Air Force World By Aaron Church, Associate Editor Airmen Killed in Afghanistan a hospital at Kandahar Airfield but died Guardsman Awarded for Valor SrA. Mark A. Forester, a combat soon thereafter. Johnson was assigned SSgt. Kenneth I. Walker, assigned controller assigned to Air Force Special to the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron’s to the Washington Air National Guard’s Operations Command’s 21st Special EOD flight at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. 116th Air Support Operations Squadron, Tactics Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C., died SrA. Michael J. Buras, an explosive received the Bronze Star Medal with Sept. 29 during combat operations in ordnance disposal specialist assigned Valor Device for actions during a firefight Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. Forester, to the 99th Civil Engineer Squadron on May 24, 2009, while deployed as a from Tuscaloosa, Ala., was 29 years old. at Nellis AFB, Nev., died Sept. 21 of tactical air control party member with SrA. Daniel Johnson, 23, an explosive wounds from an improvised explosive the 817th Expeditionary ASOS and the ordnance disposal technician, was killed device that struck his vehicle in a convoy Army’s Task Force Spader in Afghanistan. in action west of Kandahar, Oct. 5. An near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. After directing airstrikes repelling an IED detonated near him as he performed Buras, from Fitzgerald, Ga., was 23 initial attack, Walker provided covering his EOD duties. He was transported to years old. fire to ground forces, exposing himself screenshot 12 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 repeatedly to fire. He then re-established DOD is instituting to get more efficiency part of an Air Force-wide drawdown communications with air assets and and effectiveness out of new contracts. of the fighter force by 250 aircraft for called in additional strikes that blunted Gates emphasized that the per-unit F-35 Fiscal 2010. F-15s began departing a second attack and brought an end to price in Lot 4 is 15 to 20 percent less Langley in June. the seven-hour engagement. than the cost DOD’s own independent Langley will continue to operate its Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz cost estimators projected earlier this 40 F-22s with its remaining two fighter presented the medal to Walker at the Air year. DOD and Lockheed Martin will squadrons. A recent realignment of re- Force Association’s Air & Space Con- share in the cost of any overrun up to a sources gave Langley an additional six ference near Washington, D.C. Walker “fixed ceiling.” The company will share in F-22s, which are also used by the Air was attending the conference as one any savings should the program come National Guard at that base. of USAF’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of in under cost. One of Langley’s last F-15s will be the Year. displayed at the Virginia Air and Space Last F-15s Depart Langley Center in nearby Hampton, Va. F-35 Lot 4 Deal Reached After 34 years of continuous front-line The Defense Department and Lock- service, the last two F-15s assigned to An Air Force Reserve C-130 prepares heed Martin agreed in September to the 71st Fighter Squadron at JB Langley, for a combat offload of flood relief sup- terms for the fourth low-rate production Va., departed the base Sept. 1. plies at an air strip in northern Pakistan. lot of F-35 Lightning II strike fighters, The F-15 arrived at Langley as the Between Aug. 16 and Oct. 3, C-130s and C-17s delivered nearly six million Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates world’s top fighter in 1976. Most of the pounds of relief supplies to Pakistan said. The parties settled on “a fixed-price F-15s are destined for service with at distribution centers throughout the incentive fee contract” for the purchase of the Air National Guard. The 71st was country. USAF flood relief efforts ended 30 F-35s. The deal implements changes inactivated in September. The move is in early October. 10.03.2010 USAF photo by SSgt. Andy Kin AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 13 Air Force World Senate Confirms New Vice Chief The Senate has confirmed the nomi- Intermodal Mobility Brings Efficiency to Deliveries nation of Lt. Gen. Philip M. Breedlove to be promoted to four-star general “I have to get people what they need, when they need it, at the right and serve as USAF vice chief of staff. place, at the right time. Lives depend on it,” said Gen. Raymond E. Johns The Senate action on Sept. 29 allows Jr., commander of Air Mobility Command, at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Breedlove to succeed Gen. Carrol H. in September. “But along the way, can I do it more efficiently?” Chandler, who has been vice chief When AMC first moved armored all-terrain vehicles (M-ATVs) to Afghanistan, since August 2009 and is retiring after C-17s took off from Charleston AFB, S.C., with three of the vehicles in the 36 years of uniformed service. Breed- hold and would arrive in-theater some 20 hours later. “That was important, love has been deputy chief of staff for because they were saving lives,” Johns said. operations, plans, and requirements Once the initial vehicles were on the ground, commanders tinkered with since August 2009. Commissioned in intermodal processes to deliver more vehicles, more efficiently. One obvious 1977, he is a command pilot with more assist came from sealift, which can inexpensively deliver vast quantities of than 3,500 flying hours. materiel, albeit more slowly than airlift. The Senate also approved the nomi- However, by shipping M-ATVs to the Persian Gulf region, the Air Force nation of Lt. Gen. Herbert J. Carlisle to can then shuttle a C-17 to forward bases “not with three M-ATVs, but with take over Breedlove’s post on the Air five,” Johns noted. After setting up a port operation in Bahrain, an estimated Staff. Carlisle was commander, 13th 2,439 M-ATVs moved through to Afghanistan as of Sept. 10, according to Air Force, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, US Transportation Command figures. Hawaii. Utilizing multiple transit modes, the government saved about $116 million Maj. Gen. Stanley T. Kresge received per 1,000 vehicles and increased airlift efficiency by 40 percent. the Senate’s blessing for promotion to three stars, backfilling Carlisle at 13th Air Force. Kresge is commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB, Nev. Shelton To Lead AFSPC AP photo by Arshad Butt The Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. Wil- liam L. Shelton for a fourth star and leadership of Air Force Space Com- mand at Peterson AFB, Colo. Shelton will replace Gen. C. Robert Kehler, who is tapped to head US Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, Neb. Shelton is assistant vice chief of staff, and was nominated to head AFPSC in September. Shelton has extensive background in space mis- sions, including leadership of 14th Air Force at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The Senate also confirmed the nomination of Lt. Gen. Richard Y. New- ton III to replace Shelton as assistant vice chief. Newton has served on the Air Staff as DCS for manpower and personnel since January 2008. Taking Newton’s place will be Maj. Gen. Darrell D. Jones, confirmed for three stars, who shifts from command of the Air Force District of Washington, JB Andrews, Md. USAF Receives Final Liberty Aircraft The last of 37 MC-12 Liberty Project Aircraft, developed and produced to meet an urgent operational require- ment, was delivered in August, prime contractor L-3 Communications an- nounced. The delivery completes the Liberty Project Aircraft program. Fire Strike: Pakistanis watch as oil tankers burn in Quetta, Pakistan on Oct. 6. On Aug. 31, the airplane was flown Militants torched a dozen tankers carrying fuel to NATO troops in Afghanistan. This from the L-3 Mission Integration facility attack was only the latest strike against bottlenecked supply convoys headed to in Greenville, Tex., to the Air National Afghanistan after Islamabad temporarily shut down a key border crossing to protest Guard training facility at Key Field, air strikes that killed Pakistanis. Miss. 14 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 AIR FORCE Magazine / November 2010 15 Air Force World The first MC-12 intelligence-sur- veillance-reconnaissance aircraft was Global Hawk Roosts in Guam acquired in March 2009, and since June 2009 they have been deployed An RQ-4 remotely piloted aircraft has arrived at Andersen AFB, Guam, to Iraq and Afghanistan. “The Air Force to support the standup of Global Hawk operations in the Pacific. Airmen and L-3 completed an amazing feat,” with the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., controlled said Mark Von Schwarz, president of the aircraft during its 18-hour flight from Beale to Andersen. L-3 Mission Integration. All 37 ISR Following completion of initial operational test and evaluation, including aircraft were delivered in less than 24 taxi and pattern tests on the Global Hawk Block 30 configuration, Guam months, each one on or before contract will become home to three Global Hawks assigned to the 9th Operations deadlines, the company said. Group’s Det. 3 at Andersen. The Global Hawk’s presence on Guam will give Pacific Air Forces “a high- Last T-43 Retires altitude, long-range persistent [intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance] The last T-43A combat systems platform” that complements the U-2s and other ISR aircraft that operate in officer training aircraft was retired the region, said PACAF Commander Gen. Gary L. North. in September during a ceremony at The timeline for delivery of the final two aircraft depends on the comple- Randolph AFB, Tex.