Air Force World ` By Marc V. Schanz, Senior Editor

Airman Dies in Afghanistan in June to seek synergies in operating An Air Force Special Operations the Global Hawk-BAMS fleets. The goal Command combat controller with the is for each branch to be able to fly the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron died other’s aircraft and also to potentially Sept. 16 in Afghanistan. SrA. Daniel form joint RQ-4 Global Hawk and BAMS screenshot R. Sanchez, 23, of El Paso, Tex., died squadrons. at a medical facility in Tarin Kwot, USAF photo by Dennis Rogers Afghanistan, after being wounded by C-5 Moves Anti-matter Detector enemy fire during combat operations A C-5M from Dover AFB, Del., flew in Oruzgan province. an enormous $2 billion anti-matter Maj. Chris Larkin, 23rd STS com- detector from Geneva, Switzerland, to mander, said in a Sept. 17 statement, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida “Danny was a fine airman and a valu- on Aug. 26, where the device will be able member of our close community.” transported to the International Space Station aboard the final space shuttle Eglin Airman Killed in Iraq flight next February. The Department of Defense con- The 8.3-ton Alpha Magnetic Spec- firmed the death of an Eglin AFB, Fla., trometer, developed by the European airman Sept. 16. SrA. James A. Hansen, Organization for Nuclear Research and 25, died Sept. 15 of wounds received a coalition of scientists from 16 coun- during a controlled detonation at JB tries, NASA, and the US Department Balad, Iraq. Hansen was an airfield of Energy, has been under develop- management operations coordinator ment for 16 years. When scientists at Eglin. discovered the AMS wouldn’t fit in a Lt. Col. David F. Radomski, com- 747 freighter, they specifically put in mander of the 46th OSS, said Hansen a request for the C-5M, USAF’s mod- had a positive impact on everyone who ernized and upgraded Super Galaxy worked with him. “Our thoughts and featuring new engines and avionics. prayers are with his family and friends. The airlifter arrived in Geneva after He will be sorely missed.” delivering supplies to Afghanistan and Iraq. The aircraft’s commander, Capt. USAF, Navy To Collaborate on RPVs Matt Matis, said the mission was a great The Air Force and Navy announced opportunity to showcase the aircraft’s the first meeting of a new joint working capabilities. group for their respective RQ-4 Global The AMS will dock with the ISS this Hawk and MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime coming February to gather evidence of Surveillance (BAMS) remotely piloted charged particles such as anti-matter vehicles. The meeting was from Aug. to help physicists understand the com- 3 to 5 at Beale AFB, Calif., where the position of the universe, according to two services discussed the develop- Nobel Laureate Samuel C. C. Ting, the ment of joint operations and training experiment’s leader, from MIT. for the two programs. In addition to discussions about Kehler to Take Over STRATCOM activities with the two fleets, Navy Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, who has led officials observed how Beale’s 1st Re- US Strategic Command since October connaissance Squadron trains future 2007, will retire from active duty after Global Hawk pilots, and how the 12th 34 years, the Air Force announced RS employs the aircraft in theater. The Sept. 2. President Obama nominated Navy wanted to see how the Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler to succeed him conducts its RQ-4 operations and how at STRATCOM. Kehler has been lead- to best fit the BAMS program alongside ing Air Force Space Command since to save money, said Cmdr. Wes Naylor, October 2007. Kehler previously served BAMS program manager. as STRATCOM’s deputy commander The working group is one of the initia- for two-and-a-half years. tives to emerge from the memorandum Chilton is a command astronaut pilot of agreement the two services signed with more than 5,000 flight hours. He

12 AIR FORCE Magazine / October 2010 graduated from the Air Force Academy begin engineering and manufacturing active laser modes. Bomb deliveries are in 1976, entering undergraduate pilot development of the weapon. Raytheon expected to begin in 2013. Air Force F- training in May 1977. He flew assign- beat a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team 15Es and Marine Corps and Navy F-35s ments in the RF-4C and F-15 and tested vying to build the new munition. SDB II is will be the initial aircraft to carry SDB IIs. weapons in the F-4 and F-15. Chilton an air-launched precision strike standoff served 11 years at NASA, flying on weapon that would improve on the first Bradley Airport Gets New Center three space shuttle missions. generation of SDBs by being able to hit Construction began Aug. 5 on a new air moving and fixed targets in all weather and space operations center at Bradley Raytheon Wins SDB II Contract conditions. Airport in East Granby, Conn. It will be The Air Force selected Raytheon on The design Raytheon submitted is managed by the 103rd Airlift Wing. Aug. 9 to supply the Small Diameter designated the GBU-53B and features Responding to decisions in the 2005 Bomb Increment 2 system, and awarded a seeker with millimeter-wave radar, BRAC round, the Air Guard wing is add- the company a $451 million contract to uncooled imaging infrared, and semi- ing the facility for its new AOC, as well as

Air Force Academy cadets rush to keep a giant US flag aloft on the academy’s football field during a halftime memorial ceremony honoring the victims of the ter- rorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Cadet Drum and Bugle Corps performed as the 09.11.2010 flag was unfurled. New York Police Department detective Steve Hayden and FDNY firefighter Kenny Haskell, responders during the World Trade Center attack, were honorary captains for the game.

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Germany, trained with Polish military per- sonnel at Powidz AB, Poland, from Aug. 13 to 19, working on training requirements for C-130 Hercules operations. Members of Ramstein’s 86th Airlift Wing and 435th Contingency Response Group conducted parachute jump drills, night flying practice, and related activities with airmen of the Polish Air Force’s 3rd Air Wing and Polish Operational Mobile Reaction Group. The 86th AW flies C- 130Js, while the Polish 3rd AW flies USN photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class David Quillen refurbished C-130Es. Ramstein aircrews fulfilled their night flying requirements as well, as there were fewer restrictions in the Polish airspace. Under the banner of Operation Scream- ing Eagle, the exercises strengthened bonds and built on the partnership the two C-130 units formalized in June when they became sister wings.

Exercise Pushes Tools for Combat Airmen with the 480th Intelligence- Welcome to the Fleet: Ground troops watch as a C-27 Spartan conducts a Surveillance-Reconnaissance Wing at nearby air-drop operation in Afghanistan. The rugged C-27’s short takeoff and land- Langley AFB, Va., collaborated with ing capabilities make the Spartan ideal for operations in Afghanistan’s treacherous members of the Army, Navy, Marines terrain. Corps, and the armed services of several allies during Empire Challenge 10, an offices, conference space, and training operations during its on-orbit checkout annual ISR demonstration and exercise areas. The wing’s 103rd Air and Space after the May 27 launch. In early Au- designed to improve interoperability Operations Group will run the AOC, which gust, the Air Force announced the IIF-1 and push proven new technology to is to reach initial operational capability had reached its designated operational help troops in combat. by next spring. orbital station. The demonstration, which ran from In March, the base began expanding Boeing is building 12 Block IIF satellites July 26 to Aug. 13, tested out more the wing’s facility for repairing engines for the Air Force. They feature a more than 30 new capabilities with the goal for A-10 ground attack aircraft as part of robust military signal, improved accuracy, of delivering them to commanders in another BRAC-directed move. and a new civil signal. Afghanistan. “You can go out on a limb and take risks during an exercise that C-130J Associate Unit Established Airmen Train With Polish Unit you wouldn’t dare try in a real-world On Aug. 6 at Keesler AFB, Miss., the About 50 airmen from Ramstein AB, operation,” said 1st Lt. Josh Cutino, Air Force reactivated the 345th Airlift Squadron, as an active associate unit to Air Force Reserve Command’s 403rd Conaton Becomes Lead for USAF Space Wing, which operates C-130Js at the base. Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley in August designated the Air Force The arrangement will put 345th AS undersecretary, currently Erin C. Conaton, as the senior Air Force official personnel alongside their Reserve coun- for space matters at the headquarters level. This came after an extensive terparts in Keesler’s 815th AS and 403rd review of headquarters space functions. Maintenance Group. They will fly eight The Air Force undersecretary’s office is now the focal point for planning, AFRC C-130Js. Eventually the unit will policy, strategy, international relations, interagency relations, and working operate 10 J models. The 345th AS is with the Office of the Secretary of Defense on all space matters, Donley organized under the 19th Airlift Wing said in a memo dated Aug. 25. The lone exception is space acquisition at Little Rock AFB, Ark., and is now the oversight, which shifts from the undersecretary’s office to the purview of third active associate squadron assigned the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition. The move consolidates to the wing. all service acquisition functions—space and non-space—under one office. Donley’s memo outlined Air Force headquarters-level realignments to GPS Satellite Goes to AFSPC streamline space oversight, following the completion of a space review he The 2nd Space Operations Squadron ordered last December. The review discovered space functions were frag- at Schriever AFB, Colo., took command mented, leading to confusion over roles, responsibilities, and relationships. of GPS IIF-1 on Aug. 25, the Air Force’s Another result of the space review is the establishment of an Air Force first Global Positioning System Block IIF Space Board, per Donley’s memo. “This board will serve as the overarch- satellite. The satellite entered service ing forum to integrate acquisition, international affairs, plans, requirements, on Aug. 30, joining 30 other operational operations, and training efforts related to space,” he wrote. The Air Force satellites in the GPS constellation. undersecretary will co-chair the board, along with the USAF vice chief of The satellite operators assumed re- staff. The head of Air Force Space Command and other senior Air Staff and sponsibility for the spacecraft from airmen USAF secretariat officials will sit on the board as well. at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., who oversaw

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AIR FORCE Magazine / October 2010 15 mission operations commander with Langley’s 30th Intelligence Squadron. Gates Puts JFCOM On Chopping Block Airmen used the Distributed Common Ground System as the tool to integrate As part of his push to scale back overhead and reduce inefficiencies in the technologies during the exercise. DCGS Pentagon’s budget, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates is recommending is a worldwide network of hubs, which the closure of US Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. analysts use to share and exploit im- “Training joint forces, generating joint forces, creating joint doctrine, and agery and intelligence and disseminate experimenting with that doctrine are all valuable tasks,” he said. “However, information to troops in combat. they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combatant command.” Gates plans to assign JFCOM’s functions to other organizations, including Viper Destroyed for Drone Test the Joint Staff. The Defense Business Board which advises Gates suggested Air Force weapons testers at Eglin the idea in July, noting it considered the command too bloated with contrac- AFB, Fla., blew apart an F-16 fighter on tors and redundancies. the base’s range Aug. 19 to test the flight Among Gates’ other initiatives are the elimination of the office of the termination system to be installed on assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration. modified QF-16 target drones, USAF’s These changes would take effect in Fiscal 2012, if Congress allows them. next generation aerial target aircraft. Not long after the announcement, several members of Congress pushed Up to 126 early model F-16s will be back—particularly the Virginia delegation. In late August, the Senate Armed converted to the QF-16 designation Services Committee announced it would hold a hearing in September on the as remotely piloted target drones by planned closure. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) called the White House’s and OSD Boeing. They will be used to test perfor- leadership’s failure to consult Congress on the recommendations “deeply mance of new air-to-air and surface-to- troubling,” and urged Gates to be more forthcoming with additional details air weapons. The range test in August regarding the planned closure. was one step toward satisfying range USAF photos by Samuel King Jr.

Boom Goes the Dynamite: An F-16 bursts apart in an explosion on the range at Eglin AFB, Fla. The controlled blast was a static test of the flight termination system to be installed on the future QF-16, a supersonic, reusable, full-scale aerial target drone to be modified from an F-16. Under evaluation was the sys- tem’s ability to immediately and fully termi- nate a flight. The test also helped determine a “debris footprint” for safety purposes.

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Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, USAF Supports Iraqi Freedom Drawdown and Slovenia. Fifteen FAC instructors coached them, and A-10s, F-16s, B-1s, On Aug. 19, the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, from JB Lewis- KC-135s, remotely piloted vehicles, McChord, Wash., crossed the Iraq-Kuwait border, the last dedicated combat and helicopters supported the exercise. brigade in Iraq to draw down. Overhead, airmen provided an armed over- Col. Rob Redanz, the exercise direc- watch, keeping a protective eye on the movement of soldiers across more tor, said the scenarios offered valuable than 300 miles of desert. Manned fighters surveyed and protected the route, opportunities for air and land integra- while joint airborne battle staff personnel flying aboard a C-130 helped keep tion in situations the FACs would face communications linked up. The withdrawal came just days before Operation down range. Iraqi Freedom formally ended. Sept.1 saw the US mission in Iraq acquire a new handle: Operation New ABL Missile Test Canceled Dawn. With Operation New Dawn, the Air Force will have a smaller footprint The Missile Defense Agency termi- in Iraq as it is primarily responsible for training and advising the rebuilding nated its planned Airborne Laser test Iraqi Air Force. The force had only 1,500 airmen and 28 aircraft two years bed shootdown experiment off the ago, but as of late August had 7,000 airmen and more than 100 aircraft. California coast on Sept. 1, when cor- The IqAF will grow to more than 10,000 members by 2012, according to rupted beam control software steered USAF officials. Iraqi airmen are already beginning to integrate onto bases the laser off center. It was to have been formerly dominated by US and coalition forces, such as Joint Base Balad, the second shootdown test. Originally Ali Base, and Sather Air Base in Baghdad. scheduled for Aug. 17, the test was de- Roughly 6,000 airmen will remain in Iraq, said Maj. Gen. Joseph Reynes layed several times to fix other problems. Jr., director of Air Component Coordination Element-US Forces Iraq, and their An Aug. 24 test was scrapped due to missions will remain largely the same: providing intelligence-surveillance- difficulties with calibration of the tracking reconnaissance, cargo and passenger airlift support, and armed overwatch beam, MDA officials said. MDA planned of Iraqi forces in case strikes are needed. The mission will be demanding and to reschedule the test for mid-October. complicated, he added, but airmen will work to train Iraqi forces throughout MDA Director Army Lt. Gen. Patrick the country so they can take over the mission completely by the end of 2011. J. O’Reilly had said the ALTB’s second shootdown test would have attempted to knock down a Scud-type medium ballistic missile from twice the distance safety requirements for the new drones, hosted the first-ever international training of the initial test in February (which hit said Kevin Diggs, the QF-16 test and exercise in the US for NATO forward air a missile from a distance of more than evaluation lead. controllers. Called Ramstein Rover 2010, 50 miles over the Pacific). The QF-16s are scheduled to enter the exercise ran from Aug. 21 to Sept. 3 service around 2014 and will replace at Volk Field ANGB’s Combat Readiness USAF Studies Consolidated Training the Vietnam-era QF-4s currently used Training Center in Madison and other The Air Force announced Aug. 16 it by the Air Force. nearby facilities. The training offered is considering the creation of a train- realistic scenarios to help alliance FACs ing campus at Hurlburt Field, Fla., that GPS Block III Ready for Production prepare for deployments to Afghanistan. would consolidate its command and Air Force and industry officials com- About 40 NATO personnel partici- control instruction across the force. pleted the critical design review of the pated from Belgium, Britain, Canada, Training in one location would leverage Global Positioning System Block III the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, cross functional expertise and provide a satellite about two months ahead of time, prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced Aug. 20. The next generation satellite system is ready to enter the production phase after its design was scrutinized for four days at Lockheed’s Newtown, Pa., facil- ity by company officials and more than

350 members of Air Force Space Com- USAF photo TSgt.byWayne Clark mand, DOD, and other federal agencies. The Block III satellites guarantee signals three times more accurate than current GPS spacecraft and provide three times more power to military users, said Col. Bernard J. Gruber, GPS wing commander at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. The new Block III satellites also will feature improved timing and anti-jamming capabilities. Up to 12 of the GPS Block IIIA satellites will be produced under the current contract. The first will be ready for launch by 2014, according to Lockheed officials. Tip to Tail: Maintainers perform an isochronal inspection on a C-130J Super Hercu- les at Ramstein AB, Germany. The inspections are in-depth looks at—and into—every ANG Hosts NATO Exercise aspect of the aircraft. They last 10 days, are performed every 420 days, and take The Wisconsin Air National Guard about 60 airmen from many career fields to perform.

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AIR FORCE Magazine / October 2010 19 The War on Terrorism dedicated venue, said Maj. Gen. Stanley T. Kresge, commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB, Nev. The integrated campus would in- Operation Enduring Freedom—Afghanistan clude formal C2 training for component numbered air forces, air and space Casualties operations centers, and staff forces. By Sept. 21, a total of 1,279 Americans had died in Operation Enduring Hurlburt is already home to Air Com- Freedom. The total includes 1,277 troops and two Department of Defense bat Command’s 505th Command and civilians. Of these deaths, 980 were killed in action with the enemy, while Control Wing. ACC officials have tasked 299 died in noncombat incidents. Kresge’s organization with overseeing There have been 8,041 troops wounded in action during OEF. This number a study to explore the viability of the includes 3,762 who were wounded and returned to duty within 72 hours and campus, and expect the results to be 4,279 who were unable to return to duty quickly. complete for a senior-level decision in January. Operation Everest Sets New Standards for Theater Airdrops Members of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron set a high mark for F-35 Sensor Makes Test Bed Flight C-17 airlift operations in Southwest Asia in early August, when the squadron The modern Electro-optical Targeting dropped 1.2 million pounds to 22 different drop zones in Afghanistan and System sensor under development for elsewhere in theater. This included fuel, water, food, and additional supplies the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter made its first at several forward operating bases over the course of one week. flight aboard a surrogate test aircraft, Dubbed Operation Everest, the airlift was an effort to fully exercise the C-17 Lockheed Martin announced Aug. 16. airdrop capability in Southwest Asia, said Lt. Col. Stephen Ritter, the 816th The sensor, known as EOTS, flew on EAS commander. The idea for the operation was inspired by efforts such the F-35’s cooperative test bed aircraft, as the “Hump” missions over the Himalayas in World War II and the Berlin a modified 737 known as CATBird, and Airlift, where squadrons would push up tempos. The normal operations tempo provided the first opportunity to test and would go up after a big push, due to efficiencies uncovered, Ritter noted. evaluate how it integrates into the F-35’s The missions added up to 837 bundles dropped, a new record for C-17 sensor architecture, Lockheed officials drops in one week, and helped demonstrate to US Air Forces Central plan- said. Test flights on CATBird represent ners how airlift assets could put mass out into drop zones with fewer people. the final step prior to EOTS integration Among accomplishments during the operation were three airdrops in one on BF-4, the F-35 test aircraft equipped day using one aircraft and two crews, as well as three airdrops in one day with a full suite of mission systems. with one aircraft and crew. EOTS will provide pilots with high- resolution imagery, automatic target Bagram Gets Larger Fuel Bladder To Meet Demands tracking, and laser designation, all at To meet the demands of increasing air operations at the base, airmen with standoff ranges. the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron and other units set up a new 200,000 gallon-fuel bladder at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan—ef- GAO To Expedite Protest Ruling fectively doubling the fuel storage capacity at the busy coalition air hub. The Government Accountability Of- Since there are no fixed facilities at Bagram for fuel, the bladders allow fice will issue its ruling on US Aero- the US and allies to store large amounts of fuel close to the aircraft that space’s KC-X tanker protest in early need it, said SMSgt. Arnaldo Rodriguez-Matos, fuels superintendent for the October, about a month earlier than 455th ELRS. Approximately 30 airmen set up the 4,300-pound bladder in a required by law, the agency confirmed plastic-lined dike where it will house fuel for transient and deployed aircraft. in August. According to the GAO, the decision on US Aerospace’s complaint against the Air Force is expected by Oct. 6, which is 35 days sooner than the Nov. 10 deadline. Index to Advertisers US Aerospace lodged a protest on Aug. 2, after learning the Air Force AAI...... 21 considered its proposal ineligible for Alenia...... 11, 23, 37 arriving after the KC-X contract dead- Bell...... 19 line. The company disputes the point, Boeing...... 5, Cover IV contending their proposal had arrived at Chartis...... 65 Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, before the DRS ...... 15 deadline of 2 p.m. on July 9. Pentagon EADS...... 44-45 officials have maintained they would General Atomics ...... 9 Hawker Beechcraft...... 35 announce the winning KC-X contrac- Lockheed Martin ...... 25, Cover II tor sometime this fall—likely after the L-3 ...... 27 midterm November elections. Northrop Grumman...... 3, 17, 29 The Air Force is already evaluating USAA...... Cover III tanker bids by Boeing and EADS North America. Airpower Industry Guide ...... 87 Air Force Memorial ...... 83 Predator Unit Breaks 50,000 Hours AFA CFC ...... 83 Reflecting the rapid growth of the AFA Hangar Store ...... 85 AFA’s Upcoming Events...... 43 remotely piloted aircraft mission, the AFA’s Shopping Discounts ...... 84 first Air National Guard unit assigned Spotlight on USAA...... 84 to operate MQ-1 Predators surpassed AFA Christmas Ornament...... 85 50,000 total flying hours with them,

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Senior Staff Changes tions and procedural errors such as overcontrolling the input to the yoke Lt. Gen. David A. Maj. Gen. Paul A. Maj. Gen. David RETIREMENTS: Deptula, Dettmer, of the aircraft. M. Edgington, Maj. Gen. Maurice H. Forsyth, Maj. Gen. Frederick F. Roggero, Brig. Gen. Peter F. Hoene. E-4B National Airborne Operations Center aircraft serve as airborne com- NOMINATIONS: To be General: Philip M. Breedlove, William L. Shelton. To be Lieutenant mand and control platforms for the General: Stanley T. Kresge. To be Major General: Otis G. Mannon. President and DOD leadership during national emergencies. CHANGES: Maj. Gen. Brooks L. Bash, from Dir., Ops., AMC, Scott AFB, Ill., to Vice Cmdr., PACAF, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii ... Lt. Gen. (sel.) Stanley T. Kresge, from Cmdr., Scientist Praises Smaller ABL USAF Warfare Ctr., ACC, Nellis AFB, Nev., to Cmdr., 13th AF, PACAF, JB Pearl Harbor- The Airborne Laser Test Bed is Hickam, Hawaii ... Maj. Gen. (sel.) Otis G. Mannon, from Spec. Asst. to the Cmdr., AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla., to Vice Cmdr., AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla. ... Brig. Gen. Frederick H. a “remarkable physics experiment,” Martin, from Spec. Asst. to the Cmdr., AMC, Scott AFB, Ill., to Dir., Ops., AMC, Scott AFB, said Zachary J. Lemnios, director of Ill. ... Maj. Gen. Robin Rand, from Dir., LL, OSAF, Pentagon, to Spec. Asst. to the Vice C/S, defense research and engineering USAF, Pentagon ... Maj. Gen. (sel.) Lori J. Robinson, from Dep. Dir., Force Application & at the Department of Defense, in a Spt., Jt. Staff, Pentagon, to Dir., LL, OSAF, Pentagon. meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 19, but the Pentagon is COMMAND CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT CHANGE: CMSgt. David W. Williamson, to pursuing smaller lasers which would fit Command Chief Master Sergeant, USAFE, Ramstein AB, Germany. onto smaller platforms he called more feasible for real-world use. Alan K. Dennis M. SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE RETIREMENTS: Bentley, Firman. Lemnios, the Pentagon’s top scien- SES CHANGES: William H. Booth Sr., to Dep. Asst. SECAF, Force Mgmt. & Integration, tist, told reporters research into high Office of the Asst. SECAF, Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Pentagon ... Michael S. Elliott, to kilowatt solid-state lasers will advance Dep. Dir., Strat. Stability, Jt. Staff, Pentagon ... Lorna B. Estep, to Dep. Dir., Log., AFMC, significantly over the coming months, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio ... Edmundo A. Gonzales, to Sr. Advisor to the Asst. SECAF, as the Air Force and the Defense Ad- Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Office of the Asst. SECAF, Pentagon ... Ross E. Marshall, vanced Research Projects Agency are to Exec. Dir., Oklahoma City ALC, AFMC, Tinker AFB, Okla. ... Susan J. Thornton, to Dir., funding a number of projects using the Engineering & Tech. Mgmt., ESC, AFMC, Hanscom AFB, Mass. n ALTB to validate other high-powered laser concepts. less than four years into its tenure of includes nearly 1,400 hours accumulat- operating the RPAs. ed by the wing’s Predator schoolhouse. Donley Sees Progress on Housing The ANG’s 163rd Reconnaissance Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley Wing at March ARB, Calif., surpassed Pilot Error Led to E-4B Damage said in a Sept. 1 speech the service will the milestone during a routine mission The pilot of an E-4B aircraft excessively have built or renovated more than 23,000 supporting operations in Southwest increased the pitch angle while landing privatized homes by the end of Fiscal Asia on Aug. 7, the wing announced. at night at Offutt AFB, Neb., which dam- 2010. The 23,000 number counts all the To put the milestone in perspective, the aged the aircraft’s tail when it struck the homes built or renovated since 1998. wing used to fly KC-135 tankers about runway, according to the results of an Air The Air Force’s cooperation with pri- 3,000 hours annually, said Col. Randall Combat Command accident investigation vate developers has been a “quiet, but Ball, the 163rd RW commander. The board released Aug. 20. wing switched from Stratotankers to The tail and lower fuselage sustained Ace in the Hole: Air Force Acad- emy cadet Jeremiah Baxter pulls the Predators in November 2006, part of about $3.1 million in damage, but the lure as Ace, a black Gyr-Saker falcon, the 2005 BRAC restructuring. crew and pilots were not injured in the makes a pass at it. Baxter is the cadet- Air Guardsmen use ground stations May mishap. The AIB identified several in-charge for the academy falconry at March to control Predators flying in factors that contributed to the accident, team, which performs demonstrations Afghanistan, and the 50,000-hour mark including pilot misperception of condi- at halftime during football games. USAF photo by SSgt. Bennie Davis J. III

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AIR FORCE Magazine / October 2010 23 USAF photo by A1C Jeffrey Schultze

Backwash: An F-15 takes off from Andersen AFB, Guam, while two E-3 AWACS case during Operation Iraqi Freedom. aircraft wait on the ramp. USAF bombers, fighters, tankers, and ISR aircraft are at the These payments compensate military base participating in Valiant Shield, a joint service exercise. More than 100 aircraft flew members for arduous conditions and ad- from Andersen to conduct sorties in various Pacific region exercise scenarios. ditional burdens and dangers associated with being deployed to a combat zone, successful,” partnership, Donley said, Lithuania AB, Lithuania, securing the a DOD spokeswoman said. Iraq and allowing the service to leverage tax- airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithu- the Arabian Peninsula were designated payer dollars to provide homes at lower ania. The 493rd EFS replaces a Polish combat zones in January 1991. cost to thousands of airmen who might Air Force unit in the policing mission. otherwise have waited years longer for The deployment marks the third time World War II Airmen Identified them. In August, 97 junior enlisted air- since 2004 the US Air Force has had the The remains of two airmen missing men and their families moved into new rotational Baltic defense mission, and in action from World War II were identi- homes at Barksdale AFB, La., built by the second time for the 493rd’s F-15s. fied and returned to their families for private developer Pinnacle. burial with full honors, the Pentagon’s Troops Retain Combat Pay in Iraq Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Development Initiatives Approved The end of formal combat operations Office announced. The Air Force’s Force Management in Iraq under Operation New Dawn does US Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Ray F. and Development Council approved not mean the end of combat pay for Fletcher, of Westborough, Mass., was an initiative in August that transforms airmen and other military personnel still buried Aug. 20 in Burlington, Vt. the way the service prepares its senior operating in the country, according to On May 10, 1944, Fletcher and four enlisted leaders, giving enlisted leaders the Department of Defense. others on board a B-25 Mitchell bomber more say in identifying airmen for the According to DOD statements, troops took off from Ajaccio, Corsica, on a right jobs and developing and managing deployed to Iraq are eligible for hostile courier mission to Ghisonaccia, Corsica. enlisted talent within their respective fire-imminent danger pay, hardship duty They failed to reach the destination career fields. pay, and incidental expenses. Pay for and were reported missing three days Within the service’s specialty codes, enlisted troops will still be tax exempt, later. Two days afterward, French police senior noncommissioned officers will be while pay for officers remains tax exempt found aircraft wreckage on the island’s directed into critical positions, based up to $7,611.30 a month, as was the Mount Cagna. on training, education, and experience, according to a USAF statement an- nouncing the change. Staff sergeants, for example, will have to attend the USAF photo NCO academy before pinning on their next chevron. This is designed to give them leadership skills earlier in their careers. To make this possible, the Air Force will expand NCOA capacity by 16 classrooms, and a site location task force will determine which of the existing locations of the academy will be expanded in the near future.

Lakenheath Takes On Baltic Mission An expeditionary contingent of F-15s and airmen from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, Eng- land, assumed responsibility for NATO’s Baltic air policing mission Sept. 1. Delivering the Goods: Airmen unload a CH-47 Chinook helicopter part from a C-17 at Chakala AB, Pakistan. The helicopter will be used to support flood relief efforts. Just The deployment will last four months, 36 hours into the flooding, C-17s and C-130s were flying aid flights, delivery hundreds during which 125 airmen and their of thousands of halal meals to Pakistan. Airmen delivered millions of pounds of relief F-15s—now the 493rd Expeditionary aid, and officials say the US military will continue to provide aid for as long as it is Fighter Squadron—will operate out of requested by the Pakistani government.

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to his family. Bonnassiolle, a native of Oakland, Calif., was buried Aug. 10 in San Francisco with full military honors. Bonnassiolle was one of 10 airmen lost on April 29, 1944, when their bomber

USAF photo by Joe Oliva crashed near the town of East Meitze, Germany, north of Hanover during a bombing raid directed against Berlin. Excavation of the site by a German citizen in 2003 led DOD to uncover remains and crew-related equipment, including identification tags.

Gen. T. Ross Milton (1915-2010) Retired Gen. T. Ross Milton, leader of the second bombing raid on Schwein- furt, Germany, in October 1943, and of the first successful daylight strike on Berlin five months later, died Aug. 24 in Oro Valley, Ariz. He was 94. Born in 1915 in Hawaii to an Army Vaporized: An F-16 creates a “cone” of condensation as it nears Mach 1 during a family, he graduated from West Point flyby at an open house at the Air National Guard’s Volk Field ANGB, Wis. The cone in 1940. After completing pilot training, appears as jet aircraft experience a sudden drop in pressure at high speed. he flew in Eighth Air Force in World War II, participating in some of the Eighth’s The US Army visited the crash site team excavated the site and recovered most storied operations. After the war, he later that year, reporting that remains additional remains and crew equipment. served as chief of staff for the Combined were not recoverable. Not until 1989 DOD scientists used DNA to help identify Airlift Task Force for the Berlin Airlift from did Corsican authorities notify the Army Fletcher’s remains. 1948 to 1949; commander of the 41st Air they had found wreckage of a World War DOD also announced the identifica- Division and 13th Air Force; and USAF II-era aircraft and turned over remains tion of Sgt. John P. Bonnassiolle. He was inspector general and comptroller. He collected at the mountainous location. a crewman in a B-24J bomber that went retired from the Air Force in 1974, and In 2005, a DOD Joint Prisoners of War, down over Germany in 1944. The re- became a longtime contributor to Air Missing in Action Accounting Command mains were identified and then returned Force Magazine. n

News Notes Thirteenth Air Force concluded a July 30, airmen from Aviano’s 555th Predator broke apart, resulting in its civil engineering summit at JB Pearl Fighter Squadron and 31st Aircraft total loss and the loss of the inert Hellfire Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on Aug. 22 for Maintenance Squadron worked with training missile on its wing. midlevel officers from 14 Asia-Pacific counterparts of the Swedish Norrbotten The Air Force’s enlisted heritage partner nations, from Bangladesh and Wing, conducting air-to-air and air-to- museum at Lackland AFB, Tex., re- Cambodia to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, ground flying missions at the Vidsel opened Aug. 12 after a nine-month reno- and others. The exchange enhanced Test Range. vation. The facility was also renamed regional partnerships and interoperability Lt. Gen. Donald C. Wurster, com- the USAF Airman Heritage Museum, among the nations. Training focused on mander of Air Force Special Operations replacing the old History and Traditions areas such as emergency management Command, topped the list of 2010 Museum. The museum now features preparation, disaster response, and fire selectees for the Air Commando Hall interactive technology, improved light- prevention. of Fame, announced Aug. 13. Others ing, and 31 total exhibits. Air Combat Command released the selected for induction were Col. Richard Boeing has begun production of draft environmental impact statement F. Brauer Jr., Col. James B. Connors, the seventh Wideband Global SATCOM for a proposed expansion of the Powder Col. Kenneth H. Poole, Col. Walter K. spacecraft, WGS-7, under a $187 mil- River Training Complex over portions of Schmidt, CMSgt. Michael J. Ramos, lion contract, the Air Force announced Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, CMSgt. A. Eugene Adcock, and CMSgt. Aug. 19. The contract covers the items and Wyoming. The Air Force wants to Nicolas S. Kiraly, all retired. The final needed to begin the satellite’s pro- modify the airspace to enable B-1s from two selectees, both deceased, were duction, according to the contract an- Ellsworth AFB, S.D., and B-52s from Col. Russell E. Rakip and Maj. William nouncement. WGS-7 is expected to be in Minot AFB, N.D., to train more realisti- Grosvenor Jr. the Block II configuration, satellites that cally. This includes establishing new Student pilot error caused the crash provide military communications to US low-altitude airspace and high-altitude of an ANG MQ-1B Predator remotely and allied forces around the world.Three training areas. Some civil traffic would piloted aircraft during a training mission WGS spacecraft are already on orbit. be affected, according to the document. April 20 over Southern California, ACC Members of the 374th Airlift Wing at More than 250 airmen and a con- investigators determined in a report Yokota AB, Japan, welcomed a group of tingent of F-16s from Aviano AB, Italy, released Aug. 20. The pilot failed to Japanese, including World War II Impe- completed a two-week visit at Kallax AB, recognize the Predator’s speed was rial Army veterans, to the base as part Sweden, in August, where they trained too low during final approach, causing of events to mark the 70th anniversary with Swedish airmen and Gripen fight- a stall and hard landing at an airport of the installation, known during the war ers. During the deployment, beginning in Victorville, Calif. Upon impact, the as Tama Army Airfield. n

26 AIR FORCE Magazine / October 2010