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AFA’s Air, Space USSF’s Saltzman 12 | ABMS Gains Traction 40 | Building to War in Vietnam 52
& Cyber: The
Outbrief
12
BUFF
UP
Nose-to-Tail Upgrades
Will Keep B-52s Flying
for Another 30+ Years
| 36
October 2020 $8
Published by the
Air Force Association
STAFF
Publisher
October 2020. Vol. 103, No. 10 Bruce A. Wright
Editor in Chief
Tobias Naegele
Managing Editor
Juliette Kelsey
Chagnon
Editorial Director
John A. Tirpak
News Editor
Amy McCullough
Assistant
Managing Editor
Chequita Wood
Tech. Sgt. Cory D. Payne
Senior Designer
Dashton Parham
Pentagon Editor
Brian W. Everstine
Digital Platforms
DEPARTMENT FEATURES A “robot dog” Editor
provides secu- Jennifer-Leigh
2 Editorial: 12 Q&A: Space Ops 101 rity at a simu-
Inflection Points Oprihory
By Tobias Naegele Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Space Force Deputy Chief lated austere
Senior Editor
of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber and Nuclear, base during the
4 Letters Advanced Battle Rachel S. Cohen
speaks with Rachel S. Cohen about Space Force. planning.
Management Production
6 Index to
Advertisers
36 BUFF Up System exer- Manager
cise on Nellis Eric Chang Lee
By John A. Tirpak Air Force Base,
11 Verbatim Photo Editor
Another decade of enhancements will give the B-52 Nev., Sept. 1. Mike Tsukamoto
14 Strategy & Policy: three more decades of power. See “Moving
China’s Expanding From Situational
Military Power 40 Moving From Situational Awareness to C2 Awareness to Contributors
C2,” p. 40. Lt. Col. Price T.
16 Airframes By Brian W. Everstine Bingham, USAF
22 World: USAF The second ABMS on-ramp experiment offers a peek (Ret.), John T.
acquisition chief Correll, Robert S.
into the future of JADC2. Dudney, Jennifer
Will Roper on
the digital future; Hlad
44 Move Out!
USAF’s vanguard
programs; diversity By Rachel S. Cohen
and inclusion in Relocating is hard for everyone, but for service
USAF; and more ... members, it’s a way of life. COVID-19 challenged even
35 Faces of the Force the pros.
ADVERTISING:
61 Airman for Life 48 The Air Base: The Air Force’s Achilles’ Heel?
AFA 2020; AFA Kirk Brown
National Election By Lt. Col. Price T. Bingham, USAF (Ret.) Director, Media
ON THE COVER Solutions
results; Recognizing History shows the Air Force needs a new approach to
WWII veteran 703.247.5829
forward basing. kbrown@afa.org
Lt. Col. Thomas
Vaucher; Teacher of 52 The Air Force Enters the Vietnam War SUBSCRIBE
Airman 1st Class Gerald Willis
the Year 2020; ...
By John T. Correll & SAVE
64 Namesakes: Subscribe to
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Under cover of secrecy, the “training” mission turned
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Compiled by Chequita Wood fortress bombers membership
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The program annually recognizes 12 enlisted members Ocean. See “BUFF Association.
Up,” p. 36.
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Air Force Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) October 2020 (Vol. 103, No. 10) is published monthly, except for two double issues in January/February and July/August, by the Air
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OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 1
EDITORIAL
By Tobias Naegele
Inflection Points
R
ussian aircraft probe U.S. defenses in Alaska and Europe, The so-called frozen middle—those mid-career Airmen and civil-
and its cyber instigators prowl the Internet, fueling hate and ians whose embrace of rules and regulations shrouds that underlying
discontent on social media, driving wedges into the cracks discomfort with change—slow-rolls innovation and dampens the en-
in our oft-divided nation. Confidence in our institutions continues to thusiasm of their subordinates. Worse, they drive away the innovators.
wane. Further south, China flexes its muscles, emboldened by what “‘Leadership without risk is called management,’” Brown said,
it wishes to believe: that America is atrophying, fading from preemi- quoting retired Lt. Col. Rich Cole, whose father was Jimmy Doolittle’s
nence, and that America’s decline clears the way for China’s ascent. copilot for the famous Doolittle Raid. “We don’t need more managers
After sending combat jets into Taiwanese airspace last month, China in the Air Force. We need more leaders. I plan to lead change. And
circulated an ominous Internet video depicting Chinese bombers by leading change, we’re going to have to take some risks.”
destroying a U.S. base in Guam. Airmen can’t be afraid to speak up in meetings, holding their com-
No wonder Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. keeps ments for the “meeting after the meeting.” That’s a leadership problem.
saying, “Accelerate change—or lose.” “We must have ‘the meeting after the meeting’ in the meeting,” Brown
“We’re at an inflection point, and we can’t defer change,” Brown said. Get the ideas on the table. Invoking former Defense Secretary
said in his first major address as Chief, a statement of intent at the and Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, Brown’s boss years ago in U.S.
Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference last Central Command, he advocated Mattis’ concept of command and
month. “We have a window of opportunity, a window of opportunity feedback as opposed to command and control. “It’s the dialog that
to change, to control and exploit the air domain to the standard our happens between different levels of command,” he said.
nation expects and requires of its Air Force. If we don’t change, if we Commanders in the field need not wait for direction from above.
fail to adapt, we risk losing.” “In some cases,” Brown said, “you need to figure out what to do on
Brown’s predecessors prepared the way, he your own.”
said, but now the pace of change must quicken. “Leadership without risk So, do what Brown does: Tell your boss what
War may not be imminent, but the rising risk is called management. We you intend to do. Wait for a response. If the boss
must be seen for what it is: a call to action. As a
don’t need more managers doesn’t say otherwise within a couple of days,
past commander of Pacific Air Forces, he knows act. Afraid that’s no way to get promoted? It’s
the U.S. can’t compete with China numerically. in the Air Force.” how Brown made Chief of Staff.
Capability, ingenuity, speed, and talent are our —CSAF Gen. Charles. Q. Brown Jr. “That’s the same kind of approach I think our
differentiators. Airmen need to take,” Brown said. “They need
China’s rise, the birth of the Space Force, and even the COVID-19 to be thinking about what they’re doing, communicating what their
pandemic are all forcing functions that can help shake up today’s intent is, and then wait a little bit of time, give their supervision a
mature bureaucracy and awake it from its lethargy. chance to respond. And if they don’t respond, they need to move.”
“We have two options,” Brown said. “We can ‘admire’ the problem Brown himself is moving out on plans for a new deployment model
and talk about how tough it’s going to be, how hard the decision will and on finding ways to pay for essential modernization. Weapons
be to make, or we can take action. I vote for the latter.” and systems that won’t make the Air Force better and more effective
Airmen take note: This is the example he wants you to follow. in a high-end fight against a Chinese force that will dwarf the U.S.
The American way of war has long leveraged the independent numerically shouldn’t be part of that equation. They’ll need to go.
creativity of individual commanders. Ours is a matrixed military in Excess bureaucracy that doesn’t add to the force’s lethality should
which commanders are supposed to have leeway to apply judg- go, as well. There are lessons in what Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond is
ment. In recent years, however, that philosophy has atrophied. Trust doing with his leaner Space Force, Brown says. Maybe the Air Force
in subordinates waned. If your boss doesn’t trust you, you won’t can borrow from that model.
trust those beneath you, and they won’t trust their subordinates. Will Roper, the department’s chief acquisition executive, is likewise
The result is paralysis. aligned. He’s aiming to accelerate acquisition and to deliver supreme
American forces are better trained, better educated, and gener- connectivity to the Joint Force—to create a secure “Internet of Military
ally better equipped than their peers. They must likewise be better Things” that extends to the edge of the combat cloud.
trusted. Subordinates must be confident in their ability to make Roper’s vision for the Advanced Battle Management System is a
decisions and take action—and yes, to make mistakes. We learn network that connects the Joint Force in real time, worldwide. It’s not
more from our failures than our successes, but only if we survive to easy. F-35s struggle to communicate with F-22s. But it’s a workable
face a similar decision in the future. If every failure kills a career, no problem. He’s also accelerating the development and engineering of
one learns a thing. new systems and platforms through the service’s embrace of digital
This goes back to the very root of the Air Force and the leaders who engineering. Like Brown, accelerating change.
put their careers and their lives on the line as they invented air power. ABMS is to military systems what better communication is to
Pioneers such as Billy Mitchell and Jimmy Doolittle embraced risk Airmen in any fight: a key to faster, better informed decision-making.
in ways we can barely imagine today, betting it all on their instincts. It is the digital analog to the human collaboration Brown seeks to
Now in its eighth decade, the Air Force’s risk aversion is as great a unlock by empowering Airmen to speak up and think for themselves.
threat as China and Russia. “Folks don’t want to change once they’re Not every new idea will be met warmly. Not all will be successful
in their comfort zone,” Brown told me in an interview following his or even worth pursuing. But that isn’t a failure. Trying and failing is
talk. “You’ve got to have a forcing function that drives change.” better than not trying at all. J
2 OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM
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LETTERS
Air Force Association
Look in the Mirror, AFA Well, That Makes No Sense 1501 Lee Highway • Arlington, VA 22209-1198
You have a cover story in the July/ Reading the article about the next
afa.org
August 2020 edition titled, “Black and Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s top
Air Force Blue. ” You then dedicate priorities and his measures to boost Telephone: 703.247.5800
nine of 64 pages to the race issue USAF readiness [June, p. 25], I became Toll-free: 800.727.3337
in USAF, yet you can only muster 13 confused when I read that the Heritage Fax: 703.247.5853
White men as AFA Nominees for the Foundation’s suggestion to “re-estab-
National Office and Board of Directors lish standing operational readiness in- AFA’s Mission
[“Airman for Life: Nominees for AFA spection (ORI) teams.” Did we disband Our mission is to promote dominant U.S. Air
National Officers”]. Do you even bother ORIs from the duties of our Inspector and Space Forces as the foundation of a
reading your own stories? Is AFA that General teams? The article goes on: strong national defense; honor and support
monochrome and homogeneous? This Individual squadron readiness assess- our Airmen, Space professionals, and their
certainly does not represent the USAF ments throughout the Air Force are families; and to honor and respect our
that I served in. now conducted by the unit’s squadron enduring heritage.
Col. James “Mookie” Sturim, commanders themselves.
USAF (Ret.) Are you kidding me? This is like put- To accomplish this, we:
Burke, Va. ting the fox in the hen house. I believe ■ Educate the public on the critical need
it is this kind of lapse in judgment and for unrivaled aerospace power and a
I found the cover article “Leveling decision-making that led to the Minot technically superior workforce to ensure
the Field” as well as the article im- [Air Force Base, N.D.,] to Barksdale national security.
mediately following it “Black Airmen [Air Force Base, La.,] nuclear fiasco a ■ Advocate for aerospace power, and
Speak Out ” to be well-written and few years ago. Whatever happened to promote aerospace and STEM education
very eye-opening, which is why I was the no-notice Phase I ORI and the fol- and professional development.
stunned when I reached p. 60 and saw low-on Phase II ORI? A commander’s
■ Support readiness for the Total Air and
the nominations for the 2020-2021 career depended on what the IG team Space Forces, including Active Duty,
Board of Directors, all of whom are reported, and some were relieved of National Guard, Reserve, civilians, families
older white males! command based on what we used to and members of the Civil Air Patrol.
Might I suggest that you go back and call “less-than” performance.
revisit that nomination process to help I spent two years on the USAFE IG Contacts
address some of the issues you raised team, from 1986-88, and a couple more CyberPatriot . . . . info@uscyberpatriot.org
in the cover article? on the NATO TACEVAL [Tactical Eval- Field Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . field@afa.org
Patricia A. Thomas-Fuller uation] team from 1996-99, and I can Government Relations . . . . . . . . grl@afa.org
Hudson, Mass. tell you doing inspections the way we Insurance . . . . . . afa.service@mercer.com
did resulted in a much better readiness Membership . . . . . . . . membership@afa.org
Thanks for advancing the conver- to support our mission. We saw some News Media . . . communications@afa.org
sation on race relations in the July/ commanders relieved, but others really StellarXplorers . . . . . . . . . STLX_info@afa.org
August edition; this is long overdue. In were meeting or exceeding require-
the same edition, I noted that all nom- ments. Also, our reports were shared Magazine
inees for National Office and Board of across the command so others could Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kbrown@afa.org
Editorial Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . afmag@afa.org
Directors share three characteristics: learn from the errors, and be better at
Letters to Editor Column . . . letters@afa.org
old, white, and male. what they do.
Lt. Col. Dennis W. Butler, Please tell me I am missing some-
Change of Address/Email
USAF (Ret.) thing in reading this article. In an effort to stay connected with AFA
Oakland, Calif. Col. Frank Alfter, and your local chapter, please update your
USAF (Ret.) mailing and email addresses. Change of
WRITE TO US Beavercreek, Ohio address requires four weeks’ notice.
Do you have a comment about a current Time to Speak Up To update your contact information:
article in the magazine? Write to “Letters,” While the loss of two aviators in ■ Email: membership@afa.org
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■ Visit: The Members Only area
Arlington, VA 22209-1198 or email us at devastating and condolences go out of our website, afa.org
letters@afa.org. Letters should be concise to their loved ones, one of the worst
and timely. We cannot acknowledge receipt “lessons to learn” is the wrong one ■ Call: Our Membership Department
of letters. We reserve the right to condense [“World: Air Force Halts T-38 Forma- at 1-800-727-3337
letters. Letters without name and city/base tion Landings,” June p. 31]. Almost 15 ■ Mail your magazine label, including your
and state are not acceptable. Photographs million flight hours in the past 50-plus first and last name, to our Membership
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4 OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM
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LETTERS
hours makes the T-38 one of the safest Mostly they come in one week a month, the Air Force. As a first sergeant and
airplanes in the Air Force. It’s time for fly twice a day or three days with senior enlisted airman, I sat on lots of
a 1,000-plus hour T-38 Instructor Pilot whichever students are available, once selection boards in the ’80s [and] early
(IP) to speak up. on the other two days, and then they ’90s. I realized that the young women
One of the easiest things in the are gone until next month. They don’t were outshining the guys. They were
T-38 syllabus is “leading” a formation get to recognize a “good” student’s laser-focused, well-spoken, and very
landing. It is a “straight-in” landing, “bad” habits like their regular IPs do, competitive. I told the guys, to be
except you land on one side of the 150 so they aren’t ready to “grab the stick” competitive they would have to step it
foot wide runway, three times as wide as soon as they should and take over up. If they didn’t, the girls were going
as the T-38. At Vance [Air Force Base, when flying with a “good” student who to win it all.
Okla.,] with a 9,000-foot long runway, is starting to go “bad.” Well, they just did.
there is plenty of room to “roll out to In my T-38 flight room we had a photo CMSgt. L.T. Jarrett,
100 knots” before aero-breaking, giving over the door of a crashed T-38 at the USAF (Ret.)
the trailing wingman a little extra room end of some runway with the caption: Surprise, Ariz.
to get stopped. Since the landing was “ Aviation in itself is not inherently
“straight-in” there were miles on ap- dangerous … unless you get low and Different Times in Service?
proach to establish runway alignment, slow! Don’t!” There is another letter immediately
glide-slope, and power settings. John Conway, following mine from a Lt. Col. David
To blame the T-38 for acting with its Jackson, N.J. J. Wallace [“Letters: Minuteman and
predictable aerodynamic characteristics Service People,” June, p. 6] that con-
after “flying” it back into the air (touch- I am here today because I had been tains some questionable information. I
down should have been around 150 trained to make formation landings. served all of my 20 year career in SAC
knots) at very low speed (premature In 1975, I was the squadron command- (Strategic Air Command), including 19
aero-braking), turning the short wings er of the 75th Tactical Fighter Squadron years in Minuteman operations and
into “speed brakes” by further raising at England Air Force Base [La.,] (an maintenance. Five of those years were
the nose (loss of lift = high drag), ap- A-7 unit). We were going to deploy to at higher headquarters and on the SAC
plying 30 degrees of rudder and then Panama and needed to brief the 9th IG team. I consider myself to be well-
not expecting bad things to happen is AF commander on our plans. The wing versed in early Minuteman operations
not the fault of the T-38. The student commander and I planned to fly to Shaw and feel it necessary to challenge some
“holding right rudder” input was not [Air Force Base, S.C.,] in A-7s for the of the statements made by Wallace.
something that would have allowed the briefing. When we got ready to penetrate I have never heard that the Minute-
T-38 to “save” the developing situation. at Shaw, the weather had gone bad, man system was envisioned as auto-
Recovery procedure, by the IP if neces- and my flight lead (wing commander) mated to the point of not requiring a
sary, should have been lowering the nose asked if I wanted to make a formation crew. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay was never
and relanding the T-38 straight-ahead approach and landing on his wing. I said at SAC during the lifetime of Minute-
(little/centered rudder) or applying af- yes, and we started down. man. He left SAC in 1957 to serve as Air
terburners and doing a “lead aircraft The clouds were so thick that I had Force Vice Chief of Staff. He was made
go-around” for another landing. The to overlap wing tips in order to keep in Chief of Staff in 1961 when Minuteman
wingman would then transition to a formation. As we let down, I noticed out was being constructed and made op-
single aircraft landing. Sadly, this was of the corner of my eye that my flight erational. In fact, a lot of his history is
an avoidable “landing” accident not a instruments were spinning, but could centered on some of his questionable
“formation” accident. not divert my attention to check because demands during the Cuban Missile
While on it, the T-38 Reserve IP of the thick clouds. We broke out about Crisis in October 1962, and it was at
program deserves another look. Un- 300 feet and a quarter-mile and made this time that the first Minuteman wing
doubtedly they all have “impeccable our formation landing. Then, I checked at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.,
reputations,” but that’s not the point. my instruments and realized my platform was rushed to partial operational sta-
had dumped due to an electrical problem, tus to serve as a national defense, if
and I only had air speed and altitude. If necessary. So, I am also doubtful that
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS I had not made a formation approach General LeMay selected the first crew
and landing, my best option would have members from aircrew members or
American Hearing Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 been to bail out. Formation landings do gave spot promotions to those who
Bradford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 require good formation flying, but if done achieved “S” (Select status). I never
Collins Aerospace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 correctly can be beneficial. met any of those people. I was on the
Colony Club. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Col. George Kennebeck, first combat-ready crew at Ellsworth
Lockheed Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover IV USAF (Ret.) Air Force Base [S.D.,] Wing II, and my
Meggitt Defense . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Austin, Texas crew was the one to accept the first
Mercer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Minuteman flight made operational in
Pratt & Whitney. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Welcome to the New Team early July 1963.
Rolls-Royce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover II Congrats Chief [JoAnne S.] Bass for Wallace also states that, “Soon, the
USAA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover III working hard and being good enough monotony and apparent simplicity
vASC Videos on Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 to be selected Chief Master Sgt. of caused boredom in the crew force—it’s
6 OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM
not fun, like flying. Aircrew members as the newer sites were opened with There is much more I could disagree
soon returned to the cockpits, never improved security equipment. with, but I realize that Wallace was
more to burrow underground in missile The missiles themselves gave us var- probably in the force much later than
launch capsules.” ious alarms that required maintenance I was (I retired in 1981), so I did want
Wow, talk about 180 degrees wrong! response, and it was not unusual for to object to his characterization of the
The Minuteman Education Program I a control center to have three to five early days of Minuteman and set the
described in my letter was supposed maintenance teams working in their record straight for those of us who
to be the solution to all that planned flight of 10 sites and requiring commu- lived through and experienced early
monotony. But the monotony NEVER nication almost constantly. The point is Minuteman.
arrived, nor did the simplicity. Crews that things were hectic, and certainly Lt. Col. Bill Norwood,
working 24-hour shifts in the launch not monotonous. Our schoolwork did USAF (Ret.)
control center barely had time to do not get done on duty as was planned, Ozark, Mo.
any study and were happy to get a few so we did all that at home on our off
hours sleep. Otherwise, alarms were days, when we also attended classes. A Disaster, Certainly
constantly going off and the security Crew members seldom left crew duty General [Douglas] MacArthur’s de-
system on the missile sites themselves before three or four years in order to feat in the 1941-42 Battle of the Phil-
(each 3 to 5 miles apart) was so poor complete their master’s degree re- ippines is one of the most ignoble
that they had to be manned 24/7 by quirements, and, by then, more young chapters in American military history.
armed guards. Usually, four guards officers had been brought in while the You are so right in “Disaster in the
per site were required, so that two original crews had gained experience, Philippines” [November 2019, p. 46]
could be in rest status. The two-man and the once younger crew members that Short and Kimmel were hung out
policy required two be on duty at all were now much more experienced to dry after Pearl Harbor. The surprise
times. These people had to be rotated and capable of commanding a two- attack on Pearl Harbor should have
and fed while on duty, and that fell to man combat crew. So, while captains been detected, and there were a dozen
our Mobile Strike Team whose primary and majors were frequent crew com- errors made that could have placed the
duty was to investigate alarms from manders initially, it gradually became islands in a better posture to defend
unmanned missile sites. But, with so captains and lieutenants who were itself. It was different for the attack on
many manned, the team did little more well-experienced. But, one thing that the Philippines. MacArthur had a full
than act as a taxi service and meal Wallace seems to have overlooked is 10 hours warning—that actually was
delivery team. As best I can recall, that that personnel picked for crew duty days, given the Japanese attacks on
went on for several months. But, not had to have the requirements to fit Singapore and targets up and down
all of the sites were yet operational, into the education program at the base the Asia coast.
so it did become somewhat better where they were assigned. It seems the general felt he knew
OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 7
LETTERS
better, and waved off the warnings. candidate), sanitize the promotion file will be able to say that the only im-
Discord among the branches also did [“Leveling the Field,” July/August, p. portant color in our Air Force is Blue.
not help. MacArthur detested the Navy 28]. Promote a “random number” vs. MSgt. James W. Roosa,
at Cavite, who in turn ignored him. a person’s name. Just as the Air Force, USAF (Ret.)
The Navy was already making plans and soon the Army, no longer require Waterbury, Ct.
to pull out even before the attack. In one’s picture—to prevent “name and
the case of Air Force General Brereton, gender bias, ”(either for or against), I abhor racism, and recognize the
I think the main stumbling block was the Air Force should also scrap names. need for equal opportunity for—and
MacArthur’s chief of staff, Sutherland, Assign a random seven-digit numeric treatment of—women and minorities,
who discounted the Air Service and by code to each file. The first three digits and assiduously attempted to apply
not letting Brereton brief the general are the AFSC and the last four digits that throughout my career.
sealed the final fate of the Philippines. are random. The candidate is then However, I cannot help but note that
I have read both War Plan Orange evaluated against other seven-digit “targeting” specific groups for special
(WPO) and Rainbow 5, and they are numbers and let the better candidate attention and awarding privileges to
indeed “offense” plans and, as a last be promoted. This would remove ALL attempt to redress the imbalance is
resort, then go on the defensive. The doubt of who presents the better pack- part of the problem as that, in itself, is
plans were there, but not the will to age and deserves promotion. ‘reverse discrimination’!
implement. It seems that MacArthur, Scrub all officer performance reports Until those exhibiting racism and mi-
high atop his suite at the Manila Hotel, of name and gender and send up the sogyny are weeded out, and individuals
might have held out some dream that files for a truly unbiased promotion are recognized, judged, and accorded
the Japanese would declare Manila board. their positions on merit—i.e., by their
an ‘open city’ and bypass the Philip- No discrimination, no bias, no quotas. abilities and the content of their char-
pines. No way. The Imperial Army’s A totally fair and unbiased board. acter (to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther
aggressive actions in China was a clear Problem solved, unless of course the King Jr.)—to do otherwise is mere
indicator that a scorched earth policy powers that be actually want a biased ‘tokenism’ which only fosters more
was the rule of the day. board—and there’s two sides to that resentment in the ranks.
And when MacArthur ordered the as well. Easier said than done, I know.
Christmas Eve evacuation to Bataan, Lt. Col. Dano Cotton, Col. Ken F. Smith,
the disaster was only compounded as USAF (Ret.) USAF (Ret.)
a large number of troops were nearly Phoenix Honolulu
cut off at San Fernando and Lubao.
If WPO was deemed a defensive ops I served as an enlisted Airman from The article was based on single
order, then they failed to read the fine 1968 to 1988, and I do remember see- source data provide by the Air Force.
print because this withdrawal was ing many examples of overt racism Based on what I read, USAF is in for
equally as disastrous. Lines of empty early in my career. Toward the end of another round of social engineering. ...
Army trucks pulled out of Manila for my career this seemed to have mor- Bless your hearts.
Bataan, leaving behind warehouses phed into more of a covert bigotry. I If done internally, it will probably
full of critical ammunition, food, and remember that as a staff sergeant in be about as productive as General
supplies. the late 70s, I was asked by a senior [Merrill] McPeak’s [Total Quality Man-
As the commanders of Pearl Harbor NCO to recommend a replacement to agement] and bicycle projects. General
were grilled, MacArthur was appearing fill a position on a four-man team. The [Larry O.] Spencer’s comments may
on the cover of Time magazine and Airman I recommended was Black and have said it all. Apparently, his superi-
receiving the Medal of Honor (MOH). the SNCO balked because this would ors told him that to get ahead he would
In one last footnote to history that is create an all-Black team. I insisted, have to work harder than his peers.
hard to explain, the general twice scut- the SNCO relented, the Airman joined When I was a lieutenant, that is exact-
tled attempts to award the defender of the team, and the team continued to ingly what my squadron commander
Corregidor, Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, perform their mission successfully. I told me. In fact, my Dad also told me
the MOH. After returning from POW always thought back then it was people that at an early age. I’m sure many got
camp in China in late 1945, Wainwright who were racist and bigoted, but the the same advice. General Spencer and
was called to the White House, and Air Force as a whole was committed I took it, and some didn’t. As far as
without asking MacArthur, awarded to equality. having mentors, the AFMyVector and
the Medal of Honor by President [Harry Yet, here we are, 32 years later, and other online programs “aren’t bearing
S.] Truman. equality is still just a goal, not a reality. as much fruit as the Air Force would
MacArthur may have had some bril- Was I really that naive back then? May- like.” That may say more about the
liant military moments, but Philippines in be so. My Air Force, our Air Force, must individual than the program. Back in
late 1941-early 1942 was not one of them. do better and can do better. General Texas they say, “You can lead a horse
John Adams Brown and Chief Bass have their work to water but you can’t make it drink.”
Wellborn, Texas cut out for them. From what I have read Anyone who doesn’t work harder than
and seen so far; I think they are both up his peers and take full advantage of
On Race, Unrest, and USAF to the challenge. Our 75th anniversary every opportunity offered just might
If we want merit promotions with- is just two years away. Let’s hope that not get promoted. There is a lot more
out any bias (either for or against the long before our 100th anniversary we to selective promotions than just doing
8 OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COMa good job, and to blame lack of pro- Are the opportunities for promotion I’m a 30-year Black retired Security
motions on race seems like a stretch. equal regardless of race? No way to Forces (air police, security police)
Individuals also need incentives, so tell from the few anecdotal interviews Chief Master Sgt. (1966 to 1997), com-
taking away early promotion is really that accompanied the promotion data. pelled to respond for the first time.
dumb! That will certainly level the field. Is the Air Force goal really to level the As a 43-year military and civilian
If the Air Force really wanted the an- outcome as stated by Lt. Gen. [Brian law enforcement officer, no one is
swer to promotion disparity, they would T.] Kelly? Better to ensure the op- more dispirited than I am by the police
contract an independent (outside) firm portunities are equal rather than the actions seen in the Minneapolis video
to study all the data and provide an outcomes. involving the death of George Floyd, no
unbiased report on the issue ... then Col. Dennis Beebe, matter the final investigation and legal
we would see if the system is broken USAF (Ret.) outcome. However, the succeeding vio-
or needs to be social re-engineered to Solvang, Calif. lence, looting, and murder is just as ab-
level the field. horrent and counterproductive. As the
Col. Quentin M. Thomas, The enlisted promotion data graphs widow of retired Black police Captain
USAF (Ret.) are misleading because it does include David Dorn stated, “Looting, destruc-
Woodstock, Ga. the percentage of women promoted in tion, and mayhem doesn’t save Black
their respective races. The Average En- lives, it destroys Black lives.” Rev. Dr.
I don’t think you told the complete listed Promotion Rates: 2009 to 2019, Martin Luther King Jr. understood and
story. Most of the article was summary for senior master sergeant are 10.5 later Malcolm X came to understand
statistics of promotion rates for the percent White and 13 percent Black. that these acts of violence, destruction,
past decade, presumably some sort To know how many women factored and murder were counterproductive.
of averages from 2009 to 2019. But, no into the equation is valuable to see if Furthermore, I resent the implication
data were presented to indicate how more disparities exist. For example, if that racism is systemic in America’s
we are doing over time. For example, 10.5 percent are White and 5 percent police force. I know from personal
what were these averages during the of those promoted are female, this is experience that the majority of law
previous decades? Has the Air Force a huge disparity considering women enforcement officers are noble, val-
improved? What trends have we mea- are 20.6 percent of the enlisted force. iant, and honorable. Their courageous
sured over the past decade? Have the Without this data in the equation, you and humanitarian deeds exponentially
promotion percentages for minorities are painting an incomplete picture of eclipse isolated unfavorable incidents.
improved or not? the data presented. The perception that systemic racism
Also, choosing a parameter like past SMSgt. Michael J. Nichols, exists in the Air Force is also an insult
promotions is choosing to track the Deputy Fire Chief, to the many senior leaders who strive
outcome, rather than the opportunity. Kadena Air Base, Japan to uphold the laws of equality, oppor-
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OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 9LETTERS
tunity, freedom, and justice. Every mil- his 18-year old son rode off one night for When some students in my school
itary individual has the same avenues a Black Lives Matter protest in Washing- opposed standing during the Pledge
for redress of grievance as their civilian ton, D.C. I encourage General Clark to ex- of Allegiance or reciting Christian
counterparts. Where there is racial or plain to his son the distinction between prayers based on their religious be-
other injustice, there is an absence or supporting “Black Lives Matter” for liefs, we respected them without bias
neglect of leadership. legitimate, positive change and support- or condemnation. However, we didn’t
During my career, I met two of the ing the BLM, a movement aided by an eliminate the Pledge of Allegiance or
original Tuskegee Airmen: Lt. Gen. embedded terrorist organization, Antifa. ban prayers, nor modify the education
Benjamin O. Davis Jr., 13th Air Force Both are avowed Marxist organizations curriculum or standards of conduct
Commander, while controlling entry with cleverly crafted names to deceive to accommodate them. People of the
to his command center on Udorn the public, yet are fomenting hate, chaos, Muslim/Islamic faith believe in Sharia
RTAFB, Thailand, 1968-69, and later and destruction. Their charter is dedicat- Law. However, we do not change our
years, stateside, hearing Gen. Daniel ed to the destruction of the traditional laws or Constitution to accommodate
“Chappie” James Jr. during one of his American values: the nuclear family; their faith or Islamic laws.
speeches on Americanism and patrio- religious institutions; American histo- Today, military leaders are stifled
tism (subjects very dear to me). I later ry; and independence. Their goal is to and even paralyzed by a multitude of
met the first Black Chief Master Ser- erect a Communist Utopia (all confirmed other social experiments thrust upon
geant of the Air Force, Chief Thomas by Homeland Security Congressional them by an ideological driven alliance
N. Barnes, during his visit to Griffiss testimony). Amazingly, many American of media, politicians, and educators.
Air Force Base, N.Y. While I was proud corporations and notable celebrities Leaders should be protected from
of these Black military leaders, I was contributed to their own demise by do- these distractions in the interest of
also proud of the many other senior Air nating hundreds of millions of dollars to military readiness.
Force commanders and noncommis- these groups, creating a revolving door Therefore, it is impossible to suffi-
sioned officers of all races who inspired for arrested criminals to continue the ciently address racism in our military
me through their demonstrative faith, destruction of our communities. and civilian culture today unless we
leadership, and love of country. They I educated myself on the national address the ramifications of politically
taught me that when subordinates media coverage of racial incidents correct bias and ideological hatred
understand the standards expected of while serving in Thailand and Vietnam, pervasive today in politics, education,
them and are given the opportunity to 1968-1971. Today ’s media coverage and the media.
achieve and exceed those standards is very much like the agenda-driven CMSgt. James Fullwood,
through common sense techniques of coverage of the Vietnam War protests, USAF (Ret.)
leadership and management (training, embedded with radical leftists such Puyallup, Wash.
counseling, and follow up), then most as Students for a Democratic Society
subordinates will feel respected, excel, (SDS), Symbionese Liberation Army
and earn promotions and commenda- (SLA), Black Panthers, and several Correction: In the September issue,
tions, no matter their race. I credit my other anti-American organizations. two letters to the editor were inadver-
successful and decorated career to I was born and raised extremely tently combined. Below is the correct,
programming others to succeed. poor in a segregated South in late complete letter submitted by Col.
General [Anthony J.] Cotton men- ’40s through the mid-’60s. Despite David R. Haulman, USAFR (Ret.). We
tioned “Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, the racism and poverty, our faith and sincerely regret the error.—THE EDITORS
George Floyd, and Rayshard Brooks— the family values of our community,
and the list goes on ...” suggesting churches, and schools instilled in us a I’m both encouraged and im-
that murder by White police officers sense of self-worth, taught us absolute pressed by the superb credentials
is systemic and commonplace. That is rights and wrongs, and encouraged identified for each of the AFA
not true, and I would encourage him to us to be positive and always judge candidates for National Office and
research the FBI and NCIC (National other people individually by their mer- the Board of Directors. I can’t help
Crime Information Center) statistics, its. Most Black Americans share the but wonder, though, what a lot of
and he will find the numbers do not same core values of faith, patriotism, others of us might be thinking:
support his claim. The mainstream freedom, and respect for the rule of How can AFA get more former Air
media purposely distort and outright law—values that guide our progress Force pilots involved at the highest
lie about the circumstances of many toward equality, tranquility. levels of the AFA? It appears that
racial incidents to incite racial tension, However, the curriculum in schools only one of the thirteen nominees
and too many Black people have overre- and colleges today is embedded with ever piloted Air Force jets. Our
acted or fallen prey, during my lifetime. “social justice” issues guided by a po- AFA founder, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle,
Cases in point include Florida’s George litical agenda filled with anti-American, might have wondered the same
Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin, Missouri’s anti-military, and anti-religious bias thing.
Michael Brown/ Officer Darren Wilson, and hate. I was inspired to join the Air Col. David R. Haulman,
Baltimore’s Freddie Gray/six police offi- Force when a recruiter visited our high USAFR (Ret.)
cers, Atlanta’s Rayshad Brooks/Garrett school. Many schools and colleges Ridgeland, Miss.
Rolfe, and Houston’s Jazmine Barnes. today have banned military recruiters
General [Richard M.] Clark mentioned and ROTC programs.
10 OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COMVERBATIM
Voice
Lessons Chill
“None of you will
be left out of the Out,
China
conversation.
None of you
will be treated
like a number.
“Those who play
None of you will
with fire will get
face times when
burned.”
you’re not in-
cluded. None of —Col. Ren Guo-
you is more im- qiang, Chinese
portant than any defense spokes-
man, explaining why
other. Nobody in China sent jets into
the Space Force Taiwanese airspace
has a reason during an exercise.
to sit back and He accused the
be unheard. U.S. of trying to use
Taiwan to “control
Nobody in the
China,” while Taiwan
Space Force has
Subordinate’s Intent
relies on “foreigners
an opinion that to build [itself ] up.”
I don’t want to The flights were a
know. This really protest against a
is your service, senior U.S. State
“One of the things I’ve always done as a senior leader and as a command- Department offi-
and our size and er…[regarding] asking for permission … [is tell the boss] ‘Here’s what I’m cial’s attendance at
scale gives us planning on doing. And here’s when I’m planning on moving out.’ So I don’t a former Taiwanese
an advantage, a have to wait for a response. If they don’t respond—I’d give them at least 48 leader’s funeral.
level of intimacy hours—if they didn’t respond, I was going to move out. That’s the same
Howling
that nobody else kind of approach I think our Airmen need to take. … Communicate what their
can have.” intent is, and then wait a little bit of time, give their supervision a chance to
—Space Force respond. If they don’t respond, they need to move.”
at the
Moon
Senior Enlisted
Adviser Chief Master —Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., USAF Chief of Staff, speaking with Air Force Magazine Editor in
Chief Tobias Naegele after his speech at the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber
NASA/GSFC/Arizona State
Sgt. Roger A.
Towberman at vASC. Conference (vASC) in September.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse . . .
“The only thing that’s going to be worse than
University
fighting against AI is fighting without it.”
—Will Roper, Air Force acquisition executive, on the
imperative to employ artificial intelligence to accelerate “If you look at
decision-making in future conflict. the orbits of the
Tia Dufour/White House
AI in Action stuff that’s going
around the
“You’re not supposed to be able to shoot Moon, it looks
down a cruise missile with a tank. But, yes, like a drunken
you can, if the bullet is smart enough, and sailor wander-
the bullet we use for that system is excep- ing around as
tionally smart.” compared to the
Peace Portal —Will Roper, telling reporters about the Air Force’s most
recent Advanced Battle Management System on-ramp
orbits that we’re
used to describ-
“This could lead to peace, real peace in the ing closer to the
held in early September.
Middle East for the first time. … We’ve taken a Earth.”
very different path. You could say it’s a back-
—Col. Eric J. Felt,
door, but I call it a smart door, not a backdoor.” head of Air Force
Research Laborato-
—President Donald J. Trump after signing the Abraham Ac- ries Space Vehicles
cords with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Directorate on the
foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, challenges of defin-
entering into the normalization pact with Israel and regarding ing routine cislunar
how the Palestinians may now also negotiate a peace deal operations
[Politico, Sept. 15]. [Sept. 21].
OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 11QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Space Ops 101
Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, USSF
deputy chief of space operations for oper-
ations, cyber and nuclear, is the first chief
operations officer of the new service. He
spoke with Air Force Magazine Senior
Editor Rachel S. Cohen about Space Force
planning. This conversation has been ed-
ited for length and clarity.
Q: What does your job entail?
A: That portfolio includes traditional
space operations, cyber operations, and
our nuclear operations, … our role in
providing capabilities that add to our
strategic deterrence. … What we’ve de-
cided to do is designate that position a
little bit like the corporate C-suite. So
Eric Dietrich/USAF
I’m the chief operations officer, and
that’s another one of those innovative
twists that we’re trying to bring to the
military mindset. ... That name change is
a reminder to me to not just fall into into
old military staff habits, if you will, but to Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, shown here as a two-star, is Space Force deputy
look through a different lens and see this chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, effectively the
as an integrated approach to operations. Space Force’s chief operations officer.
Q: What role do cyber and nuclear operations play in adding value” [list] is to remove barriers that are slowing
your job? us down. There’s a number of those. Some of them are just
A: Space operations cannot happen without cyber, ... the bureaucratic. Some of them are lack of resourcing and focus.
networks, data transport, data management, the electromag- Some of them are training- and readiness-related. I’m trying
netic spectrum, the ability to link to satellites 23,000 miles out to first assess and do some root cause analysis of what those
in geosynchronous orbit and return mission data in real time. key barriers are, and then figure out mitigation strategies and
… We are tightly integrating that by being under that chief start ticking them off.
operations officer.
One of the most valuable contributions to our nation for Q: Are there any reports you have due soon?
strategic deterrence is our missile-warning capability provided A: We have an opportunity to now, as a service, look at how
by space, not to mention the ground assets that also do the we describe and assess our readiness level. ... A lot of times,
missile warning role. … What adversary would launch a missile readiness is described as preparing to deploy or preparing to
at us, knowing that we will see it in plenty of time to respond? accomplish your mission at some point in the future, and so
They have to make the calculus of, what city are we willing to you do training, you perform maintenance activities, all to
trade to launch an ICBM at the United States? … The power establish a level of readiness so that if called upon, you can
of being able to see and attribute any kind of attack like that do your mission at a high level. But, if you think about it, our
truly creates a strategic deterrent effect. space assets are largely doing their wartime mission on a day-
to-day basis, and so we have to perpetually be ready. … For
Q: What are some of your top priorities and action items us, determining exactly how we assess, describe, and report
right now? our readiness levels, so that it has meaning to us as a Space
A: [My whiteboard] says “start adding value.” This is an im- Force is one of those things at the top of my list.
perative for us in the Space Force. … We have to assess what
are the most critical shortfalls, what are the best opportunities Q: How are you focusing resources differently as part of
to enhance our position, and how do we focus those resources the fiscal 2022 budget request?
where things that matter require those resources? That’s at A: How do we need to posture ourselves to protect U.S.
the top of my list. Right behind that is, we’ve got to go faster. interests in space? How do we make sure that we deter any
The security environment that we’ve been put into, both in activities or aggression in, from, and to space? And then, how
the space domain and, really, across the globe—we’ve got do we continue to provide that warfighting capability that the
to play catch up a little bit. The other sub-bullet on my “start joint force has come to just assume is there? … That’s really
12 OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COMwhat the resourcing team has focused on. the Army and those models where you have these stovepipes
My job is also to identify where I’m struggling in my oper- of subject-matter experts that attend to things in that realm.
ations, so that they have a good set of requirements moving I’m trying to break that up. … Those subject-matter experts are
forward. I have not really looked at it yet in enough detail to going to be mixed across divisions in a unique way.
answer the question in that regard. That’s a part of that read- The three buckets that I’ve been putting people in, very col-
iness and assessment that we’re trying to get after early on. loquially, I describe as the “what,” the “so what,” and the “what
next?” … The “what” bin, they’re the ones that are collecting
Q: What role did space play in your time as deputy com- all the information. What’s going on in the world? What are
mander of Air Forces Central Command? the conditions that are affecting us? What’s the environment
A: [At AFCENT, my learning opportunity was,] how much look like? What missions are going on? What are the people
data can I get my hands on? How fast can I make sense of it, doing? What’s the adversary doing? ... So we have situational
and how tight can I make my decision loop so that I can always awareness about all of the activities that affect the Space Force
provide guidance, provide direction to the forces, so that they and its mission. Then the “so what” is making meaning out of
can be in front of an adversary? This is the nature of competi- that. What are the impacts? If the Russians are conducting this
tion. It’s not nice, discrete battles anymore. It’s about, they’re exercise, what does it mean for the Space Force? What does it
trying to do something to achieve a strategic advantage, and mean for the joint force? If there’s an environmental condition,
we’re trying to prevent them from achieving that strategic ad- whether it’s a hurricane or whether it’s space weather that’s
vantage. … The best way to mitigate an adversary from getting affecting us, how is it affecting us? ... The “what next” team [are]
a strategic advantage is to rapidly see what they’re trying to the ones developing courses of action, looking at mitigation
do, and then frustrate those efforts with our own activities. … strategies, determining through crisis action planning and bet-
It’s really not about space or air independently, as much as it ter force management propositions—how can we both address
is about how we provide all that capability in an integrated, the shortfalls that we’re seeing and leverage opportunities to
synchronized, and operationally fast way. do better? I’m not looking at the badges they’re wearing or
what job they had before they came to the staff. I’m taking all
Q: Can you give an example of a time when space was of that expertise and dividing them along those three lines.
critical in Middle East operations?
A: The Russians have done some things on orbit that have Q: You developed the initial multi-domain command
been very aggressive in the past. We would have maybe col- and control concept for the Air Force. What do you think
lected [intelligence] on those and kept those in super dark, of the Pentagon’s work on joint all-domain command and
secret channels and never really attributed what we knew control (JADC2) so far?
about it. We recognize that there [are] capabilities that our A: I’m such a proud father. … They’ve taken all of that very
adversaries have, that the other powers have, and our ability to small contribution that we made, basically creating that vo-
see it and let them know that we see it, I believe has a deterrent cabulary, and they’re running with it. There’s tangible products
effect. I saw the same thing overseas. ... I can’t tell you exactly that are being produced. There’s prototypes that really get
what systems I’m talking about, but space-based capabilities, after the principles that we laid out. ... The root cause of any
collecting on the maneuver of our adversaries, allowed us to of our challenges came back to how we managed our data.
then position forces that mitigated what they were trying to do, We were very loud about that, I thought, and I see that thread
frustrating them. They thought they could move down a road continuing through the JADC2 effect—cloud-based, accessi-
unimpeded, and suddenly we’re there. Why are we in their ble data; universal contribution to a library of data that then
way? Well, because we knew what they were doing. We didn’t technology and artificial intelligence can pull from to help
have access to those areas via air or via ground-based sensors. decision-makers make better decisions faster, and then use
The only way to see those movements is that persistence that technology to link to the shooters on a real-time basis. … Space
we provide to those conflicted areas via space. is right there, because we are contributors of the data, we are
users and consumers of the data. We make critical decisions
Q: What will Space Force deployments look like in the at orbital-velocity speed. So we have to be very loud and vocal
future? proponents and customers of the JADC2 products.
A: I’m not sure it’s going to change too dramatically. Right
now, with our current capabilities, it’s just one of our mission Q: What needs to be done to best support U.S. Space
sets, or just a small handful of our missions that we actually Command and the other combatant commands?
need to go overseas to perform. The vast majority of the capa- A: We have the unique position of being a service focused
bilities, we can do from our garrison locations. ... Because the on a domain that can work tightly with a combatant com-
numbers are so small, we don’t have to go through a radical mander that’s focused on the domain, and I’m not sure that
shift in how we deploy. We still leverage the Department of the relationship exists anywhere else in the department. ... We are
Air Force capabilities for assigning and determining what are going to be in close formation linked tightly with [U.S. Space
the requirements, and then we deploy people as necessary, Command boss Gen. James H. Dickinson] and his entire staff.
if they have to go to a forward location to accomplish their I’m going to talk to the [Joint Staff operations director] next
mission. ... As our capabilities grow over time, we might need week. I’m going to talk to him every day, probably, to make
a new force-presentation model. sure that there’s this nice yin and yang, if you will. What you
need is what we’re working on. The training your team needs
Q: How are you planning on bringing people from differ- is the training I’m providing. My assessment is going to be
ent specialties together in new ways? based on his feedback on what he’s trying to accomplish. This
A: When I started talking about space operations, cyber is a great hand-in-glove kind of a relationship that we have an
operations, nuclear operations, the tradition would be, I es- opportunity to take advantage of, and we’re not going to miss
tablish an S3, an S6, and an S10, and I copy the Air Force and that opportunity. J
OCTOBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 13You can also read
