INTERCEPTS Great Power Competition Turns Up the Heat on Overflights |44 - Air Force Magazine
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
F-15E vs. F-15EX Women Pilots 40 | Inside Weapons School 47 | The Promise of Skyborg 50
30
INTERCEPTS
Great Power Competition Turns Up the Heat
on Overflights | 44
November 2020 $8
Published by the
Air Force Association
STAFF
Publisher
November 2020, Vol. 103, No. 11 Bruce A. Wright
Editor in Chief
Tobias Naegele
Managing Editor
Juliette Kelsey
Airman 1st Class Bailee Darbasie
Chagnon
Editorial Director
John A. Tirpak
News Editor
Amy McCullough
Assistant
Managing Editor
DEPARTMENTS FEATURES Tech. Sgt. Taylor
Cifuentes, an Chequita Wood
2 Editorial: 8 Q&A: Balancing Act instructor at the Senior Designer
Generating Fires,
Not Hype Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, USAF deputy chief of staff Weapons School, Dashton Parham
By Tobias Naegele for plans and programs, speaks with John A. Tirpak preps an HH- Pentagon Editor
about balancing immediate and long-term readiness. 60G Pave Hawk Brian W. Everstine
3 Letters helicopter for a
30 Joining Up on the F-15EX Gunsmoke com-
Digital Platforms
6 Index to Editor
By John A. Tirpak petition at Nellis
Advertisers Jennifer-Leigh
Air Force Base,
10 Verbatim The Air Force prepares to welcome the first new F-15s Nev., in 2019. Oprihory
since 2004. See “Humble, Senior Editor
12 Strategy & Policy: Approachable Rachel S. Cohen
Brown’s ABCDs and 36 Rare Elements of Security Experts,” p. 47.
USAF’s Bottom-Up Production
Culture By Alyk R. Kenlan Manager
The U.S. moves to ensure a robust supply chain for Eric Chang Lee
14 Airframes
rare-earth elements—beyond China’s control. Photo Editor
18 World: Friendly fire Mike Tsukamoto
death; Space Force 40 Erasing Artificial Barriers
looks forward; Eglin Contributors
F-35 crash; and By Amy McCullough Lukas Autenried,
more ... The Air Force is making it easier for women to be John T. Correll,
29 Faces of the Force aviators—and to keep flying should they choose to Robert S. Dudney,
have children. Mark Gunzinger,
71 Airman for Life Jennifer Hlad,
Mississippi 44 Close Encounters of the Familiar Kind Alyk Russell Kenlan
congratulates
CMSAF JoAnne Bass By Brian W. Everstine
72 Namesakes:
Competition with Russia intensifies across the
Ellsworth Northern Hemisphere.
47 Humble, Approachable Experts
ADVERTISING:
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
Kirk Brown
For USAF’s Weapon’s School, teamwork is the recipe Director, Media
for excellence. ON THE COVER Solutions
52 The Promise of Skyborg 703.247.5829
kbrown@afa.org
By Mark Gunzinger and Lukas Autenried
SUBSCRIBE
Low-cost attritable UAVs raise the ante for adversaries & SAVE
seeking to challenge USAF.
Staff Sgt. James Cason
Subscribe to
56 Balloonists in the Family Tree Air Force Magazine
By John T. Correll and save big off
the cover price,
The first chief of the air arm was a pilot—but not an plus get a free
A Russian fighter
airplane pilot. buzzes a USAF membership
62 Air Force Association Almanac B-52. See “Close to the Air Force
Encounters of the Association.
Compiled by Chequita Wood Familiar Kind,”
1-800-727-3337
p. 44.
Statistics, awards, and history.
Air Force Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) November 2020 (Vol. 103, No. 11) is published monthly, except for two double issues in January/February and July/August, by the Air
Force Association, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Phone (703) 247-5800. Periodical postage paid at Arlington, Va., and additional mailing offices. Membership
Rate: $50 per year; $35 e-Membership; $125 for three-year membership. Subscription Rate: $50 per year; $29 per year additional for postage to foreign addresses (except
Canada and Mexico, which are $10 per year additional). Regular issues $8 each. USAF Almanac issue $18 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 2020 by Air Force Association.
NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 1
EDITORIAL
By Tobias Naegele
Generating Fires, Not Hype
T
he U.S. Army is developing long-range missiles and artillery territory). It means moving those weapons on ships or trains at
to extend its reach for great power competition. minimal speed. It means everyone knows what you’re moving,
It’s a bold play for relevance at a time when the United when, and where. True, once in theater, you can hide in a bunker,
States is shifting its focus from the dirty business of counterin- a warehouse, a tunnel, or under a bridge. You can dart out, fire
surgency to the looming strategic threats from peer competitors a few rounds, and then hide again like the Iranians and North
across the Arctic, European, and Indo-Pacific theaters. But, it is Koreans. You’ll have to—you won’t have much ammunition with
the wrong course for a modern joint force facing growing threats you for subsequent fires.
in virtually every domain. That’s not efficient or stealth.
The Army has this much right: The ability to launch long- Stealth is flying in, undetected, with a B-2 bomber laden with
range precision strikes is critical to deter aggression and hold a bellyful of precision-guided bombs that can obliterate a dozen
adversaries at risk. They’re right, too, that tightly connected, targets on one run. Talk about efficiency! Need more firepower
interoperable systems capable of sharing data in real time will and can’t risk taking on anti-air defenses? Fly in a four-ship of
be critical to complicating the threat picture for adversaries and B-1s or B-2s and launch your standoff weapons from afar. You’ll
that America’s joint force should work together to develop the have more range, more kinetic firepower, less risk, and greater
ability and capacity to shorten kill chains. precision. You’ll also have second chances, should initial shots
That, after all, is what joint all-domain command and control miss. That’s not true in the Army scenario.
is all about: leveraging connectedness, computing power, and Think of it: The closer you can get to the target, especially a
artificial intelligence to automate and accelerate decision cycles. mobile one, the more likely you are to hit it; the further away, the
But the Army is wrong that these factors point to the need for more time and chance there is for something to change.
1,000-mile surface-to-surface weapons—the Army’s anticipated The Army’s cost argument is similarly specious. These weapons
“mid-range capability”—or long-range hypersonic surface-to-sur- don’t exist today; they must be developed, tested, procured, and
face missiles that can travel thousands of miles, a throwback fielded; doctrine needs to be developed; a logistics chain built;
to the Army’s Cold War-era strategic force, forces need to be diverted and trained to operate
when it had Pershing II intermediate-range The Army is missing the and defend it. Then, it needs to be integrated
nuclear missiles. point. This is not efficient with the other services’ command and control
“It’s a strategic weapon,” says Lt. Gen. Neil architecture to plan and deconflict the use of
Thurgood, of the Army’s Long-Range Hyper- —or stealth. those weapons. Those are all real costs that must
sonic Weapon. “It’s not long-range artillery.” be calculated into the total. And for what? To field a second-rate
But does it add value to U.S. defense? Or is this really just about solution to a problem the Air Force and Navy have already solved.
seeming relevant and winning the fight for resources rather than Though air defenses have gotten better, so has Air Force
deterring and defeating adversaries? stealth. Low-observable aircraft are designed to penetrate and
Army leaders cite three reasons why launching long-range destroy enemy defenses, then pave the way for less costly, more
missiles from mobile land-based launchers is advantageous: amply armed follow-on forces. They can fly home, reload, and
n Range. They see a need for missiles that can counter the be back on station within hours.
anti-access/area-denial ranges of Chinese and Russian weapons. By contrast, a handful of mobile launchers can fire a handful of
n Stealth and mobility. They argue such missiles and launch- missiles. Once they do, they’d have to go hide for a while. It’s not
ers can be inexpensively hidden under camouflage or in tunnels. like they can dash to a mobile weapons dump to restock them.
n Cost. A mobile launcher is more affordable than a ship, Army leaders argue that increasingly sophisticated and long-
submarine, or bomber aircraft. range defenses hold at risk military bases within that range.
All three fall well short of the target. Last January’s Iranian missile attacks on two U.S. bases in Iraq
True, mid-range 1,000-mile missiles would extend the Army’s demonstrate how dangerous such attacks can be. Ironically, it’s
battlespace—but to what end? The Army can’t maneuver over the Army’s mission to defend those air bases. The Army could
that distance, which is more than twice the range of a Black be investing today in base defense but isn’t. It’s trying instead
Hawk helicopter and a week’s drive in typical combat vehicles. to replace those bases with its own organic fires.
To fly that distance would require multiple aerial refuelings by They miss the point. Mobile launchers can’t provide all the
helicopter or a formation of Air Force C-17s. other things an Air Force base does—services like moving
More to the point, shooting guns and missiles at that range ammunition, food, and fuel, delivering close air support, and
can be done more efficiently and effectively from the air. Worst providing theater-level intelligence—and, of course, delivering
case, one could use Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles fired a devastating volume of ordnance against an enemy, when and
from ships or submarines at sea. Operating from international where it’s needed, with speed and precision.
waters, they need no permission and put no forces at risk. “Look, we welcome good ideas,” notes one Air Force leader at
By contrast, the Army’s solution requires the capacity to get the Pentagon. “The objective needs to be how to most affordably
that heavy, wheeled launch platform onto land within 1,000 provide fires that hold targets at risk.”
miles of the target. That means prepositioning it on ships or on No one achieves that objective better than the Air Force. USAF
foreign bases (which may refuse permission to fire from their achieves that objective. The Army’s new missiles will not. J
2 NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM
LETTERS
Doctors in Space inspections and major exercises. the use of decoys [“A Better Way to
I have read several articles about the A blessing at the time was the “War- Measure Combat Value,” September,
Space Force. None have mentioned skills Program,” in which personnel p. 60]. I believe it will be highly ad-
how medical care will be provided to from noncombat support functions like vantageous to launch as many decoy
the Space Force members. Will Space personnel, finance, engineers, mess, systems at a future enemy’s A2/AD
Force be a tenant at whatever base or etc., were tasked to augment the com- (anti-access, area denial) complex as
bases its forces are located? If so, med- bat support functions like munitions, possible. Additionally, each decoy, us-
ical care will be provided by the base maintenance, command post, air po- ing the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy
host. If Space Force will have its own lice, and intelligence. We were allowed (MALD) as an example, should have
bases, then presumably it will have its to scan assigned personnel listings some type of small warhead—10 lbs.
own medical staffs. Will physicians, with their training and job backgrounds. would be enough—say, to damage
nurses, and [healthcare professionals] We interviewed potential personnel and an antenna or a SAM (surface-to-air
have special training, which might be selected those who were then attached missille) on its launcher, and some
required for the support of Space Force to the intelligence division for training basic type of passive radio frequency
missions? As a former flight surgeon during exercises and pre-operations (RF) seeker. In that way, the enemy is
certified in the field of aerospace med- readiness inspections or [operations forced to go after each and every sin-
icine, these questions interest me. readiness exercises]. gle decoy, because they won’t know
Edward H. Parker Jr. Based on our personnel strength and whether it is a high-quality weapon or
Walla Walla, Wash. the standard for most fighter wings, we a cheap one. Another thing that would
were authorized four Warskills person- help to confuse the enemy and cause
Beam Me Up nel. We always had five [or] six person- them to waste SAMs would be to give
I believe it was Congressman Ben nel identified, and four fully trained. all the decoy missiles a variable radar
Crenshaw that stated that Space Force We were extremely fortunate to have cross section (RCS) capability and
ranking [should] be like the Navy ... former intelligence personnel who had artificial intelligence communications
because of Star Trek. Seriously? Air lost top-secret clearances in previous with each other, such that a spread
Force ranking is similar to Army rank- assignments because they had gotten out formation could essentially ‘blink’
ing, since the Air Force has it’s roots married to foreign nationals. We were the largest RCS back and forth around
in the Army. Therefore, it makes sense lucky to have a staff sergeant who was the sky, drawing the SAM’s aimpoint all
that Space Force ranking follows the a RIFed (reduction in force) captain over the sky, kind of like a piano player
Air Force. Even the Marines don’t use and former Air Force navigator who stroking his fingers over the keys from
Navy ranking. we used in the targets office to help side to side, with targets appearing
Mike Hupence aircrews do their combat mission plan- and disappearing in various patterns
Schnectady, N.Y. ning. We also found a mess sergeant designed to cause the SAM to blow it’s
in our wing who was a former Korean energy maneuvering and miss.
Warskills linguist and intelligence analyst in the Meanwhile, the good stuff sneaks
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., CSAF, in Army. We used him to brief threats to in from unanticipated directions and
his document, “Accelerate Change or both American and Korean aircrews, as knocks out the targets. In other words,
Lose,” August 2020, proposes the need well as to our command post. Others design the decoys essentially as very
for Airmen to establish a capacity to ex- helped us in briefing and debriefing cheap, low-peacekeeping cruise mis-
pand their warfighting skills and to be aircrews during training or combat siles, which have a basic low RCS
more flexible in supporting warfighting mission exercises. Others helped us in that can be increased or decreased
processes. “ripping and stripping” charts for draw- by computer control. Give the MALD
I was assigned to the 8th Tactical ing combat routes during conventional a small warhead and dirt cheap RF
Fighter Wing (8TFW) at Kunsan Air and special exercises. homing, and build many thousands of
Base, Korea, in 1977-78 as a captain I believe the Warskills Program was them, like Khrushchev’s sausages, so
in the intelligence division of the wing. a benefit to our fighter wing, using they will be cheap. Call it MALD-K, for
Although the wing had two fighter assigned personnel to immediately Kill. It doesn’t have to be good at all,
squadrons, all intelligence personnel augment combat support functions just cheap and numerous. Maybe we
were assigned to the wing. One officer as required. could license this to Taiwan and pre-
and one NCO were attached to each Lt. Col. Russel A. Noguchi, pare thousands ready in launchers all
squadron for training and daily current USAF (Ret.) over the island. Same on the Japanese
operations. The intelligence division Pearl City, Hawaii Southwest Islands, and Eastern Europe
consisted of 19 personnel under the too. Deploy thousands in Poland and
wing director of operations and had an Confuse-a-SAM Romania.
ops intel branch and a targets branch. One important aspect of future of- A version of this technique was used
The division was not fully manned for fensive air campaigns that was not by Israeli pilots in the Mideast wars,
war and had to be augmented during mentioned at all in the article was getting the SAM site to fire over and
NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 3
LETTERS
over at circling fighter aircraft that with enhanced situational awareness,
would then dip away just out of the communication networking, defensive
envelope. When the SAMs were all weapons, etc. Air Force Association
expended, the Israelis could then attack Bombing and damage were beautiful- 1501 Lee Highway • Arlington, VA 22209-1198
the site. ly articulated by retired Air Force Lt. Col.
afa.org
MSgt. Christopher Dierkes, Perry Clausen in an article for the Naval
106th RQW Institute’s Proceedings in January 2005. Telephone: 703.247.5800
N.Y. ANG “‘Shock and awe’ require someone to be Toll-free: 800.727.3337
shocked. Instead of killing the enemy, Fax: 703.247.5853
With deference to Lt. Gen. David Dep- some buildings and rusty tanks were
tula and Douglas Birkey, their espousal destroyed for television viewers, while AFA’s Mission
of combat value is an outgrowth of two thousands of enemy soldiers simply Our mission is to promote dominant U.S. Air
larger factors that have plagued U.S. went home—many to fight another day.” and Space Forces as the foundation of a
air power for years. When faced with The Air Force exists today as the most strong national defense; honor and support
the massive cost-to-kill issue, it is only expensive option available to support our Airmen, Space professionals, and their
natural to go off on an exercise to prove ground forces and take out specified, families; and to honor and respect our
that your suggested employment of air limited-value targets. It flies and fights enduring heritage.
power is proper and justified. In fact, in Third World countries with no air de-
they did a marvelous job. I would like fense or counter-air, yet its supporters To accomplish this, we:
to address the reason the authors felt feel obligated to justify the evermore ■ Educate the public on the critical need
compelled to compile and compare expensive way the Air Force spends for unrivaled aerospace power and a
air power options with various aircraft tax dollars. technically superior workforce to ensure
and, to use the oxymoron, less is more, At the end of the article it states, national security.
when talking about numbers of aircraft. “Threats posed by Russia, China, and ■ Advocate for aerospace power, and
The reason is risk avoidance. (1) Let’s a host of other nations like Iran and promote aerospace and STEM education
not endanger our pilots, and; (2) limit North Korea are very real.” Certainly, and professional development.
damage lest a noncombatant is killed. the first response to Russia or China is ■ Support readiness for the Total Air and
Does anyone really believe the Gulf a missile attack—standoff, of course, or Space Forces, including Active Duty,
War enemy defenses justified using ballistic. Iran and North Korea should National Guard, Reserve, civilians, families
F-117s to strike 40 percent of the fixed not be in the same threat sentence as and members of the Civil Air Patrol.
targets? No, of course not, the real Russia and China. The bottom line now
effort was justifying the large, very is we have an Air Force that saves U.S. Contacts
expensive classified program to de- lives and enemy lives and prolongs their CyberPatriot . . . . info@uscyberpatriot.org
velop stealth aircraft. The air defense will to fight. Shouldn’t the alternative Field Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . field@afa.org
environment was avoided so as not be considered? Employ the Air Force Government Relations . . . . . . . . . grl@afa.org
to risk a loss, thus casting stealth in for the required death and destruction Insurance . . . . . . . afa.service@mercer.com
doubt since a Third World defense to quickly end to the conflict at hand. Membership. . . . . . . . membership@afa.org
would’ve triumphed. Precision weap- Lt. Col. Greg Moyle, News Media. . . . communications@afa.org
ons do destroy the target, but they are USAF (Ret.) StellarXplorers . . . . . . . . . STLX_info@afa.org
expensive to develop and expensive St. Petersburg, Fla.
to replace when compared to more Magazine
Advertising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kbrown@afa.org
conventional weapons. Think of buying Belly-Flop Editorial Offices . . . . . . . . . . . afmag@afa.org
printer ink when looking at the cost of The KC-46 saga: I can’t get it out of Letters to Editor Column. . . letters@afa.org
replenishment—pretty expensive, isn’t my mind [“Letters: Look a Boomer in
it?—and it always seems you need it. the Eyes,” June, p. 7]. Some months ago, Change of Address/Email
The goal of not endangering pilots is I was invited to a formal function that In an effort to stay connected with AFA
met by evermore expensive aircraft included our then-Chief of Staff, General and your local chapter, please update your
[David L.] Goldfein, and of course a mailing and email addresses. Change of
WRITE TO US bevy of lower ranking four-, three-, and address requires four weeks’ notice.
one-stars. I made polite conversation
Do you have a comment about a current with many, but one conversation sticks To update your contact information:
article in the magazine? Write to “Letters,” in mind. It was a three-star I was talking ■ Email: membership@afa.org
Air Force Magazine, 1501 Lee Highway, to, not in a flight suit, for a change, but ■ Visit: The Members Only area
Arlington, VA 22209-1198 or email us at in Air Force blues. The ribbons told me of our website, afa.org
letters@afa.org. Letters should be concise everything I needed to know. It turns out
and timely. We cannot acknowledge receipt the KC-46 was on the general’s plate. I ■ Call: Our Membership Department
of letters. We reserve the right to condense am a pretty-much-to-the-point kind of at 1-800-727-3337
letters. Letters without name and city/base guy, and asked why the boomer in the ■ Mail your magazine label, including your
and state are not acceptable. Photographs front cockpit? After all, we’ve fielded first and last name, to our Membership
cannot be used or returned. generations of tankers from the KB-50 Department at 1501 Lee Highway,
to the KC-97 to the KC-135 to the KC- Arlington, VA 22209-1198.
4 NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM
10, and the boomer has done his job course, as well—couldn’t handle his blues—they wanted to wear flight suits
lying on his belly—flying the boom, or boom or the basket if it was drogue like the fighter jocks. General Jones was
drogue—and got the job done. and probe. CINC USAFE at the time. He decided
The general’s response took me The KC-46 problem is a self-induced the solution to the problem was to get
aback, “Don’t you think that is a rath- problem and possibly representative rid of the C-118.
er uncomfortable position?” I never of a fast-burner type of officer corps Problem solved.
thought of our boomers that way. that no longer can distinguish between Let’s get rid of the KC-46, which has
After sitting for 12 to 14 hours in an what is essential to survival and what is a tanker designation but really isn’t a
ejection seat in an RB-47, I knew for nice to have. Political issues aside, the refueling tanker. Can’t do the job.
sure that comfort was not something Air Force acquisition office had to sign I assure you that the new software
the builders had in mind when they off on the boomer concept in the front package proposed by Boeing will have
developed that lifesaving seat. The cockpit, relying on software to give the as many issues as the old—I grew up
boomer’s prone position seemed ab- boomer what he possesses naturally. I on software and think I know what I
solutely luxurious to me. This may have would have fought that concept tooth am talking about. The KC-46 is not a
been a flippant remark by the general and nail, damn the promotions. I cannot weapon system, to earn that desig-
... but, maybe not. If I am going to go think of an operational requirement for nation it has to be able to perform its
out and die for my country, that is a that change. That Boeing sold the Air design functions. This airframe is some-
decision I have made a long time ago Force a bill of goods with a second-rate thing neither General Goldfein, nor the
as a man. I expect not comfort from software package, and was able to get commander of Air Combat Command,
my weapon system, but efficiency away with it, is another mystery to me, are prepared to send into ‘real’ combat
and the greatest possible chance an and I know what I speak of as a former where not only mission accomplish-
engineer can give me to kill the other program manager for a major defense ment, but peoples lives, are at stake.
guy before he gets a chance to kill me. contractor, who is still around. Bad de- We always have, and always will, care
Our boomers, lying on their bellies, cisions, for whatever reasons, are made about the lives of our aircrews, written
have no trouble refueling any aircraft all the time, at all levels of government. plainly into the tasking statement by
we manage to put into the sky. They They are made by good people who, at General Arnold to his technical advis-
have good depth perception, they have the time, for whatever reasons, thought er, Dr. Theodore von Kármán, when
peripheral vision, they know where the it was the way to go. We know better Kármán was asked to come up with a
refueling receptacle is on whatever today. Years ago, when a flight safety report to define the air power needed
aircraft they are tasked to refuel. That’s officer at USAFE Headquarters, I had for the future: “It is a fundamental
their job, and I have never, ever had a some C-118 drivers at Wiesbaden Air principle of American democracy that
refueling terminated or not completed Base, Germany, lodge a formal com- personnel casualties are distasteful. We
because the man—today, women of plain about having to wear Air Force will continue to fight mechanical rather,
When warfighters talk...
...we listen and deliver
We Make Test EasyTM with Innovative Solutions
www.marvingroup.com
Test Solutions Armament Systems
Advanced flightline, backshop, and depot One of the largest manufacturers of
level armament and munition test solutions 4th and 5th generation AME in the world
© 2020 The Marvin Group. All rights reserved. Product and trade names are property of their respective companies.
NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 5
LETTERS
than manpower, wars,” part of Arnold’s and tanker nav. Sometimes, tried-and- how that “Black blankety-blank” got
tasking statement. true beats erratic state of the art. elected President. How could general
Nothing has changed since 1944. Our Lt. Col. Mike Wilmore, so-and-so get a fourth star? He’s (fill
Airmen deserve something better than USAFR (Ret.) in your religious, sex, or racist bigot-
the KC-46. Money spent is water under Driftwood, Texas ry). We will break bread but only for
the bridge—an old accounting slogan— “official” reasons. We really could care
and should not be a consideration at On Race, Unrest, and USAF less about your background and expe-
all. There are hundreds of commercial I read in earnest the many letters in riences. Just don’t let him move next to
aircraft available at the present time the September Air Force Magazine, me after I retire.
at really good prices. Buy a bunch of “On Unrest, Race, and USAF.” As a What’s different today is we have a
them with the software money we are retired colonel with nearly 28 years Commander in Chief who gives you
going to waste to make the front-seat in uniform, plus an additional eight permission to express your true feel-
boomer a reality, and turn them into years as a government civilian on the ings. He tells you that he will protect
old-fashioned tankers. It just takes a SAF staff (now an OSD government YOUR suburban home from “those
bunch of belly tanks, a refueling boom, civilian), I looked back over my career people.” And, to think, you just might
and—you guessed it—the boomer lying with alarm—was I part of the solution, be a “sucker” or “loser” too.
on his belly doing his job. or was I part of the problem? I confess Oh, I could go on and on, but I prom-
We have not fought a ‘real’ war in that I have very seriously wrestled ised this would be short. Be the person
years, where the bad guys are near- with this question almost daily since you want to be. This is America (at least
ly as good as we are. We not only it thrust upon the front page. Read- for a while longer).
need quantity but we need quality ing those stories clearly points to a Wayne P. Grane
that we can count on. No one can situation over the decades that finally Hobe Sound, Fla.
jam the boomer—but if it’s software exploded. Every day of my career, I
and designed by man, not avatars, have worked side-by-side with African It appears to me that we are in a race
then man can make it inoperable. The Americans, had African Americans to the bottom in the name of political
worst combat scenario I can think of under my command and supervision, correctness, at a time when we are
is a hungry multimillion-dollar fighter and have been directly supervised by facing perhaps the largest threat to
sitting behind a tanker fully loaded African Americans who were some of democratic government in my lifetime
who cannot transfer his fuel. Let’s get the best leaders and mentors anyone in the form of a rising, aggressive, to-
hungry again and build weapons that could have asked for. Our mission is talitarian China.
will assure our survival. challenging enough, and introducing Did it ever occur to the authors to
Oh, as for those surplus KC-46s? friction and pain points caused by look at underlying factors such as
They were transports to start with. I am nothing more than the color of one’s comparative test scores and job per-
sure we can find a use for them. skin is unfathomable. It honestly hurts formance reports rather than implying
Col. Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, to know that I could have helped more unfairness, racism, and discrimination?
USAF (Ret.) of those African American heroes who And, I was shocked to see that we
Fairfax Station, Va. voluntarily put on the uniform to serve, have eliminated below-the-zone pro-
and serve without being marginalized. motions because apparently they are
Would it have not been cheaper, This is one item where everyone is an too white. These highly talented indi-
faster, and the KC-46 would be mission action officer to be part of the solution viduals often end up in key command
capable now to just have grafted the ... right here, right now. positions and are precisely the type of
KC-10 boom and pod onto the aircraft Col. Jim Holland, people we need at the top.
rather than going through the “state- USAF (Ret.) If and when the war flag goes up, we
of-the-art” gambit and failing? Much Alexandria, Va. want the best and brightest leading our
different in the real world, when you military. Promotions should be based
need gas and the system is unreliable. It’s OK, you can be a racist. Actually, on merit and performance and not
I have been both a fighter back seater our Constitution protects your right to on politically correct factors. You can
be one. For years, I have told people get away with aircraft carriers without
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS that I have spent 24 years in the military urinals and assignments and promo-
to protect your right to be anything you tions based on establishing racial and
American Hearing Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 want to be. That usually happens after gender “fairness” because it looks and
Colony Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 you make some stupid racist remark, so functions OK in peacetime when there
Fedpoint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 you know what I’m referring to. are few consequences. But not against
Gulfstream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 For years, we, as a nation and as the a first-rate military like China when our
Lockheed Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover IV military, have progressed to protect very survival will be on the line.
Marvin Test Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 minority rights, for individuals of any Col. Michael D.D. Madden,
Pratt & Whitney. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 race or religion or sex to fairly compete USAF (Ret.)
Rolls-Royce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover II for promotions. But, that doesn’t mean Redding, Calif.
USAA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover III we have become less racist or bigoted.
Racism and bigotry went underground. I was offended by the implications
Air Force Magazine Daily Report. . . . . . . . . . . 7 You heard it—at a bar, after a few drinks, that the U.S. Air Force treats our Black
6 NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM
Airmen different than anyone else. I er; Jack Young, City Council President; true. The charge of systemic racism is
entered basic training in April of 1980 Barry Williams, Judge; Marilyn Mosby nonsense.
and we were all Airmen. We had written Attorney for Baltimore City; Loretta What we really have is systemic
rules and regulations with penalties for Lynch US Attorney general; President political correctness and a tidal wave
breaking the rules. There was a process Barrack Obama, and three of the six of “wokeness” that is destroying our
for pleading one’s case if there was a police officers are all Black. nation. Here are two toxic examples:
perception of, or an actual, injustice. We We are Airmen and a family. The nev- 1. Critical Race Theory (CRT), a doc-
also had Social Actions as an avenue to er-ending surveys costing thousands trine that claims all White people are
deal with grievances that were ignored of dollars referencing “diversity” and inherently racist oppressors, and all
by our supervisors and/or leadership. “inclusion” put us in segregated boxes. people of color are inherently victims
“Leveling the Field:” The graphs on Can we, for once, be Americans and of racial oppression. President [Donald
pp. 28 and 29 show average promotion do the important mission we are here J.] Trump canceled CRT courses that
rates. The ethnicities were mentioned to do? were conducted at federal agencies,
but was schooling considered? I had MSgt. Stuart M. Oberdeen, including the Air Force. But they’re still
nearly zero study habits when I entered USAF (Ret.) taught in the business and academic
the military and may have lagged in Dayton, Ohio worlds. 2. A cancel culture in the media
promotions, too. There are a lot of and academic life that stifles free ex-
variables to consider. Were the Airmen The tactless conclusions Maj. Pat- pression and shatters careers. Harper’s
placed in the correct career field? I rick J. Hoy (USAF, retired) draws in Magazine posted a letter signed by 150
met Darlene when I was stationed at his October commentary about racial writers, artists, and academicians that
Osan [AB, South Korea]. She was a jet incidents are staggering, and too nu- condemned the cancel culture as a
engine mechanic who was allergic to merous to address entirely. So I’ll just threat to our democracy.
jet fuel, engine oil, and hydraulic fluid. address his statement that George Richard Reif
She could only fill clerical positions, so Floyd, Michael Brown and Trayvon Mar- Flushing, N.Y.
career progression was unlikely. With tin were “thugs and bullies who reacted
regard to discipline, I served as a cor- violently,” implying they received what Historical Oops
rectional custody duty NCO in Europe they deserved. This attitude misses the There is an error on page 68 in the
and in upstate New York. The resident point. Whatever their transgressions very interesting John T. Correll story
population was a good representation (none of which involved a weapon), “Rise of the Air Corps” [September],
of the Air Force population. should have resulted in due process the article erroneously states “... the
“Black Airmen Speak:” This left me and jail time, not a summary trial and Curtiss P-36 Hawk, forerunner of the
shaking my head. Are people offended execution by their apprehender. Floyd P-36 Warhawk ... .” It should have stat-
because someone pointed out a re- died with a knee in his neck, Brown ed “the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, forerunner
served parking spot? Ever hear some- was shot multiple times from several of the P-40 Warhawk ... .”
one say, “That’s a handicap spot” be- feet away, and Martin was stalked in In the July/August issue of Air Force
fore realizing the person is authorized a his own neighborhood while walking Magazine, the captions for the pictures
handicap spot? When was the last time home. I recognize the controversy of on pp. 58 and 59 in the “The Space-
a person of color was followed through many of the political positions of Black plane: 60 Years On” are reversed.
AAFES or an unarmed Black person Lives Matter, but Major Hoy’s attitudes Lt. Col. Ed Sienkiewicz,
was shot by security forces on base go far in highlighting the diminished USAF (Ret.)
during a traffic stop? Lt. Gen. Anthony value many place on Black lives, and Bonaire, Ga.
Cotton mentions George Floyd and his attitude actually underscores the
others and uses these as making a case problem in his attempt to dismiss it.
for racism. Each individual he named Col. Keith W. Reeves, Editor’s Note: In the article “Air-
committed a crime resulting in a law USAF (Ret.) man for Life: Preserve Renamed for
enforcement response. Their demise Gainesville, Va. WWII Combat Flier” [October, p. 61],
isn’t the result of racism, but more to the name of the New Jersey Chapter
their actions during the encounter. Take During my 52 months in the AF (1964- “Shooting Star” Vice President, Jim
Freddie Grey for example. Stephanie 68), I neither witnessed or heard of any Morgan (pictured 3rd from the right)
Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore; racial bias incidents. The only color that was inadvertently omitted from the
Anthony W. Batts, Police Commission- counted was blue. I hope that’s still caption. We regret the omission.
Subscribe to the Daily Report
Get your daily fix of Air Force news delivered right to your
inbox every day. There’s no more reliable source for news
about your Air Force.
NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 7
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Balancing Act
Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom is the Air Force Deputy Chief of
Staff for Plans and Programs; the “A8.” He programs the flow of
systems entering and leaving the force. He spoke with Air Force
magazine Editorial Director John A. Tirpak on Sept. 24 about
how the service is accelerating change, balancing immediate and
long-term readiness, and adapting to new threats.
Q. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.’s “Accelerate Change or Lose”
paper has injected new urgency into Air Force transforma-
tion. How has the threat changed since the National Defense
Strategy came out in 2018 to drive this new urgency?
A. The National Defense Strategy is a very well-written docu-
ment. I believe it correctly pivots not only our Air Force but our
entire joint force toward peer competition to make sure we’re
Chad Trujillo/USAF
ready for what is next.
I believe it got the threat right. … But I also believe the threat
is accelerating. Our peer competitors have really hastened
their transformation and are bringing new capabilities to the
field sooner than we would have expected. We in the Air Force
really believe that this necessitates our need to accelerate Lt. Gen. David Nahom leads the development and
change, as well. integration of the Air Force resource allocation plan as
USAF’s “A8.”
Q. How do you do the calculus that tells you what capa-
bilities the Air Force needs, and when? so important is to ‘find and fix.’ That’s one thing if the target’s
A. In the last two years, the Air Force, correctly, split the A5 stationary, but it’s a whole other thing if the target’s mobile.
(strategy, integration, and requirements) and the A8 (plans and We in the Air Force … are often in a better position for that
programs). Why is that important? On the A5 side, we now have find and fix. In terms of fires in general, not just long-range, we
a very smart crowd that looks strictly at the design, the strategy, bring something that the other services will never be able to
the threat, how it’s all going to come together, not only with our bring. That makes us unique. Not to mention, we can be ready
joint partners but with our coalition partners. at a moment’s notice, just because of the nature of our bomber
That cleans up the plate for me to look at ways to actually force. We can be ready here in the continental U.S., and not have
get the Air Force to that design, and frankly, in an affordable to worry about permission to use airspace of other nations, etc.,
manner. So we look very closely with the A5 not only at the and we can be anywhere very quickly. That makes us different.
design—what the Air Force should look like—but about how The other thing is the networks we’re building.
we get there. … To make sure we’re correctly addressing the In the joint world, the word is JADC2, or joint all-domain
threat and mitigating any deficiencies. command and control. In the Air Force we talk about our Ad-
It’s a very difficult balance because the resources needed to vanced Battle Management System—ABMS—but really it’s how
modernize—the money and manpower—are the same resourc- we bring together not just the Air Force sensors and shooters
es I need now for day-to-day operations. but all the joint partners, and how we share data and targeting
That’s where the art of this comes in. The balance of maintain- information. That’s very important because shooting a projec-
ing a credible defense and deterrence today, but also in the fu- tile a long distance is impressive, but what’s very impressive is
ture … designing a force that can win against a peer competitor. hitting what we need to hit at a time and place of our choosing.
In a perfect world, you could shut down the U.S. Air Force for
a couple of years so we can modernize. But we all know, with Q. Will Roper, the Air Force acquisition executive, was very
the world we live in, that’s not possible. excited after the early September ABMS experiment, in which
a cruise missile was shot down with an artillery round. How
Q. How do the other services’ programs affect yours? The does this feat affect your planning for air base defense, when
Navy and Army are pursuing long-range strike. In your plan- the Air Force is planning to rapidly move around among
ning, are you counting on their capabilities to come about? various austere bases in wartime?
A. There are a lot of healthy discussions going on right now A. Those are very attractive options to defend your stuff when
about long-range fires. you’re operating in places potentially in range of enemy fire.
In a potential peer fight, volumes of fires, long-range fires, are The excitement you heard was that this represents a way to
going to be very important. It’s useful having the other services get on the correct side of the cost curve. It’s hard to win a long
look at different ways of doing it. fight when what I’m using to defend myself is more expensive
For me, it always goes back to the kill chain. And the part that’s than what they’re shooting at me.
8 NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COMMore important than the projectile, is the ‘finish’ part of 220 bombers, vice the 158 it has today and a notional
the kill chain; the entire ‘find and fix,’ that entire JADC2 ABMS 175, ultimately. Why not simply—officially—state that
network that came together that day, to allow us to aim that pro- requirement?
jectile at that incoming cruise missile at exactly the right time. A. My biggest concern with bombers is not the numbers
That is not going to happen by accident. We’re going to right now. We have a three-bomber fleet with the B-1, B-2, and
have to build this network, take advantage of data at machine B-52. In a matter of years, we’re going to go to a two-bomber
speeds, and give decision-makers the tools they need to make fleet: the B-21 and a very modernized B-52.
these decisions very quickly. Because an enemy attack in a peer Between now and then, we’re going to go through a period
competition, 5 to 10 years from now, is going to be happening where we’ll have a four-bomber fleet. My biggest concern is
very fast. We have to be able to move information and data minimizing that overlap. How quickly can we get the B-21 in
much quicker than we do right now. and operational? How quickly can I get the B-52s modernized
so then we could correctly divest out of the B-1 and the B-2?
Q. But what’s the practical result? Do you buy artillery That is the big trick.
pieces? Does the Army go with you when you go to austere Do we need to grow beyond that, to a larger fleet? “The
bases? Air Force We Need” very clearly stated that, and we actually
A. It’s not just about defending air bases. … This was showing have analysis that shows that we need a larger bomber fleet.
us ways that we can look differently in the future. I think that But when we grow, we need to grow with the B-21 in mind,
exercise opened a lot of doors for the joint force. not maintaining legacy [aircraft] longer. Keeping the legacy
longer is going to cut into the resources we need to modernize.
Q. There’s a lot on the Air Force’s combat aircraft plate:
the F-35, the F-15EX, the Next-Generation Air Dominance Q. Discuss your planning horizon. When it’s year-to-year,
aircraft, Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft, an MQ-X. What are the that tends to drive small adjustments. Where are the break
priorities, and how do you match them to an adversary’s points for the big changes?
calendar of fielding new things in five, seven, 10, 15 years? A. The threat never sleeps, and conditions are always chang-
What are the off-ramps if a program is overtaken by events? ing, so we’re constantly assessing where we need to go. We’re
A. We have a lot of legacy systems in our Air Force. Meaning, obviously always looking long-term, with the A5. We also plan
‘old.’ And we have to refresh a lot of them. in a cycle of five years, the [Future Years Defense Program], so
The cost to sustain and modernize is just eating us up. My we’re always assessing five years out, but, at the same time, I
weapon system sustainment costs right now are far outpacing have a planning cell that’s looking one FYDP past that, as well.
inflation. Bringing in new systems to refresh our Air Force is Our newest fighter, the F-35, and some of our previous
critical. platforms, had really long development cycles. There’s new
You have to look at the systems we need to move out first. technology now that we’re hoping really changes that. You’ve
Because not only are they costing us too much money, but heard Dr. Roper talk about digital engineering, and the po-
they’re offering us too much risk. You’re seeing that right now tential to get on a much tighter timeline for how we develop
with the F-15Cs. You’re going to see us moving them out quickly new platforms and capabilities.
and bringing on the F-15EX as quickly as we can to recapitalize We’re really excited that we can potentially plan in much
those units, where and when we can. shorter timelines in the future. There’s just a lot of hope for
And when we bring systems out, you may see some gaps this, bringing new systems like the T-7 trainer into service
in certain areas. And that’s the risk piece we’re going to have much quicker than we would have in the past.
to have.
We don’t have money and manpower to have overlapping Q. The Chief and others have said the Air Force probably
systems. We just don’t. If you have a fighter flying right now, has to give up the idea of having air superiority everywhere,
the money and manpower to operate that fighter is the same all the time, because peer competitors are catching up. How
money I need to operate a new fighter. If you bring the new one does that affect how you plan?
on, you can’t overlap them for a couple of years until you’re A. First of all, we as an Air Force must always be able to
completely comfortable. achieve air superiority at a place and time of our choosing.
But, certainly in the prioritization, we’re looking first and There may be a temporal aspect to that in the future, but if we
foremost at the lethality. need air superiority for an operation … we need to have the
Also, there may be other platforms that can backfill [a ability to do that. And over the next four or five years, I think
capability] in a different way. You may be able to achieve [in- everyone will see that we’re absolutely committed to that.
telligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] with a different Since 9/11, we’ve been operating in a permissive environ-
platform; differently, but get the same result. So, to mitigate the ment, where we really had freedom of maneuver in the air all
risk, we may be looking at other platforms to pick up the slack. the time. With peer competition, that’s not always going to be
We also may be working with some of the other services, or the case. We’re going to have to work for it.
working with coalition partners to help us out, maybe mitigate
some of the risk, while we modernize a platform or a capability. Q. How much more does the Air Force need to do every-
In some cases, we can take an older platform and we can thing it’s been asked to do?
modernize it, like the B-52. But, in some cases, it’s actually A. I don’t want to put a number on it. Let’s just say we have
better to look at a new platform. Look at the [shift from] B-2 a flat topline going forward, and look at what that does to
to the B-21: It’s more cost-effective, and you get a much better our service, when you have inflation. I have weapon system
capability to take us into the future. sustainment costs going up, manpower costs going up. Even if
[the budget stays] flat, my buying power changes, in a negative
Q. In the last few months, many senior leaders, includ- direction. So we’re not always going to have the resources we
ing yourself, have suggested the Air Force really needs want. It’s a delicate balance. J
NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 9VERBATIM
War Room Whose
Not Today Authority?
“Until recently,
Lisa Ferdinando/DOD
you needed the
permission of the
President of the
United States to
come close to
another satellite.
“I’m not going to
But given the
engage in spec-
right guidance, an
ulation. I’m going
18-year-old can
to engage in the
Mike Tsukamoto/staff
kill someone on
rigorous analysis
his own authority
of the situation
in the middle of a
based on the
war zone. Those
conditions and
are interest-
the plans that I
ing, centralized
am aware of and
Threat Pictures
controls for some
my conversations
things, and very
with the Presi-
decentralized
dent.”
in other circum-
—Chairman of the
“If you visit my office here in Omaha, you will notice that I keep pictures of stances. Getting
Joint Chiefs of Staff Xi, Putin, the Ayatollah, and Kim on my wall, under the words, ‘Not Today.’ that balance right
Gen. Mark A. Milley They are a constant reminder that we must remain inspection ready, and will be difficult.”
on the possible keep us intently focused on the threats we face.”
withdrawal of 2,500
—Former Air Force
American troops from
—Adm. Charles A. Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, in an Oct. 21 message to Secretary Heather A.
Afghanistan by early
the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ virtual conference on International Security at Wilson, speaking at
next year
the Nuclear Nexus. an Oct. 22 Center for
[NPR, Oct. 12].
Strategic and Interna-
Prepositioning Navel
tional Studies event.
Round
Mike Tsukamoto/staff; Pixabay
Trip
“We’re excited
to see what you
would pack for
“The foremost family of threats to
the United States stem from China
and the challenges it is offering in
Gazing
every domain from cyber to conven- “The F-22 is a
the ultimate ad- state-of-the-art
venture—a trip tional military to a kind of a novel
Cyber Insecurity approach to expanding influence aircraft. With joint
to the Moon.” all-domain com-
through … apparently benign offers
mand and con-
—Bettina Inclán, to build things. ... It doesn’t take very
NASA’s associate “China has effectively seized con- trol, the Navy can
long before gradually China be- actually leverage
administrator for siderable market share in several comes the owner of the port or the
communications,
critical technologies and compo- a fifth-genera-
inviting citizens to highway or the power plant … and tion aircraft. It
describe what they nents through a mix of investments; begins to have enormous becomes a force
would pack in a engagement … [and] protectionist influence over that government’s
5-by-8-by-2-inches multiplier for all
policies. … The reality is that the Unit- policies. … China’s goal in all this the services be-
“personal preference”
bag on a trip to the
ed States has lost much of its market is to … gain resources like cobalt ing integrated.”
moon, Oct. 6. share for the manufacture of elec- in Congo, or lithium in Chile, [and]
tronics components and nearly all of key locations, such as Suez Canal,
—Rear Adm.
James Aiken,
its market share for the manufacture Djibouti … Malacca, [or] Gibraltar— Carrier Strike Group
and assembly of finished electronics strategic locations that enable them 3 commander, told
products.” to function in the event of conflict reporters on a Sept.
24 call about the third
—The U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commis- and to project their forces with Advanced Battle
sion, co-chaired by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) confidence.” Management System
and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), on the vulner- experiment, the first
ability of the U.S. information and communica- in the Indo-PACOM
NASA
—Former National Security Advisor Bud
tions technology supply chain. MacFarlane at the Atlantic Council [Oct. 19]. region.
10 NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COMStrength of purpoSe Entrust your most sensitive missions to Gulfstream. With more than five decades of high performance, flexible platforms and proven reliability, there is no other choice for civilian and military operations over land and sea. the Art of excellence TM
STRATEGY & POLICY
By John A. Tirpak
Brown’s A-B-C-Ds
for Accelerating Change
T
he Air Force’s new Chief of Staff has an easy mnemonic of
how he’ll move the service to “accelerate.” He calls it the
“ABCDs” of change: a focus on Airmen, bureaucracy, com-
petition, and design implementation. In pursuit of rapid change,
though, he’s worried that a USAF “culture of consensus” is ham-
pering top-level debate and decision-making.
Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., in an October streaming event with
AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies—his first extended
public conversation about how he’s approaching his goals—said
the ABCDs are the “what” to go with the “why” he outlined in his
14-page coming-in manifesto, “Accelerate Change or Lose.”
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace
That document argued that USAF is facing “accelerants” in the
form of rapidly advancing peer adversaries, the stand-up of Space
Force, the COVID-19 pandemic, and racial disparities, to name just
a few. The Air Force must speed up everything from command
and control to how it buys hardware to keep up.
“This is about … taking a hard look at yourself,” Brown said.
Part of that will be recognizing, “no matter what happens to our
budget, we’re going to have to make tough decisions. We always
have more requirements than money.” The Air Force’s “culture of consensus” may be a brake on faster
The “A” is no surprise. Brown said the top priority must be taking decisions, but Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. wants to cut
care of Airmen and their families, and assuring their quality of life. through such delays, hear all sides of a debate, and get to
“They have to appreciate coming to work each day,” he said. decisions faster, he said in October, during a Zoom call with
Airmen need the right training and guidance, and should enjoy AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
their jobs. “We have to take care of them in their off times,” and
“retain the families,” who usually get the biggest vote on whether particularly procurement, through “the lens of what the threat is.
someone remains in the service, Brown observed. Airmen must It may change how we acquire … future investments.”
also accept responsibility and take risks, and under his watch, The “D,” for Design implementation, focuses on shaping the
“they can’t always wait and ask for permission” to do things that future Air Force, and following through with the plan. The service
need to be done. is moving to develop a strategy “and then figure out how you fund
“We have to … let them know we trust them to do their job, it, versus the other way around.” It also stood up the Air Force
at the same time they trust their leadership.” He’ll be focused on Warfighting Integration Center to manage the merging of USAF
making sure Airmen can reach their full potential, are empowered capabilities.
to handle complex situations, and have “all the tools” they need. “That has been helpful,” he observed: to “lay out the future design
“I hate bureaucracy,” he said; “I like cutting to the chase and and … focus” on it. Now it will be up to Brown to implement that
getting things done.” While some bureaucracy is necessary, he’s design “so that when we get to 2030, and beyond, we have the Air
convinced “we can do things a little bit faster. There’s a bit of re- Force we need.” But that will “drive us to some tough decisions.”
dundancy [in the process], things we could do differently.” The “Air Force We Need” statement of requirements the Air
Brown is looking to flatten the organization, especially in Wash- Force provided at Congress’ request two years ago remains a
ington. “We have so many government structures,” each requiring good benchmark, but Brown said that budgets may dictate that
its own decision chain, that “we may be … canceling ourselves he find ways to provide the called-for 386 combat squadrons of
out,” he stated. “We tend to try to blame it on someone else,” he capability with a smaller footprint.
added, but USAF is going to “get on a timeline” for changing the
bureaucracy and speeding things up. CORONA CHOICES
The National Defense Strategy spells out how USAF must During the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber
confront peer competition, Brown noted, and while he thinks the Conference in September, service leaders waved off questions
service understands Russia, given residual knowledge from the about new directions in the fiscal 2022 budget, saying those
Cold War, with “China, we don’t have the same depth of under- choices would come at a major Corona meeting of top service
standing. What makes them tick?” He plans to make deeper study leaders in October. But, Brown said the Corona produced few of
of China—and competitors generally—a bigger feature of profes- those decisions.
sional military education, especially at the upper levels. But “C” “This is a process. I like to iterate things,” Brown explained, saying
for competition will also mean scrutinizing every Air Force action, he’ll engage separately with the Major Command commanders
12 NOVEMBER 2020 AIRFORCEMAG.COMYou can also read
