Aerospace World

By Adam J. Hebert, Senior Editor

Tanker Compromise Reached The Air Force announced Nov. 6 that the Administration had reached an agreement with Congress over the service’s plan to acquire new KC-767 refueling tankers. The deal would en- able USAF to lease 20 and buy 80 of the Boeing aircraft, ending an extended controversy over USAF’s plan to lease all 100 tankers. USAF photo by SrA. James Seymore Under the terms of the agreement, the Air Force will lease 20 KC-767A aircraft, beginning in 2006. This will allow the service to begin to replace its fleet of aging KC-135s sooner than would have been possible through a traditional acquisition program. USAF will begin its purchase of 80 addi- tional tankers in 2008, with final de- livery in 2014. The service’s acquisition execu- tive, Marvin R. Sambur, said that “de- tails remain to be finalized.” How- A KC-135 tanker on Nov. 6 takes off from Incirlik AB, Turkey. Tankers and ever, he added that the compromise crews from Grand Forks AFB, N.D., McConnell AFB, Kan., and Robins AFB, Ga., agreement “achieves an appropriate deployed to Incirlik in early November to support missions over Afghanistan balance between the need to begin and Iraq. Congress finally approved a plan that will let USAF quickly replace its tanker recapitalization and the hard elderly tankers. (See “Tanker Compromise Reached,” at left.) fiscal realities of the budgeting pro- cess.” tract awards, and “survivability against In October, the first operational revised estimates of the [future] threat Raptor, No. 18, arrived at the pilot F/A-22 Sails Through Review environment.” training schoolhouse at Tyndall AFB, The F/A-22 Raptor, the Air Force’s Fla. Raptor pilots will train at Tyndall highest procurement priority, passed 27th FS To Get F/A-22s First before returning to Langley. its most recent Defense Acquisition The 27th Fighter Squadron, part of Board review, paving the way for the the located at Lang- Moseley: USAF Must Fill the Bins award of new contracts. ley AFB, Va., will be the first Air USAF reconstitution requires a The review panel in late September Force unit to fly operational F/A-22s. huge infusion of basic items con- concluded that the stealthy fighter’s The service announced the deci- sumed during II, said Gen. contractor team “continues to make sion in October. T. Michael Moseley. progress to improve avionics stabil- The squadron flies F-15C fighters The Air Force vice chief of staff, ity,” one of the key developmental and will begin next year to transition testifying before the House Armed stumbling blocks in recent months. from Eagles to Raptors. The F/A-22 Services Committee on Oct. 21, said Next up for award are the program’s is scheduled to reach initial opera- the service must restock depleted Lot 4 (production) and Lot 5 (ad- tional capability in 2005. supplies of precision weapons—both vance procurement) contracts. How- Evidently, the squadron’s history laser guided and satellite guided ever, the panel ordered USAF to wait played a major role in USAF’s deci- types. until the program meets designated sion to make it the vanguard of F/A- Also in the pipeline are new electro- exit criteria. 22 deployment. optical Maverick missiles to replace Plans call for the panel in Febru- The 27th in 1941 became the first older versions and Wind-Corrected ary to meet again to further review unit to fly the P-38 Lightning and in Munitions Dispenser-equipped clus- the F/A-22’s progress, according to 1975 became the first to fly opera- ter bombs to restock older cluster a Defense Department information tional F-15s, said Col. Frank Gorenc, bomb units used in the conflict. Other paper. wing commander. needs include rockets, various small The panel will then evaluate readi- If all goes as planned, the three 1st arms, and fuzes. ness to enter initial operational test FW squadrons will have made the Moseley said most of these items and evaluation, reliability growth plans, transition to F/A-22 operations by the would be procured through supple- exit criteria for the next batch of con- end of 2007. mental funding.

12 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 Troops Need Reconstitution, Too As Moseley sees it, the Air Force also needs to reconstitute its person- nel to go along with its hardware. He told the House panel that the equivalent of 7.3 of the Air Force’s 10 Air Expeditionary Forces are, even now, “globally engaged.” Fully eight of the 10 were engaged during Gulf War II. USAF photo by SSgt. Alex Koenig The force has been so busy for so long that it has fallen well off its train- ing, education, and rotation sched- ules. USAF needs to get back on track, said Moseley. The Air Force “must focus on re- constituting capabilities, not just com- modities,” he explained. Air Force leaders are struggling to get back to troop rotations lasting 90 days. The 90-day rotations were sus- pended at the start of the war and have not been reinstated. Air Force plans call for resumption of the 90- An Air Force C-130 drops fire retardant on a wildfire in Southern California. day AEF standard in March. Four USAF wings helped fight the fires: Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift At that time, said Moseley, Air Force Wing, Channel Islands AGS, Calif.; Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd AW, fighter and bomber forces “will be Peterson AFB, Colo.; ANG’s 153rd AW, Cheyenne, Wyo.; and ANG’s 145th ready to resume normal rotations.” AW, Charlotte, N.C.. Moreover, added Moseley, “we will have completed the repositioning of our war reserve stocks.” However, said the vice chief, the The Latest In Iraq Air Force “will not meet the March goal” in certain high-demand career fields because they are engaged in OIF Casualties Slowly Climb sustained combat operations and are By Oct. 23, deaths during Operation Iraqi Freedom reached a total of 548 not able to work off their training since combat operations began. These include 219 deaths due to hostile backlogs in time. actions and 124 noncombat fatalities. Since the end of major combat operations May 1, deaths totaled 205. Of those fatalities, 104 were due Dyess B-1Bs in Record Surge to hostile fire, and 101 were from noncombat causes. A group of 18 B-1B bombers based at Dyess AFB, Tex., surged in Octo- Gulf War II fatalities passed the total from the 1991 Gulf War on Sept. 13, ber, generating 114 sorties in 68 when they reached 294. In the 40 days from Sept. 13 to Oct. 23, 49 hours. This was a record rate, Air additional Americans died in Iraq, slightly more than one per day. Force officials said. Operation Iron Thunder, as the Ansar al-Islam Terror Leader Apprehended surge exercise was called, ran from US officials captured Aso Hawleri, a top member of the Ansar al-Islam Oct. 7 through Oct. 9 and produced terror organization that has ties to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda terror 321 simulated bombing runs, accord- network, in Iraq. Hawleri, also known as Asad Muhammad Hasan, was ing to a service news release. taken into custody in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, according to the USAF has “known for a long time” Associated Press. that B-1Bs could strike targets from long range with large payloads, noted Thought to be the third-ranking member of his terror organization, Col. Jonathan George, commander Hawleri was reportedly taken into custody by members of the 101st of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess. Airborne without shots being fired. He went on to say that this surge operation “demonstrated the impres- Saddam Hussein Holed Up Near Tikrit? sive amount of firepower ... that we could potentially unleash on the en- US officials said in October that they believe deposed Iraqi dictator emy” in a relatively short period. Saddam Hussein may be hiding out near his hometown of Tikrit, in north- If those 114 flights had been ac- central Iraq. “We have clear indication he has been here recently,” said tual combat sorties, said George, Army Maj. Troy Smith, a deputy brigade commander in Tikrit. “He could the B-1Bs could have delivered more be here right now,” Smith said Oct. 13. than 2,500 Joint Direct Attack Muni- tions. To deliver that same weapons Hussein’s exact whereabouts—or even if he is still alive—has been load, a force of F-16 fighters would unknown since the attacks March 20 that marked the beginning of need 1,400 sorties. Operation Iraqi Freedom. Overall, of the 55 former regime leaders on the coalition’s “most wanted” list, 38 are reportedly in custody, three are Jones Says US May Quit Bosnia thought dead, and 14 remained at large by mid-October. US peacekeeping forces may be withdrawn from Bosnia in 2004, re-

AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 13 Aerospace World ported Marine Corps Gen. James L. sion lacks the “maturity” needed to In recent years, the Departments Jones. send military peacekeepers home. of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Jones, the Supreme Allied Com- US troops have been helping to keep have received roughly even shares mander, Europe and commander of the peace in Kosovo ever since Opera- of defense funds, though this was not US European Command, made the tion Allied Force in 1999 prompted always the case. (See “Footing the announcement Oct. 10. Serbia to withdraw its forces from the Bill for Military Space,” August, p. The first US peacekeepers entered breakaway province. 54.) Bosnia in December 1995, after the Perle noted that recent operations signing of the Dayton peace accords. Perle: USAF Deserves More show that the nation’s military puts President Clinton pledged at that time Modern trends in warfare mean “an incredible premium” on speed, to have all troops out within one that the traditional even-thirds allo- flexibility, and precision in weapons year. cation of the defense budget may systems. Eight years later, about 500 air- need retooling, with the Air Force With the now build- men remain in that Balkan nation. getting a larger share, stated Rich- ing cost-effective weapons that actu- The Army has a larger presence in ard Perle, a member of the Defense ally “hit the targets,” the Air Force the region—about 1,500 soldiers in Policy Board. should benefit, he said. That is be- Bosnia and 2,200 more in Kosovo. Perle argued the case for the Air cause airpower forces offer advan- The exit from Bosnia, if it happens, Force during an Oct. 10 American tages not conferred by ground and won’t be duplicated elsewhere in the Enterprise Institute briefing in Wash- naval forces. Balkans. Jones said the Kosovo mis- ington, D.C. Perle noted that USAF can reliably

DOD To Closely Watch Morale in Iraq

Pentagon leaders have not yet seen convincing indi- cations that morale among troops is suffering in Iraq. Even so, officials pledged to closely monitor the situa- tion in the wake of a Stars and Stripes poll that reported widespread dissatisfaction among the rank and file.

USAF photo by A1C Alicia M. Sarkkinen Morale is “something we take very, very seriously,” said Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a survey of nearly 2,000 troops throughout Iraq, the newspaper found 34 percent of respondents described their morale as low, and 49 percent said their unit’s morale was low. These totals were in stark contrast to official reports of high morale. According to the survey, 27 percent described their morale as high, but only 16 percent felt their unit was in good spirits. The newspaper conceded it had not conducted a scientific poll, with specific controls. Among those surveyed, 49 percent said it was not likely that they would remain in the military once their current tour of duty was up. Furthermore, the paper said, many troops felt that visiting dignitaries, such as generals and members of Congress, were given a “dog and pony show” when they came to Iraq. Many respondents believed the VIPs only had access to preselected troops. Asked about this at a Pentagon briefing, Myers ech- oed the concern. “As a four-star [general], somebody’s always ... bringing us all the happy folks,” he said. “I want to see the folks that have complaints,” Myers said, jokingly adding, “They won’t let them near me.” Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted at the same briefing that only the Army Reserve was having The mission gets done despite the challenges facing US “soft” recruiting and retention, but added that “the ef- forces in Iraq. Here, USAF SSgt. Lonny Ellison (left) and Latvian 1st Sgt. Renars Vandinskis tape down C-4 plastic fects of a stress on the force are unlikely to be felt explosives to detonate unexploded ordnance found in immediately.” downtown Kirkuk.

14 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 strike targets with systems such as relatively inexpensive Joint Direct Attack Munitions. However, he went on, the service continues to live with a static budget. Perhaps a better metric for deter- mining defense budget shares would be to emphasize innovative measure- ments such as “cost per target de-

USAF photo by MSgt. John E. Lasky stroyed,” Perle suggested. Changing the relative shares of the budget would require overcom- ing both parochialism and bureau- cratic inertia, but would create a more capable military force, Perle concluded.

US Buying Up MANPADS Trying to get the anti-aircraft weap- ons off the streets in Iraq, American officials are buying up Stinger-type, man-portable missiles. The US is paying $500 to take a single missile Capt. Tiamo Strother watches SrA. Chhay Uy as he uses Raindrop 3-D goggles out of circulation. to select targeting coordinates for strike aircraft during a Red Flag war training Various wire service news reports scenario. Both airmen are from the 32nd Operations Group, Ramstein AB, said the US had succeeded in acquir- Germany. ing more than 300 of the missiles by Oct. 8. Several man-portable air defense system missiles have been fired at US aircraft in Iraq, though no aircraft JFCOM Itemizes Iraq’s Lessons Learned have been hit. (See “Aerospace World: Missiles Fired at C-141 De- A US Joint Forces Command evaluation of Operation Iraqi Freedom has parting Baghdad,” November, p. 17.) determined that the prevention of fratricide is the Defense Department’s Gen. John W. Handy, commander of area of greatest need. US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, has said he views “We have to do things,” about fratricide, said Army Brig. Gen. Robert W. the MANPADS threat as a serious Cone, director of JFCOM’s lessons learned center. problem. An Army official noted that the The Defense Department sees fratricide prevention as having “two total number of weapons acquired critical ingredients,” Cone said at an October Pentagon briefing. Combat does not include “many hundreds” identification (positively classifying a target before shooting) and situ- of anti-aircraft missiles that coali- ational awareness (knowing who is supposed to be where at a given tion forces located and destroyed on time) are both areas requiring improvement. their own. According to Army Lt. Col. George “In terms of combat ID, I don’t think we’ve made a lot of progress in the Krivo, the going bounty is $500 for a last 10 years,” Cone said. full system and $250 for grip stock or an “a la carte” missile. Thermal panels and infrared “bug lights” for ground forces can help, he said, but “I could show you ... what that looks like from an F-14 LANTIRN China Enters Space Club pod at 15,000 feet.” It is “not comforting in terms of the ability to discern” The exclusive, two-member manned between friend and foe, Cone said. spaceflight club, formed in 1961, is no more. Blue force tracking capabilities are good at the operations center level, China in October joined the United Cone said, but DOD needs to ensure the information gets to the “lowest States and Soviet Union (now Rus- level,” where the shooters are. sia) as the only nations to have suc- cessfully launched a human being Cone said part of the challenge in preventing fratricide recently has been into space. Chinese astronaut Lt. that the battlefields have not been distinct—they lack clearly separated Col. Yang Liwei orbited the Earth 14 forces. In both Afghanistan and Iraq, there was considerable mixing of times during a 21-hour flight that combatants, and as forces converge “it’s a greater challenge,” he said. stretched from Oct. 15 through Oct. 16. Overall, however, Cone described OIF as a triumph of integrated combat In early 1961, Soviet cosmonaut power. Joint force integration and adaptive planning, joint force synergy, Yuri Gagarin and American astro- and special operations on the battlefield were the “big winners,” accord- naut Alan B. Shepard Jr. made the ing to JFCOM. These efforts gave the coalition “overmatching power, trip into space within weeks of each overmatching at a time and place of our choosing, on the battlefield other. No other nation has matched against a specific opponent,” Cone said. those feats—until now. The spacecraft Shenzhou V blasted

AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 15 Aerospace World off from a launch site located in the vice reforms for DOD employees have porting legislation that would limit the Gobi Desert, northwest of Beijing. launched a grassroots campaign to changes. The legislation, sponsored The system used to launch Yang is protect union workers, the Washing- by Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine), primitive compared to those based ton Post reported. would, for example, guarantee that on modern US technology. Even so, Pentagon leaders would like to DOD civilians, if disciplined, would the event provided a source of tre- streamline the way the Defense De- have access to an external appeals mendous national pride and political partment manages its civilian em- process. support for China’s Communist rul- ployees. Secretary of Defense Donald AFGE is also opposed to proposed ers. H. Rumsfeld seeks legislation that outsourcing measures that could The launch system has been de- would allow pay-for-performance pro- turn over large numbers of DOD scribed as comparable to what the cedures, faster and easier hirings and jobs to contractors. According to superpowers used in the 1950s, dur- firings, and a shorter disciplinary pro- the Post, the Administration has ing the early days of the “Space cess. determined that about 850,000 fed- Race.” The American Federation of Gov- eral jobs are commercial in nature, Chinese officials said they expect ernment Employees, one of the larg- meaning they could be candidates their next spaceflight to occur within est unions representing DOD civil for outsourcing. two years. service employees, opposes some of DOD has about 746,000 civilian the proposals that could affect AFGE’s employees and for years has led the Civil Service Changes Slammed members. way in performing competitive out- Opponents of proposed Civil Ser- The union bought radio ads sup- sourcing competitions.

Barberton, Ohio, had been the only News Notes Coast Guardsman MIA in the Viet- nam War. Congress has funded creation of By Tamar A. Mehuron, Associate Editor a dozen new Civil Support Teams in Fiscal 2004, bringing the total number USAF’s Class A aviation mishap 1 at Moody AFB, Ga. AFSOC gains of currently authorized teams to 44. rate for Fiscal 2003 showed a drop 7,000 people and more than 100 fixed- Each team includes 22 Air and Army from 2002, while Army and Navy rates and rotor-wing aircraft from ACC. National Guard members trained to increased. USAF had a rate of 1.39 Airmen can now complete per- identify and respond to nuclear, bio- accidents for every 100,000 hours of sonnel record reviews online through logical, chemical or radiological inci- flying time, down from the 1.48 rate the virtual military personnel flight. dents. No information on location of in 2002. The Army had a rate of 2.91 They may correct errors through the the additional teams was available. accidents in 2003, vs. 2.51 in Fiscal links provided. For more information, There is a push by some lawmakers to 2002. The Navy had a rate of 2.25 contact the local military personnel authorize enough teams to have one accidents in 2003, vs. 1.76 in 2002. flight or commander’s support staff. in each state. The Marines had an aviation mishap USAF plans to use private con- The new Air Force Expedition- rate of 2.79 for 2003, down from 3.89 tractors to handle routine information ary Service Ribbon recognizes ac- in 2002. technology operations at its State- tive duty, Guard, and Reserve who Pakistan on Oct. 14 launched a side bases, according to Federal Com- served in support of an air expedi- nuclear-capable Hatf 4 missile—the puter Week. The outsourcing move tionary deployment after Oct. 1, second recent test of the 435-mile- is intended to help free up airmen for 1999, and deployed for either 45 range missile that is capable of hit- the warfighting mission. The service consecutive days or 90 nonconsecu- ting New Delhi and other targets in- expects to complete a study next year tive days. side India. Pakistan informed India of that will identify what IT equipment The National Imagery and Map- the test beforehand. and operations it can outsource. ping Agency awarded a five-year, USAF reactivated the 64th Ag- India signed an agreement Oct. $500 million contract to DigitalGlobe gressor Squadron Oct. 3 at Nellis 10 to buy Israeli airborne early warn- Inc., Longmont, Colo., for next gen- AFB, Nev. Since 1990, aggressor pi- ing radars, reported the Washington eration commercial satellite imag- lots had been serving in the 414th Post. The contract is estimated to be ery. The NextView contract, which Combat Training Squadron, which worth $1 billion, perhaps the largest runs through 2008, provides for runs Red Flag. arms contract between the two na- greater access plus more advanced In October USAF awarded Lock- tions. Pakistan views the deal as a capability and capacity than previ- heed Martin $560 million in contracts step toward a regional arms race. ous contracts, according to a DOD to launch seven US military satellites The remains of three airmen and release. into space. The contracts were origi- a Coast Guard pilot on an Air Force Pilot failure to follow emergency nally awarded to Boeing, but USAF exchange program who were miss- checklist procedures for a failed hy- stripped them from Boeing in July as ing in action from the Vietnam War draulic pump caused a collision of an a penalty for ethics violations during have been identified and will be sent F-16CG with a parked F-16 at a for- the 1998 evolved expendable launch to their families for burial, DOD offi- ward operating location June 15, ac- vehicle competition. cials said Sept. 29. The airmen are: cording to an USAF search and rescue mis- SSgt. Elmer L. Holden, Oklahoma report. Returning from a six-hour mis- sions and assets formally transferred City; Sgt. James D. Locker, Sidney, sion, the pilot continued taxiing after to Air Force Special Operations Com- Ohio; and Capt. Richard C. Yeend landing, depleting the hydraulic ac- mand from Air Combat Command Oct. Jr., Mobile, Ala. Lt. Jack Rittichier of cumulators. Complete loss of brakes

16 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 $87 Billion Iraq Bill Passes Lawmakers in both houses on Nov. AEF Blue Needs Some Airmen for Longer Period 3 agreed to President Bush’s $87 billion request for security and re- The Air Force said in September that about 10 percent of airmen in AEF Blue, construction requirements in Afghani- the first of two provisional Air Expeditionary Forces, will be deployed beyond the stan and Iraq. The vast majority of expected 120-day rotation. the money—$67 billion—goes to fi- AEF Blue and AEF Silver were formed of units and personnel not deployed nance American military efforts in the for Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were to cover USAF deployment responsi- region. bilities until March 2004 and thus give the wartime units a chance to reconsti- The other $20 billion actually turned tute. out to be the most controversial. It is AEF Blue deployed in July. Plans called for it to be relieved in November by earmarked for reconstruction in Af- AEF Silver. However, about 2,300 of the 22,000 airmen assigned to AEF Blue ghanistan and Iraq, with the greater had to stay on longer, the service announced. Not all airmen assigned to an AEF actually deploy—the Air Force currently portion—more than $18 billion—go- has about 20,440 personnel deployed worldwide. Of those, 16,700 are in US ing to rebuilding efforts in Iraq. Law- Central Command’s area of responsibility, which includes both Iraq and Af- makers were bitterly divided over ghanistan. whether this money should be pro- The extended-tour personnel are in the high-demand, low-density career vided in the form of a grant or a loan. fields that have seen frequent strain since 2001. They are primarily security The House had followed Bush’s forces but “may include air traffic control, civil engineering, services, medical, request that the money be provided and intelligence personnel,” said Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Peppe, the Air Force’s as a grant, but the Senate wanted chief AEF planner. roughly half the funds to be provided

and steering capability resulted. One maintenance person was injured. Damage to both aircraft and ground equipment was estimated at $3.2 million. An AETC accident investigation report concluded that a bird strike caused the crash of an F-16 June 13 at Luke AFB, Ariz. Shortly after take- USAF’s last Titan II was off, the fighter’s single engine ingested launched Oct. 18 from a turkey vulture and lost thrust. The Vandenberg AFB, Calif. It pilot was unable to regain thrust and placed a Defense Meteorologi- realized he couldn’t land the aircraft cal Satellite Program weather safely, so he headed it away from satellite into low Earth orbit. airfield buildings. The pilot, who was assigned to the 61st Fighter Squad- ron at Luke, ejected safely, and the airplane crashed in the desert. The Department of Homeland Security was to begin test flights of unmanned aerial vehicles late this fall at Ft. Huachuca and Gila Bend, Ariz., for possible use in security pa- trols along the US-Mexican border, reported the Arizona Daily Star. Test teams at Edwards AFB, Calif., recently installed, for the first Scott AFB, Ill. The 15th Air Force, The modular units being built at time, three integrated defensive sys- Travis AFB, Calif., and 21st Air Kandahar resemble trailers and will tems on a C-130J. The systems were Force, McGuire AFB, N.J., were re- have indoor plumbing with showers a radar warning receiver, a counter- designated as expeditionary mobil- and toilets. Other improvements at measures dispensing system, and a ity task forces. (See “Aerospace Bagram include a new laundry facil- missile warning system. The added World: AMC To Reorganize,” Octo- ity and athletic field. capabilities will enhance the situ- ber, p. 14.) The last C-141 airlifter to un- ational awareness in a threat envi- Housing upgrades at Bagram and dergo programmed depot mainte- ronment. Kandahar Air Bases in Afghanistan nance left Robins AFB, Ga., Oct. 16, A T-38A Talon aircraft crashed mean troops will soon live in B huts with a special ceremony, on its way on takeoff at Sheppard AFB, Tex., on and modular housing instead of ply- to March ARB, Calif. Only three units Oct. 14. The aircraft was assigned to wood-buttressed tents. The new units, still have C-141s: the 305th Air Mo- the 80th Flying Training Wing. Both which will offer more personal living bility Wing at McGuire AFB, N.J., crewmembers ejected. They were space, refrigerators, heating, air-con- 452nd AMW at March, and 445th Air- taken to the base hospital and later ditioning, and electrical outlets, are lift Wing at WrightÐPatterson AFB, released. An accident board is inves- part of five- to eight-year plans to Ohio. The units are slated to convert tigating. improve facilities in Afghanistan and to other airlift missions before USAF Air Mobility Command officially could portend a lengthy stay, accord- retires the last C-141s in 2006, after reactivated 18th Air Force Oct. 1, at ing to the European Stars and Stripes. some 40 years of service.

AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 17 Aerospace World as loans that would be repaid out of future Iraqi oil revenues. After the White House threatened to veto the bill if the Senate amendment was included, lawmakers dropped the pro- vision.

Weapons Dumps Pose Threat Coalition forces in Iraq face a daunt-

ing task: securing and cleaning up USAF photo by SSgt. Jerry Morrison Jr. more than 100 large weapons dumps holding perhaps as much as a million tons of ammunition. Officials are attempting to clean up and secure the locations quickly to prevent terrorists and others hostile to the United States from laying hands on the weapons. According to Army Brig. Gen. Rob- ert L. Davis, the chief US military engineer in Iraq, more than 105 large dumps have been identified across the nation, and “we find new caches every day.” Airmen from the 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, N.M., prepare their sleeping “I have no idea how many there are,” quarters inside a hangar during Exercise Eagle Flag. in all, Davis said, according to Knight Ridder News Service. A large dump is defined as one USAF Conducts Bare-Base Op—in New Jersey containing more than 100 weapons bunkers. Some of those in Iraq have With Exercise Eagle Flag, the Air Force for the first time practiced the up to 700 open pits containing artil- setup and operation of a bare base in an official flag-level exercise. Held lery shells and other munitions. And in Lakehurst, N.J., Eagle Flag tested the Air Force’s ability to quickly set up smaller weapons loads abound. a bare base—a mission USAF has had to perform numerous times since The cleanup process continues and 2001. is massive. Davis said that contrac- For support troops, Eagle Flag is the equivalent of the Red Flag exer- tors had destroyed more than 2.5 cises that fighter pilots use to hone their skills in realistic combat environ- million pounds of ammunition between ments. It is an opportunity to rehearse the use of “force modules” that will mid-September and mid-October. be used in the future to initiate airfield operations. According to USAF, a force module is “a grouping of combat support forces and ... equipment and Overseas Base Closures Eyed supplies” needed to sustain an initial force for at least 30 days. The Pentagon plans further cuts For Eagle Flag, USAF forces deployed to Naval Air Engineering Station and shifts in US overseas bases be- Lakehurst. They were led by an assessment team that determined what fore it proceeds with the 2005 base repairs and upgrades were needed to make the site operational. Three closure round, said a senior Defense force modules followed. Department official on Oct. 6. The first module consisted of fuels, security, supply, and other personnel The Pentagon is reworking bud- required to open the base. The second comprised civil engineers, logisti- gets to shift money away from “non- cians, public affairs personnel, and other experts needed to give leadership enduring” overseas bases, noted on-site command and control capabilities. The third module deployed Raymond F. DuBois, deputy under- airmen to expand base infrastructure, such as chaplain, safety, and weather secretary of defense for installations personnel. and environment. According to the Air Force, in a real deployment, two more modules In a speech at the Association of would follow. They would consist of experts needed to generate additional the US Army’s annual convention, sorties and operate the air base. DuBois reported that millions of dol- The Air Force has eight Eagle Flag exercises scheduled in 2004. lars in military construction funds are being diverted to bases with critical missions in the “global basing” struc- ture. For example, he said, 26 projects in Germany worth $280 million were Index to Advertisers canceled in Fiscal 2003 and 2004. Funding was then directed to 18 new Boeing ...... 11, Cover IV projects in the United States. Lockheed Martin ...... Cover II, 21 Motion Models...... 5 BRAC Is Looming Northrop Grumman ...... 7, Cover III Two years before the next sched- Raytheon ...... 2 uled round of base realignment and closure, BRAC-mania has reached a New at AFA ...... 86

18 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2003 USAF Studies F/A-22, JSF Associate Units

As it seeks the best ways to deploy new F/A-22 and F-35 supports a fleet of 276 F/A-22s, but these are expected to fighters, USAF is pondering integration of active, Air Na- replace roughly 700 F-15s. tional Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command airmen into “The objective is to get more efficiency out of the airplanes single units. you have,” he said. Such an organizational structure might yield the most effi- One concept calls for basing the next generation fighters at cient use of the two new fighters, bringing more combat power locations where multiple crews could have access to the per unit, said Gen. John P. Jumper, the USAF Chief of Staff. aircraft, allowing fewer aircraft to be flown more frequently. Greater efficiency, however, emphatically does not mean Yet fighters pushed to maximum-use conditions create there is a reduced requirement, Jumper argued. He dis- their own set of challenges. “The problem in the fighter missed press reports that the Air Force is wavering on the business is a little different,” Jumper told DFI attendees. number of fighters it seeks. Jumper said such reports are flat “When you do this integration in the fighter business, you’ve wrong. got to make sure that you have the resources and you’re “There is no decrease in commitment to either [fighter] buying the parts and the pieces to keep those airplanes flying right now,” said the Chief, speaking at a Capitol Hill breakfast at a high rate.” sponsored by the consulting firm DFI International. USAF can experiment with existing F-15s and F-16s, Jumper The Air Force has seen success with its most prominent told Air Force Magazine, but “you have to be able to generate associate unit. The 116th Air Control Wing, Robins AFB, Ga., a lot more sorties per aircraft than we are able to right now, has brought active, Guard, and Reserve personnel together on the aircraft we have, before it appears that [creative basing to operate E-8 Joint STARS aircraft. arrangements] will pay big dividends. That’s why we are The service feels similar arrangements may be possible aiming this at the next generation of airplanes.” when combat units acquire the F/A-22 and F-35. Plans call for the F-35, which will become operational in The Air Force’s stated goal is 381 F/A-22s. In an interview, about a decade, to replace aging F-16 and A-10 aircraft. The Jumper noted the service’s long-range budget currently Air Force requirement remains 1,763 F-35s.

fever pitch, with numerous communi- forts, they wrote, “it is particularly ties taking actions they hope will pro- important to be sensitive to actions Senior Staff Changes tect their local bases and their asso- that may create an improper impres- ciated jobs and benefits. sion of Air Force intentions.” In October, Pentagon officials The memo went on to point out that CHANGE: Brig. Gen. Maurice H. Forsyth, scrambled to knock down an inflam- force structure changes, new mis- from Cmdr., USAFE Theater Air & Space matory Los Angeles Times report that sions, and construction projects do Ops. Ctr., Ramstein AB, Germany, to DOD planned to close at least 100 of not “insulate” a facility from realign- Cmdr., 51st FW, PACAF, Osan AB, South the nation’s 425 military installations. ment or closure under BRAC. ■ Korea. ■ A spokesman noted that DOD in- tends to cut basing capacity by 25 percent, which is not the same as cutting bases by 25 percent, because Would US Airmen Be “Trigger Hesitant”? of the huge disparity in the size and efficiency of various installations. North American Aerospace Defense Command, charged with defending However, DOD does not deny the US and Canadian airspace, routinely practices the task of shooting down closures must come, given that bil- a hijacked civilian airliner. lions of dollars are wasted on a base infrastructure that has not been re- That is the word from Air Force Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, commander of duced nearly in proportion to cuts in not only NORAD but also US Northern Command. Both are located in the active duty force structure. Colorado Springs, Colo., area.

USAF Battening Down for BRAC In October, Eberhart told the Defense Writers Group in Washington, With an eye to the upcoming base D.C., “We exercise this several times every week, ... whether it is an closure round, USAF is cautioning airplane shooting down an airplane or whether it is the air defense commanders to be careful about ac- system here in the National Capital Region shooting down an airplane.” cepting new missions on Air Force bases. Such exercises are an outgrowth of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the In August, the service’s top uni- Defense Department was caught off guard by an unexpected type of formed official for installations and attack against the United States. “God forbid we’d ever have to do this,” logistics, as well as the assistant Air Eberhart noted, but interdicting a hijacked aircraft is now a scenario the Force secretary for installations, en- military trains for and is “well-prepared to do,” he said. vironment, and logistics, penned a cautionary memo on beddown ac- Eberhart made it plain that this is not a mission that defense officials take tions. lightly. Some pilots may have no qualms about attacking enemies in Iraq Lt. Gen. Michael E. Zettler and or Afghanistan, but pilots faced with “a lot of innocent people” on board— Nelson F. Gibbs noted that “an in- and perhaps only a handful of terrorists—may become queasy. creasing number of organizations both in and out of the Department of De- The problem is not that a pilot would be trigger happy but rather that he fense have sought to place new units would be “trigger hesitant,” Eberhart said. Therefore, training is critical or missions on Air Force installations.” to ensure the mission could be accomplished. Because of the pending BRAC ef-

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