synthetic Fuel She continued to support military females, including by writing Women In early January, the Air Force con- in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution and by serving in advisory roles ducted a flight demonstration with a in three Administrations. Power Up: A replica of a Wright B Among her awards, Holm received the Air Force Association’s Lifetime Flyer, “Yellow Bird,” is readied for flight Achievement Award in 2003 and entered the Women in Aviation, Interna- by crew chief Frank Goepferich (center), tional Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2006. fire guard Ken Painter (l), and pilot Don In 2008, Air University named its newly reorganized Officer Accession Gum. Volunteers assembled two Fly- and Training Schools the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions ers at a Centennial of Military Aviation and Citizen Development. event in March. More than 1,500 aviation enthusiasts attended events at Ft. Sam Houston, Tex. USAF photo by Lance Cheung 14 AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2010 B-2A Spirit stealth bomber running, for the first time ever, on the synthetic fuel blend that the service wants all of its aircraft capable of operating on in 2011. The demonstration involved an op- erational B-2 flying a training sortie from Whiteman AFB, Mo., according to the Air Force’s alternative fuel certification office. This fuel blend is a 50-50 mix of USAF photo byBateman SrA. BrittanyY. traditional JP-8 jet fuel and synthetic paraffinic kerosene. Pursuing it is one means of reducing US dependence on foreign sources of energy.