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Home , 448th Missile Squadron, 564th Missile Squadron, Iraqi Air Force, Jacqueline Van Ovost

Air Force World By Aaron Church, Associate Editor

New Deployment Model MOP Ready for War To improve unit cohesion, the Air The new bunker-busting Massive Force is changing the way it deploys Ordnance Penetrator bomb is now screenshot airmen under the Air and Space Ex- available for combat on the ’s peditionary Force construct. B-2 stealth bomber. Christened “AEF Next,” the new sys- Whiteman AFB, Mo.—home of the tem will deploy airmen alongside their B-2 fleet—received its first batch of squadron commander as an “airpower MOPs “ready for operational use” in team,” said Col. John Long, chief of September, according to Air Force USAF’s war planning and policy divi- acquisition officials. USAF photo by SSgt. Rasheen Douglas sion. However, “for most airmen, the Coupled with the stealthy, penetrat- differences will be minimal,” he said. ing B-2, the 30,000-pound-class con- “We want to get the commander and ventional weapon gives US planners immediate supervisors back into the a potent means of attacking even the deployment decision process. This most challenging hardened targets. will allow commanders to make key Previously, some targets were dif- deployment decisions about their unit ficult, if not impossible, to reach with personnel rather than relying on func- other bunker busters due to their depth tional managers at the command beneath the surface and protective or headquarters Air Force level to make layers of earth, stone, and concrete. those decisions.” There is “no other weapon that can The new model will simplify the get after those hard and deeply buried existing structure, giving leaders a targets like MOP can,” said Brig. Gen. better perspective on the stress level Scott A. Vander Hamm, commander of for individual career fields. Whiteman’s . Deployment-to-dwell time ratios will likely stay around one-to-two, meaning AirSea Battle Bureau airmen will deploy for six months and The fledgling AirSea Battle concept return home for at least a year before gained new impetus with the creation redeploying. of a designated Pentagon office to The Air Force expects to phase in push Air Force and Navy integration the change over the next two years. of combat resources. Chief among its tasks are influencing Balad Farewell wargames, fostering development and The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing integration of air and naval capabilities, relinquished the ’ sec- and facilitating collaboration with joint ond largest base in —Joint Base forces, Pentagon officials said. Balad—with the departure of the last A minimum of two field-grade officers airmen from the facility in early No- or civil servants of equivalent rank from vember. the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy The base once housed roughly will staff the new office, which has a 36,000 American troops and contrac- core staff of some 15 people. tors. It passed to Iraqi government Under AirSea Battle, the Pentagon control Nov. 8. Known as al Bakr Air hopes to make better use of its assets Base, the original airfield served the to guarantee freedom of action in po- Iraqi Air Force before the US invasion tentially contested areas such as the in March 2003. After the US arrival, Western Pacific. the base was split to become USAF’s and Camp Anaconda, Global Strike Gets the Bomb a major Army logistics hub. In 2008, The next step in consolidating the the base was realigned under the nuclear mission under Air Force Global stewardship of USAF’s 332nd AEW, Strike Command will be for the com- becoming Joint Base Balad. mand to assume responsibility for Boasting an 11,000-foot runway, USAF’s nuclear munitions support Balad hosted USAF aircraft, includ- squadrons. ing F-16s, MQ-9 Reapers, and MC-12 Nuclear-tasked squadrons will now Liberty aircraft. report directly to wing commanders

10 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 on base, replacing the centralized The Air Force is “continuing to “This first F-35 for the first interna- Air Force Materiel Command system, strengthen the nuclear enterprise while tional program partner is symbolic of managed through the Air Force Nuclear seeking constant improvement and do- the proud partnership we share with Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M. ing things the best way possible for safe, the ,” said Tom Burbage, Various munitions units at F. E. War- secure, and effective operations,” said Lockheed’s F-35 manager of ren AFB, Wyo.; Kirtland AFB, N.M.; Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz program integration. Malmstrom AFB, Mont.; Minot AFB, in signing the directive Nov. 20. Designated BK-1, the F-35B short N.D.; Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; and takeoff and vertical landing variant left Whiteman AFB, Mo., now fall under F-35 for Britain Lockheed Martin’s production line at Fort AFGSC, though both AFMC and the Lockheed Martin recently completed Worth, Tex., for the flight line on Nov. 20. AFNWC will continue playing a key role assembly of the first F-35 strike fighter The F-35 is “ideally suited” to Britain’s in nuclear sustainment and integration. for Britain. combat needs since it “is capable of

F-16s from the 8th Fighter Wing and 419th Fighter Wing perform an “elephant walk”—taxiing in formation in a display of airpower—down a runway during an exercise at Kunsan AB, . The exercise with Kunsan F-16s and Vipers 12.02.2011 deployed from the Reserve wing at Hill AFB, Utah, demonstrated Kunsan’s wartime operational practices. Airmen at the base generated the aircraft precisely as they would during war.

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 11 Air Force World

operating from both the land and our new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft Dover Morgue Mishandled Remains carrier,” said RAF Group Capt. Harv Smyth, British national deputy for the Air Force investigators uncovered egregious mishandling of the remains of F-35. service members killed in combat—including lost body parts—by mortuary The aircraft was ordered, however, staff at Dover AFB, Del. At the behest of the US Office of Special Counsel, before Britain amended its procure- the inspector general’s office in June 2010 began investigating allegations of ment plan to buy only F-35C variants “serious misconduct” reported by several whistle blowers. optimized for aircraft carrier operations. According to OSC, “In two separate incidents, body parts of service members The UK will use BK-1 as an operational killed while on active duty were lost by the port mortuary.” In another incident, test and training airframe. There has OSC said that “a US Marine was dismembered with a saw in order to make also been talk of a swap of the aircraft the body fit inside a military uniform.” for a US Navy F-35C to make the Brit- “The mortuary for the United States military should boast the best conditions ish aircraft’s test and checkout more and best practices of any mortuary,” said Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner in applicable to its eventual fleet. the OSC release in November. “These events are deeply troubling, as is the Lockheed Martin will deliver the Air Force’s failure to acknowledge culpability.” aircraft later this year, following initial Subsequent Air Force investigation found no evidence of intentional mis- testing and checks. handling, though USAF officials acknowledged the “mortuary staff failed to maintain accountability while processing portions of remains.” OSC recognized Raptor Grand USAF’s extensive overhaul of mortuary procedures to improve accountability, An Air Force Reserve pilot has be- but asserted the service did not adequately discipline those responsible. come the first in the service to log 1,000 In direct reaction to the incidents, the Air Force disciplined the mortuary’s hours in the F-22 Raptor. then-commander, issuing him a letter of reprimand, and demoted two civilian Lt. Col. David Piffarerio broke the employees to nonmanagement roles. 1,000 flight-hour mark on a check flight Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta appointed an independent assessment from JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, of overall mortuary operations at Dover. “None of us will be satisfied until we in November. Piffarerio is commander of have proven to the families of our fallen heroes that we have taken every step Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd possible to protect the honor and dignity that their loved ones richly deserve,” Fighter Squadron, an associate unit said Panetta. of the active duty 3rd Fighter Wing at As of press time, reports also surfaced that contractors had disposed of Elmendorf. cremated remains in a Virginia landfill as recently as 2008—a practice the Am I Blue?: Over Iraq, a USAF F-16 Air Force says it halted immediately upon learning of it, replacing the practice takes on fuel from a KC-135. Iraq wants with procedures for burial at sea. to buy 36 of the fighters to secure its airspace. USAF photo by MSgt. Cecilio Ricardo

12 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 “More important to me than this mile- stone is that the F-22 fleet is safely in AFMC’s Risky Business Case the air and accomplishing the mission,” he added after the record sortie Nov. 4. Air Force Materiel Command is risking the future of aircraft sustainment Piffarerio began flying the Raptor as by centralizing management of its three air logistics centers to a single base, part of USAF’s operational evaluation warned Rep. Robert Bishop (R-Utah). team at Nellis AFB, Nev., in 2002 after Under a cost-cutting plan announced in November, command officials transitioning from the F-15E. He has want to consolidate management of the Air Force’s air logistics centers subsequently served in a number of where various aircraft fleets cycle through intensive scheduled maintenance. different roles with the Raptor. Oklahoma City ALC at Tinker AFB, Okla., Ogden ALC at Hill AFB, Utah, and Warner Robins ALC at Robins AFB, Ga., would be overseen by a new USAF To SLEP F-16 Fleet Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker. To bridge any gap in the fighter force AFMC Commander Gen. Donald J. Hoffman said instead of “thinking ahead of the F-35 entering service, separately about research, test, acquisition, or sustainment in a center- USAF announced the modernization by-center, base-by-base mindset, ... the restructure will drive us to more of a significant number of its later- standardized processes.” model F-16s. “This is not a new idea. It’s been discounted in the past,” said Bishop, Under the plan, the service aims quoted by Salt Lake City’s Deseret News. AFMC officials “have not done to fit new avionics and structural im- their business case analysis to show us that this is the right thing,” Bishop provements to between 300 and 350 said, adding that until they do, he is “very skeptical” of the plan. F-16 Block 40 and Block 50s—with the Likewise, AFMC plans to consolidate management of its acquisition potential to upgrade as many as 600 centers under a new Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright- in a worst-case scenario. Patterson AFB, Ohio. Testifying before House lawmakers, Overall restructuring would reduce AFMC centers from 12 to five—eliminat- Lt. Gen. Herbert J. Carlisle said he ing 1,051 civilian positions, while saving $109 million annually, by Air Force doesn’t expect the upper end number estimates. Previously announced Air Force-wide streamlining would reduce of life extensions to be needed, but AFMC’s civilian installation-support workforce by another 1,088 positions. cautioned that the F-35 is likely to miss its projected initial operational capability date of 2016 by more than tion, followed by execution of planned Pole and back. The dummy bombs are two years. experiments,” said Col. Scott W. Beidle- used to simulate B61 nuclear warheads. “We’ve got work to do, but [the F-35 man, Space and Missile Systems The bomber demonstrated it could is] going to be a good airplane, and Center development plans chief. successfully navigate to the release we have to have it,” he said. The sensor’s information-gathering point with its new computer upgrades, Funding for research, development, ability will be tried under a full range including communication and naviga- and testing on the first three SLEP of atmospheric and terrain conditions tion equipment. airframes, as well as avionics upgrade over nine-and-a-half months of dem- The 18-hour-plus mission was “the development, is anticipated in the Fis- onstrations. first time the B-2 has operated at this cal 2013 budget request, said Carlisle. “Given the pathfinding nature of extreme of latitude before, and [I be- The Air Force is conducting full-scale CHIRP, the Development Planning lieve] the longest flight so far for this fatigue tests on an F-16 and F-15 to Directorate is gathering invaluable hardware and this software,” said Maj. determine the true structural life po- lessons learned on these technolo- Michael Deaver, 31st Test and Evalu- tential of its fighter fleet. gies” as well as learning how to work ation Squadron B-2 Extremely High aboard a civilian satellite, he added. Frequency Test director. CHIRP Goes to Work CHIRP was boosted into orbit aboard A KC-135 Stratotanker from Fair­child The payload launched the SES-2 communication satellite in AFB, Wash., refueled the B-2 over Al- aboard a commercial satellite success- September and is the Air Force’s first berta, , with a second tanker fully completed performance testing on focused wide-view infrared sensor. from Edwards supporting. orbit and is performing to standards, “We’ve proven the fact that they paving the way for experimentation Pole to Pickle Barrel can get up into those [high] latitudes to begin. A B-2 bomber dropped four unguided safely and effectively. That previously Now that the Commercially Hosted BDU-38 practice bombs over the Ed- was a question mark,” said Maj. An- Infrared Payload (CHIRP) completed wards AFB, Calif., precision impact drew Murphy, a B-2 experimental test diagnostics, “the next step is calibra- range following a flight to the North pilot assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron. Index to Advertisers Temperature Control American Association...... 7 Boeing...... Cover IV Northrop Grumman received a $109 Dell...... 3 million contract in November to replace General Atomics...... 25 the fatigue-prone aft deck panels on the Hawker Beechcraft...... Cover II B-2 stealth bomber’s upper wing surface. Martin Baker...... 5 “The B-2 industry team is working USAA...... Cover III closely with the US Air Force and the Defense Logistics Agency to improve AFA Airpower Exhibits...... 77 aircraft availability,” said Gary Roehrig, AFA Corporate Membership...... 76 Northrop B-2 program support director AFA Dental Insurance...... 79 AFA Resume Service...... 78 in a company release. AFA Spotlight On...... 76 Stretching from the engine exhaust to AFA Upcoming Events...... 45 the aircraft’s trailing edge, the recessed Airpower Industry Guide...... 59 metallic panels shield the aircraft’s

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 13 Air Force World

fleet of 20 B-2s to last through normal Counterfeit Crackdown maintenance cycles without extensive intervening repair. The Government Accountability Office recently conducted a sting opera- “Implementing a redesigned aft deck tion to pinpoint sources of counterfeit or substandard electronic components is an important part of guaranteeing that find their way into US weapons systems. the long-term viability of the B-2,” said During the investigation, GAO created a fictitious company to lure dubious Dave Mazur, Northrop’s B-2 program suppliers—specifically in China, said Richard J. Hillman, head of the GAO manager. forensic audits and investigative service, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in November. F-16 Rear-Ender In one instance, the vendor “misrepresented” the part, claiming it was investigators found nine years newer than it actually was. “Counterfeit parts—generally those “clear and convincing evidence” that whose sources knowingly misrepresent the parts’ identity or pedigree—have pilot error caused a ground collision the potential to seriously disrupt the Department of Defense (DOD) supply between two F-16 fighters at Kunsan chain, delay missions, affect the integrity of weapon systems, and ultimately AB, South Korea, last July. endanger the lives of our troops,” stated GAO’s initial report. Contributing factors in the collision “There is a flood of counterfeits and it is putting our military men and were determined to be a “breakdown women at risk and costing us a fortune,” added Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), in [the pilot’s] visual scan, ... task mis- chairman of the SASC, which also conducted its own investigation. prioritization, and channelized atten- The SASC’s independent investigation found counterfeit components in tion,” as well as pilot overconfidence. systems including the C-27J and the Navy’s SH-60B helicopter and P-8A Ultimately, the pilot’s “failure to properly Poseidon aircraft, plus the Missile Defense Agency’s THAAD missiles. monitor his aircraft’s position relative Levin called on the Defense Department to change its acquisition rules to ensure the cost of replacing suspected fake parts falls on contractors. In the mean time, DOD must require part certification especially for parts originating Rack ’Em: TSgt. James Foster (l) and from China, where the vast majority of fakes appear to originate, said Levin. SrA. Ken Choate unload a GBU-38 from an A-10 Warthog at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in preparation for a rack inspection and cleaning. Keeping dust sensitive composite airframe from be- After a rigorous structural and ther- and sand out of weapons and aircraft ing scorched by hot engine gases, but modynamic study, Northrop Grumman is a constant chore in Afghanistan. routinely fail before scheduled depot says it redesigned the decks to resist Both airmen are from the Michigan Air maintenance. damage and fatigue, allowing USAF’s National Guard. USAF photo by SrA. Corey Hook

14 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 The War on Terrorism For the first time since the 11-month project began, crews with the landed a KC-135 at Fairchild, testing the new surface on a homecoming flight to the base Nov. 2. Operation Enduring Freedom Fairchild’s tankers and 1,342 person- nel temporarily operated from nearby Casualties Spokane Airport and Grant County By Dec. 12, a total of 1,839 Americans had died in Operation Enduring Airport during construction. Freedom. The total includes 1,836 troops and three Department of Defense civilians. Of these deaths, 1,467 were killed in action with the enemy, while Allies in Pixel Skies 372 died in noncombat incidents. US and Canadian forces linked com- There have been 15,040 troops wounded in action during OEF. puters for North American Aerospace Defense Command’s first international Bagram’s Blind Saviors real-time simulated air defense exercise Dropping ordnance through solid cloud cover, Air Force strike aircraft late last fall. “These scenarios have staved off an intense assault on a US combat outpost in Paktika province, always been executed in a US-only en- Afghanistan, in early November. vironment,” said Steve Boe, distributed Unable to fly in the severe weather below the cloud deck, the F-16s and mission operations simulator program F-15Es relied on coordinates relayed by a combat controller at the outpost. manager. In one scenario, Canadian “We are able to employ precision weapons through the weather, which is F-18 pilots were able to simulate inter- one of the benefits of having GPS weapons,” said Maj. Todd Dyer, an F-15E cepting a hijacked airliner and handing pilot from the 335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. it off to US F-15s as the aircraft entered “It’s a very disciplined type of attack to get weapons on target efficiently. US airspace. The exercise “provided We weren’t able to use our targeting pods due to weather,” he added. a multiregional realism we’ve never Augmented by F-16s from the 121st EFS, the combined strikes killed up experienced before using DMO,” added to 70 insurgents, stemming the assault before the base could be overrun. Boe. Given the contiguity of Canadian C-130s Drop Winter Supplies and US airspace, “threats can easily transition from their area of operation A C-130 crew air-dropped a winter’s worth of provisions, including 18,000 to ours,” said pounds of fuel, to soldiers at a remote forward base in Afghanistan on Nov. 27. Brig. Gen. Christopher J. Coates, dep- Located at 8,700 feet above sea level, Combat Outpost Herrera is sur- uty commander of the Continental US rounded by mountains and trees, making airdrop difficult and convoy resupply NORAD Region. For the first time, the dangerous and unreliable with the arrival of snowy weather. Nov. 17 exercise incorporated California The 772nd Expeditionary Squadron crew from Kandahar Airfield pilots of the 144th used the aircraft’s Joint Precision Airdrop System to guide the parachute Fighter Wing, flying simulators at their bundles from an altitude of 17,000 feet—out of reach of enemy ground fire. home in Fresno. “Utilizing airdrops with the GPS guided parachutes allows us that avenue to use in case we can’t get resupplied by or vehicles by the road,” MALD Jammer Production said Army SSgt. Denton Poe of COP Herrera’s 1st Platoon. The Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammer has been cleared to begin low-rate initial production. Raytheon to the aircraft in front of him” led to the mishap, according to report findings. Fourth in line for takeoff during an operational readiness exercise, the pilot failed to note that the three fight- ers queuing ahead of him had paused on the taxiway for a routine preflight check. His aircraft struck the third fighter in line. USAF photo by MSgt. Jeffrey Allen Though neither pilot was injured in the accident, the fourth aircraft sus- tained more than $2 million in damage while the third F-16 required some $590,000 worth of repairs.

Return to Fairchild Two KC-135s left the first tire marks on a pristine 2.5-mile runway recently completed at Fairchild AFB, Wash. The $43.6 million runway, which was finished ahead of schedule but over budget, was raised 12 inches over the previous surface to improve drainage. Civil engineers narrowed the strip from 200 feet to 150 feet to match Breaker, Breaker, Good Buddy: A USAF M915 tractor from the 70th Medium standard USAF parameters, recycling Truck Detachment leads a convoy through the desert in Iraq. Forty-three vehicles, some 60,000 tons of concrete in the loaded with equipment and supplies, traveled 1,100 miles in seven days, moving out process. of the country as part of the effort to meet the US troop withdrawal deadline.

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 15 Air Force World

Senior Staff Changes and maintain the service’s two E-11As and the BACN payload, according to Northrop. RETIREMENTS: Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, Maj. Gen. Alfred K. Flowers, Maj. Gen. Harold W. Moulton II, Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant, Brig. Gen. Bryan J. Benson, Brig. Gen. Joseph T. Callahan III. Only Raptors Solo Five Air Force single-ship demo PROMOTIONS: To Lieutenant General: John W. Hesterman III, Robin Rand. teams—A-10 East and West, F-16 East and West, and F-15E—will not perform NOMINATIONS: To be Lieutenant General: John E. Hyten. To be Major General: this year, due to budget reductions at Everett H. Thomas. To be Brigadier General: John D. Bansemer, David B. Been, . Only the F-22 Michael T. Brewer, Thomas A. Bussiere, Clinton E. Crosier, Albert M. Elton II, will make single-ship flight demonstra- Michael A. Fantini, Timothy G. Fay, Edward A. Fienga, Steven D. Garland, Thomas tions for the 2012 air show season. W. Geary, Cedric D. George, Blaine D. Holt, Scott A. Howell, Ronald L. Huntley, The command said it will distribute Allen J. Jamerson, James C. Johnson, Mark D. Kelly, Scott A. Kindsvater, Donald the flying hours normally allotted to E. Kirkland, Ricky J. LoCastro, Bruce H. McClintock, Martha A. Meeker, John E. those five teams to combat wings. Michel, Charles L. Moore Jr., Sean L. Murphy, Gregory S. Otey, Charles E. Pot- This “will allow us to reallocate more ter, John T. Quintas, Michael D. Rothstein, Kevin B. Schneider, Scott F. Smith, than 900 sorties to our wings so they Bradley D. Spacy, Ferdinand B. Stoss, Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, James C. Vechery, can maximize their flying hours for Christopher P. Weggeman, Kevin B. Wooton, Sarah E. Zabel. To be AFRC Brigadier combat readiness training, offsetting General: John P. Currenti, Brian E. Dominguez, Peter R. Masciola. some of the reduction we’ve seen in flying hours,” stated a December re- CHANGES: Maj. Gen. Edward L. Bolton Jr., from Dir., Space & Cyber Ops., DCS, lease. “Most importantly, reallocating Ops., Plans, & Rqmts., USAF, to Dep. Asst. Secy., Budget, Office of the Asst. SECAF, those sorties will provide an increase Financial Mgmt. & Comptroller, Pentagon ... Lt. Gen. (sel.) Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., in more than 25 combat-ready fighter from Dep. Dir., C4 Sys., Jt. Staff, Washington, D.C., to Dir., Defense Info. Sys. Agency, pilots—that’s a very good thing for our Fort Meade, Md. ... Lt. Gen. John W. Hesterman III, from Asst. DCS, Ops., Plans, & nation and wise stewardship of our Rqmts., USAF, Pentagon, to Mil. Dep., Readiness to the USD, P&R, OSD, Pentagon ... limited resources.” Maj. Gen. James M. Holmes, from Dir., Strat. Planning, DCS, Strat. Plans & Prgms., The Thunderbirds air demonstration USAF, Pentagon, to Asst. DCS, Ops., Plans, & Rqmts., USAF, Pentagon ... Brig. Gen. team is “set to complete a full season” Veralinn Jamieson, from Dir., Intel., SOUTHCOM, Miami, to Dep. Commanding General, for 2012, according to ACC. Detainee Ops., Combined Jt. Interagency Task Force-435, US Forces-Afghanistan, CENTCOM, Kabul, Afghanistan ... Lt. Gen. Robin Rand, from Spec. Asst. to the Vice New START Numerology C/S, USAF, Pentagon, to Cmdr., 12th AF, ACC, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. ... Maj. A total of 448 Air Force Minuteman Gen. Darryl L. Roberson, from Cmdr., 455th Air Expeditionary Wg., ACC, Bagram III ICBMs stand in silos on operational Airfield, Afghanistan, to Dir., Strat. Planning, DCS, Strat. Plans & Prgms., USAF, status, based on an exchange of data Pentagon ... Maj. Gen. Anthony J. Rock, Cmdr., 321st Air Expeditionary Wg., ACC, between the United States and , Iraq, to Spec. Asst. to the DCS, Ops., Plans, & Rqmts., USAF, Pentagon. under the New START arms control agreement. In addition, the Air Force SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE CHANGES: John R. Bartley, to Dep. Dir., Acq., holds 266 Minuteman III missiles on TRANSCOM, Scott AFB, Ill. ... David R. Beecroft, to Dep. Dir., Log., DCS, Log., nondeployed status and maintains 58 Instl., & Mission Spt., USAF, Pentagon ... Deline R. Reardon, to Assoc. Dep. Dir., nonoperational silos and six test silos, Log., DCS, Log., Instl., & Mission Spt., USAF Pentagon. n as of September. The Air Force is moving forward with the task of eliminating a total of 100 is preparing to begin deliveries to the designated EQ-4B in recognition of deactivated ICBM silos and their as- Air Force in 2012. their specialized electronic mission, sociated alert facilities in accordance “MALD-J will save the lives of avia- announced Northrop Grumman. with the New START agreement. (See tors because commanders will be able Earlier this year the Air Force desig- “Filling Holes,” p. 17.) to use [it] … to conduct dangerous nated its manned but similarly equipped stand-in jamming missions instead of Bombardier Global Express jet aircraft Bundle and Save using manned aircraft to do the job,” as E-11A. Air Force officials announced plans said Harry Schulte, vice president of “The new designation of the manned for four new active duty associate fighter the company’s Air Warfare Systems and unmanned BACN aircraft reflects a squadrons, pairing active duty and Air product line. unique aircraft mix that provides theater Force Reserve Command airmen as MALD-J adds a radar-jamming capa- commanders complementary capabili- a cost-saving measure. bility to Raytheon’s MALD air launched ties to support the BACN missions,” “We partner active duty and Reserve decoy, which confuses enemy air said Claude Hashem, vice president airmen together and create a powerful defenses by duplicating the character- and general manager of Northrop’s synergy that is cost-effective and re- istics of US and allied aircraft. Network Communications Systems sults in a force that performs both daily Raytheon said the Air Force also business. operations as well as strategic surges,” exercised a contract option to convert “The E-11A business jets provide said Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., Lot 4 production of the baseline decoy rapid tactical deployment options, while Air Force Reserve chief. to the jammer variant. the EQ-4B unmanned systems provide The new active associate units will long endurance and unsurpassed share aircraft and equipment with BACN Baptized persistence.” existing Reserve fighter squadrons at Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft The Air Force awarded Northrop a Barksdale AFB, La.; Homestead ARB, equipped as Battlefield Airborne Com- $43 million, five-month contract exten- Fla.; NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex.; and munications Nodes have been officially sion in September to operate, support, Whiteman AFB, Mo.

16 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 Globalizing Wideband Rebalancing the Rated Pipeline The Canadian Parliament recently authorized more than $464 million to The Air Force needs to boost fighter pilot production to 278 pilots a year secure that country’s place in the Air as it works to rebalance the rated training pipeline, said Chief of Staff Gen. Force’s Wideband Global Satellite Com- Norton A. Schwartz. munications project. To achieve the goal, the Air Force aims to pair active duty units with re- Canada’s experiences in Afghanistan serve fighter squadrons to crank out “significantly more” B-course students, and Libya have proved the necessity Schwartz wrote in a Nov. 2 letter to the Air Staff and major commands. of reliable battlefield communications, In the future, the Arizona Air National Guard at Tucson will host fewer prompting it to partner with the United international F-16 students, in order to ramp up production of USAF F-16 States and on WGS. Denmark, pilots. Meanwhile Air Combat Command will reduce the required F-16 syllabus. Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and New A-10 crew ratios will increase and more aircraft will be added to the flying Zealand have also expressed interest in training unit in an effort to produce more pilots, Schwartz explained. While the joining WGS. location is yet to be determined, USAF’s F-15C aggressor squadron will be Three WGS spacecraft are already converted to an FTU, and F-22 training output will be significantly increased. operating on orbit and the next satellite, Schwartz requested that ACC take the lead on most of the initiatives, to WGS-4, arrived at Cape Canaveral AFS, “rapidly implement” the various training plans. Fla., in November for a late January In addition, USAF intends to “normalize” the MC-12 cadre to maintain pilot launch. inventories at sustainable levels, while scrubbing rated requirements to fit “inventory realities,” wrote Schwartz. Seeking Upgraded Igloos Previously, instead of designating pilots specifically for the MC-12, as has The Air Force chose Lockheed Martin been the case since the Liberty entered service, pilots from across the force to upgrade Atmospheric Early Warning rotated in to temporarily fill MC-12 slots, then returned to their assigned type. System radars throughout the US and Canada, according to a company release in November. AFRC squadrons at Barksdale and the way for empty infrastructure to be About $46.8 million worth of contract Whiteman will continue A-10 opera- imploded or filled with gravel render- options cover initial planning and design tions, with the addition of 128 active ing it useless. work to modernize 29 AN/FPS-117 duty airmen, and F-16 units at Home- The Air Force intends to get rid of long-range surveillance radars, initially stead and Fort Worth will gain 168 50 silos and five alert facilities at each built by Lockheed in the 1980s under active posts. of the two missile bases. At F. E. War- the Seek Igloo North Warning program. While some AFRC personnel will ren, the service will eliminate former Included in the contract are 15 radars be cut, units will be granted “time to Peacekeeper missile silos and alert in Alaska and 11 in Canada, as well as adjust,” said Stenner. facilities once belonging to the 400th individual sites in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Missile Squadron. and Utah. Indonesian Vipers On the books for elimination at The unmanned solid-state L-band The US will transfer 24 surplus F-16s Malmstrom are Minuteman III silos radar sites are capable of continuous to Indonesia under an agreement an- and alert facilities formerly used by airspace coverage out to 250 miles, nounced by President Barack Obama the . providing reliable service even in harsh and Indonesian President Susilo Bam- Under New START, the United States Arctic climates. bang Yudhoyono in November. has until February 2018 to eliminate Lockheed Martin expects a follow- Unveiled during the Pacific lead- the infrastructure. on contract to update signal and data ers’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, this acquisition “provides Indonesia with a much-needed capability to protect its sovereign airspace and represents the largest transfer of defense articles in the history of the US-Indonesia bilateral relationship,” according to a Nov. 18

White House statement. USAF photo by Samuel King Jr. Upgraded with modernized radar and avionics, the regenerated F-16C/Ds will be capable of carrying advanced targeting pods and weaponry. Indonesia also requested 28 re- furbished engines and a stock of six airframes for use as spares. The United States will train at least 30 pilots State- side and send teams to train Indonesian maintainers. Aircraft deliveries are set to begin in July 2014. Indonesia cur- rently operates 10 F-16A/Bs.

Filling Holes Air Force Global Strike Command officials announced Dec. 1 that en- vironmental impact assessments are Feed Me, Seymour: Amn. Jonathan Quinchia drags a fuel hose to an F-16 at Eglin under way at F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo., AFB, Fla. In Fiscal 2011, Eglin took delivery of more than 14 million gallons of fuel and Malmstrom AFB, Mont., clearing and cryogenics products to fulfill some 8,000 test and training missions.

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012 17 Air Force World processing, extending the network life span through 2025. The company already completed similar work upgrading sites in Ger- many, Kuwait, Romania, and the UK.

Remapping Mobility is restructur- ing the US Air Force Expeditionary USAF photo by MSgt. Cecilio Ricardo Center and units of 18th Air Force to wring greater efficiency from daily operations. Slated for inactivation are headquar- ters for the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force and headquarters, 615th Contingency Response Wing—both located at Travis AFB, Calif.—and the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force headquarters at JB McGuire- Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Subordinate units at both bases will remain in place under the control of the expeditionary center, as will air mobility operations wings at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Ramstein Darkest Before Dawn: An airman from the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces AB, Germany. Squadron talks with Iraqi Air Force security forces members after a Dec. 12 perim- “The reduction of 18th Air Force’s eter patrol at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center. The center, previously known span of control allows for greater focus as Sather Air Base, was renamed Dec. 1. on its mission to present operational flying air mobility forces to US Trans- 17, beginning his active duty career in platforms for the , with portation Command,” said Lt. Gen. Mark 1965 as a supply warehouseman at source selection due in early December. F. Ramsay, 18th Air Force commander. Grand Forks AFB, N.D. The GAO has until Feb. 29 to issue “Ultimately, it will allow the 18th Air In 1968, he served as an air transpor- its ruling in Hawker’s case. Force to put greater focus on the flying tation specialist at Da Nang AB, South mission while the expeditionary center Vietnam. After 13 years in the enlisted Senate Passes Defense Authorization focuses on our contingency response, corps, Flowers was commissioned By a vote of 93 to seven, the Senate expeditionary combat support training, as a financial management officer in approved its version of the Fiscal 2012 en route and installation support, and 1978, serving as US Special Opera- defense authorization bill, allocating building partnerships missions.” tions Command director of resources $662 billion. (2004-2006)and later as head of 2nd This includes $527 billion for base- Unburdening SOF Air Force at Keesler AFB, Miss. line Pentagon activities, $117 billion The Air Force is trying to ease the Flowers was awarded the Distin- for overseas contingency operations, burden on its special operators by guished Service Medal by Air Force and $17.5 billion for Department of transferring some of their duties to the Secretary Michael B. Donley in a Energy nuclear weapons and defense- regular force. retirement ceremony at JB Anacostia- related work. “An important point to make when Bolling, D.C., Nov. 16. Following passage of the House you look at this conventional versus the version in May which authorized $690 irregular warfare and special operators Hawker Beechcraft Lodges Protest billion, the measure’s approval cleared out there, is what can we do to take Hawker Beechcraft filed a protest the way for the House and Senate to the burden off them,” said Brig. Gen. against the Air Force with the Govern- hash out a single bill in conference Jerry P. Martinez, operational capability ment Accountability Office after the before sending it on to the President requirements joint integration director. service excluded its AT-6 platform from for signing. Testifying during a House Armed further consideration in the Light Air While the House version passed Services panel on irregular warfare Support aircraft competition. Company before enactment of the 2011 Budget capabilities, Nov. 3, Martinez said, officials said they were “confounded Control Act, the Senate’s includes “Our country has asked a lot of our and troubled” by the Air Force’s deci- $27 billion in additional BCA cuts for special ops forces.” That’s why the sion, claiming that the service unfairly Fiscal 2012. Air Force is trying to improve, in the kept them in the dark as to why the Added were tough sanctions on , “general populace,” language, regional, company’s bid was barred. in light of a recent International Atomic and cultural training—instruction once In a release Nov. 21, Hawker Beech- Energy Agency report that the country reserved for air commandos, he added. craft said the decision “appears at this continues to develop nuclear weapons. point to have been made without basis The Senate legislation also reaf- Longest Serving Airman Retires in process or fact.” Accordingly, “we are firmed retaining captured terrorists in Maj. Gen. Alfred K. Flowers retired very interested in learning more about military custody, rather than handling as the Air Force’s longest serving the decision and look forward to the them through the civil court system. airman, ending his 46-year career as results of the GAO’s review.” President Obama threatened to veto deputy assistant secretary for budget. The Air Force said it is going ahead the authorization if similar language Flowers enlisted in the Air Force at age with the competition to acquire 20 LAS found its way into the final bill. n

18 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2012