September 18, 2013 | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Air Force is bringing back Roll Call, the once-regular bulletin for the enlisted force, announced CMSAF James Cody, on Wednesday at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference. Started back in 2006, Roll Call was an attempt to keep communication...

Refining NCO Special Duties

As the Air Force transitions to a smaller force, CMSAF James Cody reminded attendees at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference at National Harbor, Md., on Wednesday that he is trying to focus on three variables: training, education, and experience....

Building Partnerships

The National Guard Bureau hopes to add four new state partnerships to its portfolio in 2014, including one in Tonga, which is “real close” to being finalized, said NGB Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass on Wednesday’s during AFA’s 2013 Air...

Outlining Priorities for the Guard

National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass said he has four areas of focus for the Guard, which he re-evaluates about once a month. The first is to provide both Air National Guard and Army National Guard forces in...

First Things First

The Air Force must take care not to become complacent after the “very permissive environment” it has enjoyed during the last 12 years of war, said Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Sandy Winnefeld on Wednesday. “The...

“Out-Asymmetrize”

One of the questions facing US forces as they shrink to live within sequestered budgets is how to confront rapidly improving potential adversaries, said Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman, Wednesday. In his keynote address at AFA’s...

AEHF-3 Launched

The Air Force and its industry partners launched AEHF-3, the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency communication satellite, into orbit on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. An Atlas V rocket carried the satellite aloft, lifting off from Space Launch Complex...

Give Liberty Death

The Air Force’s MC-12W Liberty surveillance aircraft seems destined for the chopping block. “If funding weren’t an issue, I would love to have that capability,” Gen. Mike Hostage, head of Air Combat Command, told reporters at a press conference on...

Warthogs and All

The A-10 also seems to be a goner if budget sequestration goes on beyond Oct. 1. As one of the vertical cuts Air Combat Command is looking at, the A-10 is one of those single-mission aircraft whose role other, more...

But Who Will Agree?

Politics will ultimately decide whether the Air Force can make some of the vertical cuts it may have to in order to live with budget sequester-level funds, said Gen. Mike Hostage, ACC commander. Speaking with reporters on Sept. 17 at...

Save the Eagles

Despite the strong suggestions from top Air Force leaders that only multi-mission aircraft will survive the coming budget pogrom, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mike Hostage says the F-15C—which only does air superiority—will not be eliminated wholesale. “I don’t have...

End of 65 Caps

Though achieving 65 combat air patrols of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft was a worthy goal during the height of the Afghanistan war, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Hostage said he wants out of the commitment....

The Three Cs

Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh said there are three keys to strengthening the Air Force team: common sense, communications, and caring. “We’ve got to make sure common sense is the first standard we apply,” he said in his...

The High-End Fight

Full-spectrum training has to be reconsidered, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. Addressing AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference on Tuesday, Welsh said it “fell off the table” six or seven years ago but must be a...

Who You Gonna Call?

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said on Tuesday he is really tired of answering the question: Why do we need an Air Force? “You’ve got to be kidding me? We’re still on that,” he said during his speech at...

What to Expect from the QDR

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said on Tuesday he hopes the Quadrennial Defense Review turns into a Defense Department plan for 2023, much like one underway right now for the Air Force. It’s important for the individual services to...

Cutting the Fat

The Air Force is over-invested in permissive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, said Maj. Gen. Steven Kwast, who heads the service’s Quadrennial Defense Review office. Speaking Tuesday at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., Kwast said...

Sequestration is the Space Pearl Harbor

Budget sequestration, if left unaltered, will prove more devastating to US space capabilities than any threat an adversary could think up, warned Gen. William Shelton, head of Air Force Space Command, on Tuesday. If there is no budget flexibility soon,...

Anti Access and Fifth Generation Space

Much like air-breathing capabilities have adapted to defenses and technology, so too must space capabilities, said Gen. William Shelton, head of Air Force Space Command, on Tuesday. This is especially the case as space assets are increasingly enablers for a...

The ISR Rebalance

While the Air Force continues building toward 65 combat air patrols of MQ-1/MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft—currently there are 62—the head of the service’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance enterprise believes that this force already should evolve. “We have a force that...

No One is Immune to Sequestration

Although the Air National Guard did not have to stand down any of its combat squadrons like Air Combat Command following the implementation of budget sequestration, it’s still feeling some effects, said ANG Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke in his...

Total Force Standards

Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke—who has served on Active Duty, in the Air Guard, and in the Air Force Reserve—said there are four pillars to a successful Total Force. Addressing AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference on...

Concerns About Consolidations

Combining air staff directorates that oversee ISR operations and warfighting integration may “refocus the attention” of an office that has traditionally provided broad support Air Force-wide, said Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, the Air Force’s chief information officer and head of...

Mind the Gap

There will be a growing gap in cyber needs going forward as the Defense Department struggles with the pressure from reduced budgets and sequestration, said Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, the Air Force’s chief information officer. Speaking to media Sept. 17...

Why Sequestration is Like Chemotherapy

Don’t expect the Quadrennial Defense Review to transform the Air Force, said Maj. Gen. Steven Kwast, the service’s QDR director, during a Tuesday address at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. “It will be politically constrained....

Bridge to the Future

The Afghan air force has come a long way since 2007, said Brig. Gen. John Michel, commanding general of NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan, on Tuesday. “One of the things we’re trying to overcome is many, many decades of more of...

Beyond the Threshhold

Private investment could well be the key to winning the Long Range Strike Bomber competition, said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, former Air Force military deputy for acquisition, Tuesday. Like the KC-46A tanker acquisition, there’s likely to be a large...

Bomber Buying Power

The Pentagon’s new “Better Buying Power” initiative offers some clues on how the Air Force will buy the Long Range Strike Bomber, according to retired Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford. Speaking at the long-range-strike panel at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space...

Gradual Ramp Up at BMT

Manning among the military training instructor corps is at a “low point,” but Air Education and Training Command boss Gen. Edward Rice said he expects those numbers to “rapidly increase” every month from here on out. Speaking with reporters on...

Donley Inducted into Order of the Sword

The Air Force’s enlisted force inducted former Air Force Secretary Michael Donley into the Order of the Sword. CMSAF James Cody led the ceremony, which took place on Sept. 13 at JB Anacostia-Bolling, D.C. Donley, who retired in June, became...

Nuclear Weapons and Strategy

As the United States reassesses its national military strategy and spending priorities during the Quadrennial Defense Review, it must take into account how nuclear weapons change the behavior and calculations of key allies and potential foes, said Andrew Krepinevich, Center...

Isolationist Tendencies

Prominent conservative columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer sees American isolationist tendencies on the rise. This is a natural tendency, he said Tuesday at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. American history (with the nation becoming the...

Budget Guesses

Political conflict makes it very difficult to predict where defense budgets are headed, but Todd Harrison, senior budget fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, spots some trends. Based on the precedents set by past post-war drawdowns, Harrison...

NATO May Be a Relic but It’s Still Relevant

“NATO is a relic that remains relevant,” said Hans Binnendijk, senior fellow at the SAIS Center for Trans-Atlantic Relations, on Sept. 17 at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. The alliance has “been fairly flexible, adjusting...

But NATO Still Needs a lot of Work

Europe’s defense capability has “declined roughly 15 percent over the last decade,” said Hans Binnendijk, senior fellow at the SAIS Center, at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference. “Those cuts have [first come] horizontally, taking little bits and pieces out...

NATO Not Ready to go Offensive in Cyberspace