Air Force World

F-16 Pilot Killed in Crash was willing to put his life on the line every day in service to Capt. William H. DuBois, 30, an F-16 pilot assigned to the his nation. He was a valued airman, pilot, and friend ... [and] 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw AFB, S.C., was killed Dec. he will be greatly missed.” 1 after his fi ghter crashed “near a coalition air base in the DuBois was the fi rst airman killed while supporting Opera- Middle East,” according to an Air Forces Central Command tion Inherent Resolve. A marine was killed after bailing out of news release. an MV-22 Osprey in October. DuBois had taken off on a mission around 11 p.m. on Nov. 30 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led air Air Commando Dies After Training Mishap campaign against ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria. He was at- TSgt. Sean Barton, a pararescueman assigned to the 320th tempting to return to a base in the region, shortly after takeoff, Special Tactics Squadron, died Oct. 30 from injuries sustained when he crashed. while rappelling during training near Kathmandu, Nepal, accord- “Losing Captain DuBois is sad and tragic. Our most sincere ing to an Air Force Special Operations Command press release. condolences go out to his family, friends, and squadron mem- “Sean was a selfl ess leader on our team,” said Capt. Michael bers during this diffi cult time,” said Col. Stephen F. Jost, 20th Erickson, 320th STS combat rescue offi cer and Barton’s team Fighter Wing commander. “Captain DuBois was a patriot who leader.

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12.03.2014

Lt. Col. Ryan Haden, 74th Fighter Squadron commander, lands an A-10C on a desert landing strip at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The 74th FS was supporting Iron Strike, a large-scale live-fi re exercise hosted by the Army’s 1st Armored Division.

10 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 By Aaron M. U. Church, Associate Editor

“He aggressively pursued excellence with a smile on his end of the Cold War.” The readiness action plan enables face and laughter never far behind. His love for his family, NATO “to meet any threats from wherever they come,” he said. loyalty to his team, and relentless determination serve as The interim force will primarily be made up of troops based an example for us all.” in Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, although all 28 Barton, who joined the Air Force in 2003, had served in countries “will contribute to this effort into the next year.” both Iraq and Afghanistan and was a recipient of multiple The interim force is expected to be available early this year. Air Medals, among other commendations. NATO’s full capacity spearhead force will “provide the quick reaction capability we need,” added Stoltenberg. Al- NATO Announces Interim Spearhead Force lied defense ministers are slated to decide the full size and NATO announced Dec. 2 that an interim “spearhead force” design of the force in February, and the “aim is to stand it will go operational next year as part of the Alliance’s efforts up in 2016,” according to offi cials. to improve readiness and assure eastern allies in light of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Arizona Predators NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the move The Arizona Air National Guard launched its fi rst Stateside is “the biggest increase in our collective defense since the MQ-1 Predator sortie from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., Nov. 5.

USAF photo by A1C Ryan Callaghan

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 11 Ai F e

The sortie was enabled by the unit’s new launch and recovery element, according to a wing news release. “The a ne i a e LRE completion is a product of more than six years of n a r aun ra n a n planning and preparation, and the first flight of an Arizona n r an a r ra r ur n r MQ-1 … was a great milestone for our wing,” said 162nd an r r r a r na a Wing Commander Col. Phil Purcell. n a a n u a a The wing’s 214th Reconnaissance Group began flying sustainable air arm, but purchases such as a fleet of remote RPA combat missions in theater from Davis-Monthan 20 2 ran r r n r y a u a AFB, Ariz., eight years ago. n r n ra r an an r n ru n J n The new LRE will take on a crew-training role to “prepare a a a r r un a n a n n airmen from across the country to operate and maintain our r r n u ra n r nation’s RPA assets, and as one of only five ANG LREs in a u an 2 r nn n ar ar r the country, Arizona remains at the forefront of readiness this year. “They didn’t fly and didn’t work,” said Sopko. for any federal or state requirement,” Purcell said. His office, known as SIGAR, estimates that the total The unit has logged more than 70,000 combat flying 2 n ra a un n 00 hours to date and is still awaiting the completion of hangars n an 00 n a u au r a n and support facilities next year. y r n a u a un n “We want to find out why [the purchase was made] Mi i e F e A ee ea R a i n and see if there are lessons learned,” he added. The The Air Force will adopt a test scheme forcewide to rotate ann a u n a na 1 r r new missileers after three years of proficiency building into a r a a a three-year instructing or supervisory roles, announced 20th That’s because the Afghans had difficulty flying and Air Force, which oversees ICBM forces. maintaining their existing Mi-17 fleet, and SIGAR saw “In the past, the focus was to become an instructor or n n a n u a r ra a evaluator, leading to less experienced people” often over- —Marc V. Schanz seeing more experienced officers, explained Maj. Ray Vann, ICBM operations lead at Air Force Global Strike Command’s Applied Capabilities Office. The new “3+3” plan decreases the length of first-term Europe, USAF Gen. Philip M. Breedlove called overt acts assignments and allows launch officers to gain experience. attempting to message the US and its allies on Russia’s It was beta tested at Minot AFB, N.D., earlier this year. military reach and influence. The result, thus far, has been that officers in the missile field “attain a high level of expertise as leaders and opera- I a i in e A iz na e e tors so they can lead from the front when they become The Defense Department will deliver the Iraqi Air Force’s commanders of ICBM units,” said Col. Jay Folds, 20th Air first batch of new-build F-16s to Tucson, Ariz., where they Force operations director. will be used to train Iraqi pilots, officials announced. “An added benefit to the ‘3+3’ model is the new perspective gained by serving in multiple units” early in a career, Vann said.

ea a e a Russian bombers will expand long-range patrols in the Western Hemisphere, including international airspace in and around the Gulf of Mexico, Russian Defense Minister Ser- gei Shoigu announced in November. Long-range aviation units, including Russia’s Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers, will expand exer- cises to include areas over the Arctic and the Western Hemisphere. Shoigu previously said Russia is negotiating bas- ing and refueling access rights to airfields in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to support such exercises. The announcement comes on the heels of criti- cism over recent exercises involving strategic bombers over Europe, which NATO Supreme Allied Commander,

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 The jets were originally slated for delivery to Balad Air Base in Iraq, but those plans changed due to the security situation NATO AWACS End Afghan Mission in Iraq, including ISIS terrorist threats that forced contractors NATO’s E-3 AWACS component concluded its fi nal involved in the transfer to evacuate the installation, according two-year rotation to Afghanistan, where it provided air to a Nov. 10 news release. traffi c management and command and control over the Iraqi pilots were already in a training pipeline at Tucson country for nearly four years. Airport and the fi rst three Iraqi F-16s were expected in Tucson “The NATO E-3A component fl ag has been taken by December, DOD spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren said. down. The mission has been accomplished,” said Deliveries will continue at the rate of one per month through German air force Col. Werner Nemetschek, who led May 2015, when all eight F-16s have been handed over. NATO’s AWACS detachment. “We expect the Iraqi pilots will begin fl ying their own aircraft Alliance-owned AWACS airplanes fl ew a total of for continuation training beginning in January,” said Warren. 1,250 sorties, logging 14,000 fl ying hours and direct- “All maintenance for the F-16s will be provided by [contractor] ing more than 25,650 combat aircraft since beginning logistic support,” he said. rotations there in January 2011, according to NATO. The E-3s initially fl ew from NATO’s permanent Aggressor Gapfi ller AWACS forward operating location at Konya AB, The Air Force Weapons School pulled F-15s from Seymour Turkey, until support facilities could be established at Johnson AFB, N.C., to temporarily fi ll a gap left by the loss Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan. of its dedicated F-15 aggressor squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev. The fi nal NATO AWACS aircraft returned to Geilen- “Having the Seymour Johnson operators and aircraft here kirchen, Germany, at the end of September, two months is critical to achieving our Weapons School advanced training before the component’s last personnel left Afghanistan objectives,” said school commandant Col. Adrian Spain in a on Nov. 18. Nov. 7 press release. —Aaron M. U. Church “We’re losing our Red Air capacity, capable of replicat- ing a high-end adversary with the stand-down of the 65th Aggressor Squadron and the accompanying loss of those F-15C aircraft,” he said. The bulk of the school’s F-15Cs We Got This: Army paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne were passed on to Air National Guard units when Nellis Division watch a C-17 take off during a USAF Weapons School officials inactivated the 65th AGRS in September due to large-scale air mobility exercise, Joint Forcible Entry, at the budget cuts. Nevada Test and Training Range. More than 100 paratroopers A few F-15Cs were shuffled to Nellis’ F-16 aggressor and some 100 aircraft, including more than 50 C-17s and C- squadron until early this year, after which the school will be 130s, took part. During Joint Forcible Entry—a capstone event without an organic high-end dual-engine adversary platform. that culminates a fi ve-month weapons school course—partici- pants seize and hold hostile or potentially hostile areas against F-15Es from Seymour Johnson’s 335th Fighter Squadron armed opposition in the air and on the ground, to make the supported the school’s weapons instructor course from Oct. continuous landing of troops and materiel possible. 11 to Nov. 1, according to the news release. USAF photo by SSgt. Victoria Sneed Victoria SSgt. by photo USAF

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 13 Air Force World

Captured, Copied, and Flown Iran claims to have test-fl own a remotely piloted aircraft By the Numbers based on reverse-engineered technology gleaned from a captured Lockheed Martin RQ-170 stealth RPA, the state-run Fars News Agency reported. “We had promised to fl y the fi nal model of RQ-170 in the second half of the current year and this has happened,” said $32,000 Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of Iran’s air force, in the Nov. 10 news article. “The footage of its fl ight will be released The scrap-metal value of the $700 million C-27A soon,” he said. airlift fl eet bought for the Afghan Air Force and Iran’s military claims that the RQ-170 brought down in 2011 currently under investigation. was redirected via electronic warfare means. US offi cials maintain that the RPA inadvertently strayed off course during operations over Afghanistan. The Dutch plan to operate at least 37 F-35As. Two Neth- According to the press report, Iran’s prototype RPA is a erlands jets are currently flying at Eglin. The squadron was scaled-down version of the RQ-170, intended for both intel- scheduled to move to Edwards at the end of 2014. ligence gathering and ground attack. Goodbye Spartan Florida Dutch The Coast Guard took delivery of the first of 14 former The Royal Netherlands Air Force inaugurated its fi rst F-35 Air National Guard C-27J transports it is slated to receive. Lightning II squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., in a fl ag ceremony The airplane, which formerly served at the Mississippi there on Nov. 4. ANG’s schoolhouse at Key Field in Meridian, was ferried on No. 323 Squadron furled its colors as an F-16 unit at Leeu- Nov. 13 from the Air Force’s aircraft “Boneyard” at Davis- warden AB, Netherlands, on Nov. 4 and temporarily relocated Monthan AFB, Ariz., to CGAS Elizabeth City, N.C. to Eglin before heading to Edwards AFB, Calif., where it will conduct the Dutch F-35 operational test and evaluation. “Performing OT&Es is a familiar task for 323 Squadron,” Sharper Eyes in the Sky: Workers at Tinker AFB, Okla., in- Eglin detachment commander RNAF Col. Bert de Smit said stall critical Block 40/45 upgrades to E-3 AWACS aircraft dur- ing programmed depot maintenance in November. Upgraded in a press release. Sentrys reached initial operational capability at Tinker in July The unit also handled Dutch F-16 operational testing. 2014, and some E-3s with the new equipment are now sup- “Now the squadron has been given the honorable task of porting counterdrug operations. Offi cials consider the Block preparing the defense organization for operations with an 40/45 modifi cations to be the most signifi cant upgrades the extremely versatile fifth generation jet fighter,” he added. aircraft type has undergone in its more than 35-year history. USAF photo USAF

14 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 e a n e i

O e a i n In e en Re e

Ca a ie r nary r u a an un a n y 1 a a r r an a n a r 1 21 2n ra n n r n r r n n n 2012 a r y ar u r n a n n a n n ra n n ra r a n un n a n ur n 10 n n y u r n ary r u r n n u r n n u n u n A a In e an ra n n r n r r n ra an 10 r y r an an r an u an a Air Force Magazine. r n ar n r n r y n r r a n u 122n r n a r u r a r ra n u r an ra r y y an an a rary u n n ra an yr a ur n r u r n r a na ar ur 10 a n 122n r n a r a a r a a ayn n n r n y r a a 2n —Marc V. Schanz

O e a i n En ing F ee

Ca a ie nu r a a n a y n an ar un a u y 1 a a 2 5 r an a n signings have intensified their anger as the presence of ra n n ur n r a n u 2 52 r n r a a ay n y a an r an ur ar n n an a a an r n r r n ry a 1 r n a n n y a r n a r r r 510 n n n a n n i En A g an C a O r a n 20 0 0 r un n a n ur n r r n r a r n an an an n n r an u a a n r an A g an ign e i a r n r ara n r a ran n a ry an a n an an r n a r n r ra n n r n r n r r a n n an an a r a ra a a ar r r n an n n u n 201 a r n a an a a an n an a ar r n n a ur a an ar a n r n y a r n r n an an a r r y a n n a a a ra ur y a r n an n a ur an r r an an n a u r a r n n 2 u a 2 n ry n r r a a a r n r r n an n a n r rna r a r ra ya r an r n n r a n a r na a a y n an a ar r u r a 1 y ar an an ar r n r an u y n ra ar n r nary a r n a an a ar r a r u r a r n a ur rn n n n ay a r a r u n a a a r n n ur an 2012 an na ur n r ra n r an r nna an an r y a r ra u r ur y a y an un y an an a r r ra na y r n r an n r u ur y n a an ur r n a n ar n an an r n a n ar n r an a y r n a u rn an an n n n n a n r n a u a n 5 r r an n an r n a u a a an n r a n a n n 2001 a r n ur

Technicians aimed to refurbish the second C-27J destined ega i e Men for the Coast Guard for delivery by the end of November, The Air Force has selected a total of 41 officers and en- Teresa Pittman, spokeswoman for Davis-Monthan’s 309th listed members from the Active Duty component, Air National Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, told Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command to constitute the Air Force Magazine. aircrews for the initial operational test and evaluation phase The first C-27J was stored in Army markings left over of the KC-46A tanker. from the time of the joint Air Force-Army C-27 program, “Test and evaluation aircrew will evaluate the tanker’s capa- Pittman noted. bilities under all circumstances and situations to ensure that The Coast Guard is passing seven HC-130s to the US it meets all operational mission requirements,” said Maj. Broc Forest Service and curtailing its buy of HC-177 search Starrett, who oversees Mobility Air Forces rated assignments aircraft in exchange for the C-27Js. This move is expected for the Air Force Personnel Center, on Nov. 24. to save the Coast Guard approximately half-a-billion dol- “This is a significant milestone in the careers of the pilots lars in acquisition costs. The rest of the Air Force’s 21 and boom operators selected to test the new tanker,” he said, C-27s are earmarked for transfer to US Special Opera- because the airmen selected for these positions “must be the tions Command. best in their field.”

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 eni a C ange In e A e i e n r CO FIRMA IO ie enan ene a ar an ra r an A Ma ene a J n e Ja i a A r r 0 iga ie ene a a an Re i r r OMI A IO e ie enan ene a ar n e iga ie ene a Ja J r ra r un AFA Member Benefits ...... 61 C A E a n ar a e r r ann n 5 r a r n r r a r n r r a n r ar ar y u r n a a e r r n ra an Air Force Magazine an a y r 5 y n r u n r u a r J n na n a a an r y ran u n 2 a r n a een r r a J a n uran 5 n a n r r r n a n a n ar n r r ra rr n u ar n ra n a n r any knew the enemy’s position to call in air strikes and could r a ar n n r see where the friendly munitions were hitting. r r r a r n r n ny r a r n a Fan ini r He called in gunship support danger-close to his position, Cmdr., Kandahar Airfield, Intl. Security Assistance Force, CENTCOM, exposed himself to protect his ground force commander, Kandahar, Afghanistan, to Principal Dir., Middle East Policy, Office of and climbed a steep incline to fend off insurgents at close r y na n r n ar n n r range and under direct fire. r n n y a n n n y n a r a a y n r a r Re ie R an ig n r an i g from Dir., Warfighter Sys. Integration, Office The Utah Air National Guard christened its longtime n nan na n r operating location east of Salt Lake City Airport the Roland Ops., Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, CENTCOM, Baghdad, Iraq Wright Air National Guard Base in honor of the state’s first r n na i an r r a a y n r a r r a r n Air Guard chief of staff. r n ar M e from Dep. Chief, Office of ur y ra n ra a a ra r a J a n a n n ar an r / a r 12 r r u rn i ing n An i e a A a e a n an r a n a e n r r n ur y r u n r r an Principal Dir. for Middle East Policy, Office of USD for Policy, OSD, n a n / a a n Ja u n ua a au u a n an r n r n O r r a a r ur J a ay n n u a r a n n n n a n r J a n a n r n n r a n arry n r Air Force Magazine. COMMA C IEF C A E a Ma a r n a ua n a an n J r nn 1 a r a n ur ar ar r u n an nary an an an a r r u n r a n n r r ar ar n r ur ur a a n an n r E IOR E EC I E ER ICE RE IREME ar ara J a ge n January r r a r ar n a ur an a a ay ua au r n n u a r E C A E ynn a ig i rn a r u u n a ur r an n r na y n n a n ar yn an ua a au r a n ann un to Tech. Dir., Comm. Sys. Directorate, Natl. Recon Office, AFSPC, an n n r n n an y a u an i r a a y ur r n an u n a y n ra n a I n r a n u r u u y r ra u r a a n r na r r na The KC-46 is slated to enter the Air Force’s inventory in a a n r u 2016, pending the results of operational test and evaluation. nu r a r r a r KC-46s will replace the Air Force’s oldest KC-135 tankers. r aa n n an a a r rn a ur n r na y n r a ry n i e C n e a i n r r u r r a n r na MSgt. Thomas Case, a tactical air control party airman with revenge fell under the survey’s definition of “retaliation,” the 18th Air Support Operations Group at Pope Field, N.C., n r a n a u y au r was awarded a second Silver Star for heroism in Afghanistan a r a during a ceremony at Pope on Nov. 13. n ay ar n a r n u “Master Sergeant Case answered his nation’s call and my commander or my first sergeant,” but midlevel bosses, defended his country with his life. He is the embodiment ay a n r n a u a n of our legacy of valor and will always be part of our proud u n n r r un u a ar heritage,” said Maj. Gen. H. D. Polumbo Jr., 9th Air Force to be a defensewide, and Air Force officials are “already commander, presenting the medal. n n ay n r a u r r u a Case accompanied a team of Army rangers into the n an a un a y n n r a mountains of Afghanistan on a mission to destroy enemy —Aaron M. U. Church camps in June 2009. During the ensuing firefight, Case frequently exposed himself to enemy fire to ensure he

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 Photo by John Studwell/AmericaSpace John by Photo

Where No Man Has Gone ... Yet: A United Launch Alli- ance Delta IV rocket successfully launched the Orion space- Hagel Announces Nuclear Overhaul craft into space from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. Orion is Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel unveiled an enter- designed to take humans farther into space than they have prisewide action plan for investment, improvement, and ever gone before and will serve as an exploration vehicle. reform to address systemic problems identifi ed across The spacecraft will sustain the crew during space travel and the nation’s nuclear deterrent force. provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The unmanned Dec. 5 fl ight test evaluated launch and high-speed “Our nuclear enterprise is foundational to America’s re-entry systems such as avionics, attitude control, para- national security, and our attention must refl ect that,” chutes, and the spacecraft’s heat shield. Hagel said in a Nov. 14 Pentagon briefi ng. DOD will work to add 10 percent to the nuclear budget each of the next fi ve years, with an emphasis on actions that “Roland Wright is truly a giant, and it’s only fitting that improve the security and sustainment of the current this air base, where he so faithfully served our state and force, ensure that modernization of the force remains on our nation, be named in his honor,” said Army Maj. Gen. track, and enhance the morale of the force, said Hagel. Jefferson Burton, adjutant general of Utah’s National Guard, Currently, DOD spends between $15 billion and $16 in a news release. billion a year on the nuclear mission. An internal and an Wright logged 200 hours as a P-51 pilot in Europe dur- independent external review of the nuclear force made ing World War II and joined the nascent Utah Air Guard more than 100 recommendations for the additional as one of the 191st Fighter Squadron’s first pilots in 1946, investment, he said. according to the press release. He served as a squadron The reviews found that nuclear forces are meeting and group commander and eventually Utah’s chief of staff demands, but changes must be made to address issues for air from 1969 to 1972, in addition to flying combat mis- that could undermine the safety, security, and effective- sions in Vietnam. ness of the force. “He was an aviation pioneer here in Utah, providing —Marc V. Schanz tremendous leadership,” said Burton. Wright, now 95, who retired as a brigadier general in 1976, was at the ceremony, Nov. 18, reported the Salt Lake Tribune. %

AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2015 17