Aerospace World
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Aerospace World By Suzann Chapman, Managing Editor Three Killed in MC-130 Crash Two airmen and one soldier were killed when an Air Force MC-130H Combat Talon II crashed upon take- off in southeast Afghanistan June 12. The airmen were TSgt. Sean M. Corlew, 37, of Thousands Oaks, Ca- lif., and SSgt. Anissa A. Shero, 31, of Grafton, W.Va. They were both as- signed to the 16th Special Opera- USAF photo by MSgt. Andrew E. Lynch tions Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Seven other US military members on board survived and were taken to a medical facility for treatment. Officials said there was no indica- tion the crash was caused by enemy fire. An investigation is under way. Murray Is New CMSAF The Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. John P. Jumper, selected CMSgt. Gerald R. Murray as the 14th Chief An Air Force A-10 waits on the flight line at Bagram, Afghanistan, for a mainte- Master Sergeant of the Air Force. nance check before its next mission. A-10s recently foiled an al Qaeda attack Plans called for Murray to assume on a coalition base. (See “A-10s Stop Attack,” p. 13.) the highest enlisted post in the ser- vice July 1. Jumper said the decision was “dif- proposal as part of the service’s lat- “Aerospace World: Alaska Gains Air- ficult because the candidates were est mobility roadmap. If approved and lifter Missions,” June, p. 22.) all so exceptionally qualified.” funded, the plan calls for buying or Murray, who was serving as com- modernizing more than 700 aircraft ANG Gets New Director mand chief master sergeant for Pa- over the next 15 years. Maj. Gen. Daniel James III of Texas cific Air Forces, replaces CMSAF Jim USAF has already contracted for was confirmed in May by the Senate Finch, who retired after 28 years of 180 C-17s through 2008, but officials as the new director of the Air Na- service. Finch had been USAF’s top have stated that the service needs a tional Guard. enlisted man since Aug. 2, 1999. minimum of 222 of the Boeing air- When he assumes the ANG’s top The new CMSAF joined the Air lifters. (See “Mobility Boom,” June, leadership position, James will also Force in October 1977. He served in p. 26.) be promoted to lieutenant general. aircraft maintenance as a crew chief, The Air Force has yet to conduct He will be the first ANG leader to be instructor, and superintendent of pro- site surveys for basing C-17s in Ha- a three-star general while serving as duction and maintenance. He became waii and Alaska, but officials project ANG director. (ANG Lt. Gen. Russell a wing senior enlisted advisor and the service would need about $425 Davis is chief of the National Guard from there became command chief million for construction. Bureau.) master sergeant for US Forces–Ja- The plan: Convert the active duty James succeeds Maj. Gen. Paul A. pan and 5th Air Force. He advanced 517th Airlift Squadron at Elmendorf Weaver Jr., who retired last fall. Brig. to the PACAF position in August 2001. AFB, Alaska, from C-130 transports Gen. David A. Brubaker, deputy di- “The Air Force is fortunate to have to C-17s; convert the Hawaii Air Na- rector, has been serving as acting someone of Chief Murray’s caliber tional Guard’s 204th Airlift Squad- director. leading our enlisted force,” said Jump- ron to a C-17 associate unit with James, who has served as Texas er. both ANG and active duty crews as- adjutant general since November 1995, signed. Each base would receive is the son of Air Force Gen. Daniel C-17s Bound for Pacific Region eight C-17s. “Chappie” James Jr., a pioneer Tus- The Air Force plans to extend bas- Sen. Ted Stevens, ranking mem- kegee Airman and USAF’s first Afri- ing for the service’s newest airlift ber of the Senate Appropriations Com- can–American four-star general. aircraft, the C-17, to Hawaii and mittee, announced in April that USAF Alaska perhaps as early as Fiscal would create a new associate Air USAF May Defer F-22 DIOT&E 2006. Force Reserve Command squadron USAF’s F-22 program director con- Officials briefed Congress on the to fly C-17s out of Elmendorf. (See firmed what officials have been hint- 12 AIR FORCE Magazine / July 2002 ing for several months: The F-22 is unlikely to make the scheduled start date of April 2003 for the program’s Rumsfeld: Iraq Is Lying Dedicated Initial Operational Test and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says Iraq’s June 9 claim that it Evaluation. has no weapons of mass destruction and is not developing them is a blatant However, the F-22 could still meet falsehood. its Initial Operational Capability date “They’re lying,” he said. “It’s just false, not true, inaccurate, and typical.” of December 2005, even with a six- Rumsfeld spoke with reporters June 10 as he was leaving Kuwait. He said month slip in the DIOT&E schedule, Iraq has such weapons and continues to develop nuclear, biological, and said Brig. Gen. William J. Jabour. chemical weapons. “It’s a complex development pro- When asked about Iraq’s recent pledge of nonaggression toward Kuwait gram,” Jabour told reporters May 30. and its recognition of Kuwaiti sovereignty, the US defense leader said, “It’d Part of the problem is the tail buffet be like a lion inviting a chicken into an embrace.” issue. (See “War and Transforma- He asked what good past Iraqi representations of goodwill have been to tion,” p. 76.) Other issues range from its neighbors. “Should hope spring eternal?” items such as software integration to technical order verificaton. Officials have stated the service has funds in reserve to cover a slip in USAF and NASA To Pursue RLV NASA RLV effort,” said Air Force the DIOT&E schedule. Air Force and NASA officials agreed Undersecretary Peter B. Teets. in principle to combine forces to build At least one lawmaker has said USAF Embarks on New Review a joint Reusable Launch Vehicle dem- that NASA should consider getting The Air Force has dumped its ac- onstrator, according to a USAF re- out of the RLV development busi- quisition review in favor of a process lease in late May. ness. Rep. Curt Weldon (R–Fla.) criti- that will focus on the service’s new “We believe there is significant cized NASA’s leadership role in pur- task force approach. (See “Seven potential [in] a combined Air Force– suing new RLV technology. Pillars of Airpower,” June, p. 42.) The old Quarterly Acquisition Re- view Program gave way to the Capa- bilities Review and Risk Assessment. The CRRA, said Gen. John P. Jumper, NATO Unveils New Relationship With Russia Chief of Staff, will shift the service’s focus from program review to a re- NATO on May 28 formally entered a partnership with Russia, giving its view of the health and risk of task former foe a voice in certain alliance issues, namely the war on terrorism. force capabilities needed to achieve Leaders from the 19 NATO member countries and Russia signed the Rome warfighting effects. Declaration, establishing the NATO–Russia Council, which replaces the “The bottom-line goal for the CRRA NATO–Russia Joint Permanent Council negotiated during the Clinton Admin- is to give senior USAF leadership an istration. The agreement for the original council only permitted Russian participation after the NATO 19 had reached a common decision. operational, capabilities-based focus NATO officials said creation of the new council was prompted by the need for acquisition program decision-mak- to work with Russia in combating terrorism and the proliferation of weapons ing,” said Jumper. of mass destruction. It will be “a mechanism for consultation, consensus- The first task force to undergo building, cooperation, joint decision, and joint action for the member states of CRRA scrutiny is the Global Strike NATO and Russia on a wide spectrum of security issues in the Euro–Atlantic Task Force. Others will follow, said region,” said an official statement. officials, as each task force concept Russia will not have a veto over NATO decisions or a vote in its efforts to of operations is defined. expand membership to nations once part of the Soviet bloc. Jumper said the new process will There are nine countries currently seeking admission to NATO: Albania, take the Air Force “in the right di- Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and rection—toward using operational Slovenia. In 1999, during its first round of enlargement since the end of the warfighting effects as the origin for Cold War, NATO accepted the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland into the every piece of hardware and soft- alliance. A decision on the second round is expected in November. ware we buy.” The new NATO–Russia Council, analysts say, makes NATO expansion less threatening to Russia. A-10s Stop Attack The 20-member council does not replace the North Atlantic Council, the body through which NATO usually reaches decisions. If the new council USAF A-10s bombed about 10 al cannot reach a consensus, officials said, then NATO’s 19 members may limit Qaeda and Taliban fighters who were or restrict discussion on any given topic. attempting to set up mortars aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin told a news conference, “We accept that a coalition temporary base near Khost the views of NATO and Russia on certain security issues may not always in eastern Afghanistan on May 21. coincide, but what unites us is far more serious than what divides us.” “We have neutralized the area,” Initially, the council agreed to pursue cooperative efforts in these areas: said a Central Command spokesman.