INSIDE: Arctic Threats p. 34 | The F-35: Fully Developed p. 26 | High-Altitude ISR at War p. 16 CYBER WARRIORS FIGHT AMERICA’S MOST ACTIVE WAR And they can’t say much about it. p. 38 January 2018 $8 Published by the Air Force Association January 2018. Vol. 101, No. 1 FEATURES STAFF Publisher Larry O. Spencer Editor in Chief Adam J. Hebert Managing Editor 29 Juliette Kelsey Chagnon Editorial Director John A. Tirpak News Editor Amy McCullough Deputy Managing Editor Frances McKenney Senior Designer Dashton Parham 26 22 Pentagon Editor Brian W. Everstine 16 Eyes in the Skies 29 Danger-Close Escape 44 Ready to Fight Tonight Senior Editor By Jennifer Hlad By Wilson Brissett By Amy McCullough Wilson Brissett U-2s and Global Hawks out SSgt. Richard Hunter called In the rapidly changing Digital Platforms Editor of Al Dhafra Air Base bring in short-range air attacks Pacific Theater, the Air Force Gideon Grudo vision to the war on terror. to help a special operations is determined to maintain the Production Manager team escape a harrowing competitive advantage 22 The OA-X and Air Force Eric Chang Lee ambush. For that, he earned Acquisition 54 The Shadow War in Photo Editor an Air Force Cross. By Brian W. Everstine Cambodia Mike Tsukamoto Can the Light Attack 34 The Artic Heats Up By John T. Correll Media Research Editor Experiment serve as a by Jason Sherman Nixon and Kissinger thought Chequita Wood model for speeding up USAF In the high north, things are the sustained B-52 bombing Contributors acquisition? cold no more. in Cambodia could be hidden John T. Correll, Robert S. from Congress and the press. Dudney, Jennifer Hlad, Mike 26 Exiting the Pattern 38 The Cyber Warriors Machat, Ed Yielding By John A. Tirpak By Gideon Grudo At long last, the F-35 strike The challenge: USAF must ADVERTISING: fighter is set to complete build a highly skilled force Arthur Bartholomew development. it can’t say much about, to 213.596.7239 perform missions it can’t Tom Buttrick really discuss. 917.421.9051 DEPARTMENTS James G. Elliott Co., Inc. 2 Editorial: A Simple Lesson 9 Aperture 52 Verbatim [email protected] from 26 Murders in Texas By John A. Tirpak 60 Wingman: AFA National By Adam J. 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Copyright 2017 by Air Force Association. JANUARY ★ AIRFORCEMAG.COM Editorial By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief A Simple Lesson From 26 Murders in Texas NOVEMBER , ¡¢ n oversimplified, straight-line description of how institute in Santa Teresa, N.M., had reported him missing after Devin P. Kelley’s criminal life reached its apex hinges he jumped a fence to escape the facility. The police report said on a bureaucratic failure. One can reasonably argue a staffer informed them Kelley had previously been caught that Kelley was able to buy the weapons he used to sneaking firearms onto Holloman and had threatened to kill Amurder 26 churchgoers in Texas because the Air Force failed some of his superiors. Kelley was soon back in Air Force cus - to inform the FBI that Kelley was a convicted felon. tody and was convicted of two counts of domestic violence. USAF knew Kelley was a problem. The service sentenced In November 2012, his official duty title changed to “Prisoner.” him to a year of confinement for violently assaulting his wife The Air Force does not operate prisons, so Kelley spent a and stepson and kicked him out of the Air Force. What the year in “confinement at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in service didn’t do next may have allowed Kelley to fully realize California before being released with a bad conduct discharge his violent instincts. and reduction in grade to E-1,” according to a service release. Kelley’s 12-month conviction was a de facto felony, which Devin Kelley’s brutal rampage is a should have prohibited his later firearms purchases. The Air reminder that USAF must perform Force is moving quickly to determine what went wrong with routine bureaucratic tasks with the the notification and how widespread this is. Both the Air Force and Defense Department inspectors same precision it shows at war. general are looking into the incident, as they should. Nearly half of the worshippers killed in Sutherland, which To its credit, the Air Force has owned this from the begin- is near San Antonio and its huge Air Force community, had ning. Service spokeswoman Ann Stefanek released a detailed ties to the service. Twelve victims were “directly connected to statement Nov. 6, the day after the shooting, explaining, “federal the Air Force, either members or though family ties,” said Gen. law prohibited [Kelley] from buying or possessing firearms” David L. Goldfein, Chief of Staff, at a Nov. 9 briefing. after his court-martial. Tragically, his domestic violence con - “We’re ensuring that all of our resources are being made viction “was not entered in the National Criminal Information available to the families,” Goldfein added, including use of the Center database by the Holloman [AFB, N.M.] Office of Special San Antonio Military Medical Center, which “already treated Investigations.” eight victims of the shooting,” he said. The offenses “should have been reported and that’s why we At press time, there were still many unanswered questions. launched a full-scale review of this case and all others like How did the Air Force miss the critical step of updating it,” said Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson the same week. the FBI’s database? Had the Air Force updated this database, Kelley would How common is this problem within the Air Force and not have been able to purchase guns from licensed dealers. with DOD overall? Instead, his background checks came back clean and Kelley How many unregistered, violent, prior-service felons need purchased body armor and weapons at least twice. The weap - records updates? ons included the Ruger AR-556 rifle he used to shoot up the What happens in cases where former military criminals First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. now illegally own guns? There is no way of knowing what would have later happened And most important of all: What will USAF do to ensure had the Air Force properly updated the FBI’s no-buy list. Kelley this sort of mistake never happens again? was clearly a very disturbed, chronically violent individual. Still, USAF made a terrible error. A brief look at Kelley’s life from the time he entered the Air Force shows a ticking time bomb. For our purposes, this story can begin in 2010, when Kelley enlisted and underwent training at Lackland and Goodfellow Air Force bases in Texas. In 2011, he was assigned to Holloman AFB, N.M., as a traffic management/logistics readiness airman. Between April 2011 and April 2012, Kelley on multiple oc - casions physically attacked his then-wife and infant stepson. Then, in June 2012, police picked him up at an El Paso, Texas, bus station, but not for assault, battery, domestic abuse, or child endangerment. Why then? According to television station KPRC Houston, SECAF Heather Wilson and Chief of Sta Gen. David the staff at Peak Behavioral Health Services, a mental health Goldfein take questions at the Pentagon Nov. 9, 2017. SSgt.Photo: Frank Rusty JANUARY ★ AIRFORCEMAG.COM SUPPORT THE AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION Through the Combined Federal Campaign CFC# 12214 AFA.org opm.gov/ShowSomeLoveCFC HUGE SAVINGS SUBSCRIBE TO AIR FORCE MAGAZINE AND SAVE AT LEAST 50% OFF THE COVER PRICE PLUS GET A FREE MEMBERSHIP TO THE AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION Call 1-800-727-3337 to subscribe JANUARY ★ AIRFORCEMAG.COM Letters One Way Nukes based in France. President [Charles] as chief of programs and deputy base Thanks to John Lowery for his great de Gaulle would not permit nuclear civil engineer in the time period 1963- article “The One-Way Nuclear Mission” weapons in France, so if the balloon 67, for this dual base, it was common [October/November, p.