April 2013/$5 The F-35: Progress and Controversy Meet Chief Cody AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium Seeking the Sex-Assault Solution Unconventional. Undetectable. Undeniable. The F-35A Lightning II delivers the 21st century capabilities U.S. and thE F-35 lightning ii tEAM allied forces need. An innovative combination of stealth, speed, NORTHROP GRUMMAN f-35 and cutting-edge sensors allows it to fly through or slip past BAE SYSTEMS lightning ii advanced air defenses, virtually undetected. Superior battlespace PRATT & WHITNEY awareness leaves the enemy nowhere to hide. And that gives lOCKhEED MARtin pilots unprecedented power to engage the target and return home. The F-35A Lightning II. Rising to the challenges of the 21st century. See it in action – F35.com. 301-64993_F35_Unconventional_AFM.indd 1 10/4/12 5:04 PM April 2013, Vol. 96, No. 4 Publisher Craig R. McKinley Editor in Chief Adam J. Hebert Editorial [email protected] Editor Suzann Chapman Executive Editors Michael Sirak John A. Tirpak News Editor Amy McCullough Senior Editor Marc V. Schanz Associate Editors 22 Aaron M. U. Church June Lee Merri M. Shaffer FEATURES Contributors 4 Editorial: Where the Cold War Lives Walter J. Boyne, John T. Correll, Robert By Adam J. Hebert S. Dudney, Anna Mulrine, Gabe Starosta, North Korea has dashed hopes that it Barrett Tillman would change. Production [email protected] 22 Cutting Readiness By Amy McCullough Managing Editor USAF was forced into immediate Juliette Kelsey Chagnon action when sequestration kicked in. 28 Assistant Managing Editor 28 AirSea Battle’s Battle Frances McKenney By Marc V. Schanz Senior Designer The air and maritime concept is Heather Lewis maturing, but must fight off interser- vice rivalries and Pentagon politics. Designer Darcy N. Lewis 34 Airmen Absent By John A. Tirpak Photo Editor USAF tells its story poorly and lands Zaur Eylanbekov few key joint jobs. These problems are self-inflicted—and serious. Production Manager Eric Chang Lee 38 The F-35 Readies for Takeoff By Gabe Starosta Media Research Editor In January, Eglin welcomed the first Chequita Wood F-35 student pilots. 44 Chief Cody By Aaron M. U. Church 1501 Lee Highway The new Chief Master Sergeant of Arlington, Va. 22209-1198 the Air Force has his eye on preserv- Tel: 703/247-5820 ing airmen’s long-term strength. Telefax: 703/247-5855 About the cover: An F-35 executes a bar- 48 Seeking the Sex-Assault Solution rel roll over the California desert. See “The By Anna Mulrine F-35 Readies for Takeoff,” p. 22. Lockheed There’s no magic bullet. www.airforcemag.com 47 Martin photo by Darin Russell. AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2013 1 Air Force Association 1501 Lee Highway • Arlington, VA 22209-1198 Telephone: (703) 247-5800 52 Moving Into Sequestration Toll-free: (800) 727-3337 By John A. Tirpak Press 1 if you know your party’s extension. This is going to hurt. Press 2 for Membership. Press 3 for Insurance and other Member Benefit 56 Walking Back programs. By Aaron M. U. Church Or stay on the line for an operator to direct your EOD technician SSgt. Beau Chastain call. walked into a trap ... and all the way Fax: (703) 247-5853 back to active duty. Internet: http://www.afa.org/ 56 62 Arsenal Adjustment E-Mail Addresses By Marc V. Schanz The US is preparing to sustain, Field Services [email protected] and simplify, its nuclear warhead Government Relations .................. [email protected] stockpile. Industry Relations .......................... [email protected] 66 Up in the Air With Milton Caniff Events .................................... [email protected] By John T. Correll There was Terry and the Pirates and Membership ................. [email protected] Steve Canyon, to say nothing of the Insurance/Member Benefits............................... Dragon Lady. 62 [email protected] 74 The Mustangs of Iwo Policy & Communications (news media) ......... By Barrett Tillman [email protected] The P-51 pilots out of Iwo Jima had to fly 1,500 miles over water for less CyberPatriot [email protected] than an hour protecting B-29s over Japan. Magazine Advertising [email protected] AFA National Report ............... [email protected] DEPARTMENTS Editorial Offices [email protected] 66 6 Letters Letters to Editor [email protected] 10 Washington Watch Good news and bad news; Setting straight a major myth; Working on Air Force Memorial Foundation [email protected] lifetime No. 2; Competition matters .... For individual staff members first initial, last name, @afa.org 12 Air Force World (example: [email protected]) 15 Index to Advertisers 18 Senior Staff Changes AFA’s Mission 21 Chart Page: The Airlift Cliff Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense 33 Verbatim and to honor airmen and our Air Force heri- 61 Keeper File: Apocalypse Then tage. To accomplish this, we: 65 Flashback: Flight of the Fashionista Educate the public on the critical need for unmatched aerospace power and a techni- 79 AFA National Report cally superior workforce to ensure US national security. 82 Unit Reunions Advocate for aerospace power and STEM 74 84 Airpower Classics: Kfir education. Support the Total Air Force family and pro- Air Force Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) April 2013 (Vol. 96, No. 4) is published monthly by the Air Force Association, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, mote aerospace education. VA 22209-1198. Phone (703) 247-5800. Perodical postage paid at Arlington, Va., and additional mailing offices. Membership Rate: $45 per year; $110 for three-year membership. Life Membership (nonrefundable): $600 single payment, $630 extended payments. Subscription Rate: $45 per year; $29 per year additional for postage to foreign addresses (except Canada and Mexico, which are $10 per year additional). Regular issues $5 each. USAF Almanac issue $8 each. Change of address requires four weeks’ notice. Please include mailing label. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to Air Force Association, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Trademark registered by Air Force Association. Copyright 2013 by Air Force Association. 2 AIR FORCE Magazine / April 2013 The future of Light Attack is here. The Beechcraft AT-6 is the world’s finest Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance aircraft. Purpose-built to leverage prior investment in the U.S. Air Force’s T-6, A-10C, and MC-12W platforms. The AT-6 is available at a fraction of the acquisition, sustainment and training costs of other combat aircraft. The AT-6 provides a full suite of synchronized, ground-based training capabilities and an established global logistics infrastructure. The AT-6 is the only American-made aircraft designed to meet the needs of a world where unpredictability is commonplace and flexibility is crucial. Learn more, visit missionreadyat-6.com ©2013 AT-6 is the trademark of Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company, LLC. ® We build aircraft you can believe in. All rights reserved. Beechcraft is a registered trademark of Hawker Beechcraft Corporation. Beech130259 Air Force Mag Ad - Light Attack 01.indd 1 2/1/13 2:12 PM BAILEY LAUERMAN Beechcraft Air Force Mag Ad - Light Attack 02 Beech130259 Pub: Air Force Mag Color: 4-color Size: Trim 8.125" x 10.875", Bleed 8.375" x 11.125" Editorial By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief Where the Cold War Lives he Korean War was halted by a the country a prison to its people. The The Air Force prepares for war T1953 armistice. Sixty years later, citizens are systematically oppressed by studying the enemy and its likely some 28,000 US troops—8,000 of and lied to, to prop up the leadership. invasion routes, working closely with them airmen—are still stationed in South Korea stands in stark contrast ground forces and air controllers to South Korea. They are there to defend to all of this. There is probably no place master the scenarios. the democratic, free-market, and allied on earth where the failings of commu- In the event of a North Korean inva- South from its neighbor to the North. nism and the successes of freedom are sion, US aircraft out of Japan, Guam, Recent events show why this is both in such clear contrast. The South has Alaska, and elsewhere would quickly good and necessary. risen from Korean War destruction to augment the American forces. The RO- The Korean Peninsula is famously become a valuable US ally with one of KAF has hundreds of advanced fight- split along the 38th Parallel between the world’s most advanced and vibrant ers of its own. This combined air force South Korea (the ROK) and North economies. would devastate advancing DPRK Korea (the DPRK), a belligerent and troops and would immediately take the confrontational dynastic communist North Korea has fight north. From Osan Air Base, south state. dashed hopes that it of Seoul, it is just a 15-minute flight to DPRK has a failed economy and can might change. Pyongyang, North Korea. barely feed its people. It maintains a If the North chose to invade, it would million men under arms, however, and The US has backstopped South Ko- lose the war. The DPRK has numerical exploded nuclear devices in 2006 and rea’s defense from the beginning, and advantages, but its conventional capa- 2009. The regime is predictably unpre- the North, almost without doubt, would bilities are slowly fading while ROK and dictable—ratcheting up tensions when again attempt to seize the South if US capabilities grow ever greater. And it seeks to extract concessions such not for the deterrent power of the US while the North Koreans can study US as food aid from the international com- presence. The ROK military is highly tactics, “they don’t understand how flex- munity, or to rally its people around its capable, but the US (and the Air Force in ible we can be,” said USAF Maj.