Daily Report

Aug. 26, 2009

“Good Enough” New Watchword?

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen.James Cartwright, says that ongoing defense reviews, chiefly the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, must lead to affordable decisions, ones that weigh buying “exquisite” weapons over ones that are “good...

Follow the Money

Gen. James Cartwright, JCS vice chairman, speaking at the Space and Missile Conference (see above), said it’s time to abandon the 50-year-old premise that “one-size-fits-all” in our approach to nuclear deterrence, leading the Pentagon to search for “synergies” between the...

Hold On There, Part 2

In addition to sharing its concerns with the Pentagon directly, the National Governors Association has appealed to Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Armed Services Committee, to forestall the Pentagon...

Button Up?

According to the DOD Buzz blog, “a source with access to Joint Strike Fighter officials” revealed that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has “hammered Heinz [Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Heinz] to say nothing more about” purported issues with Pratt &...

Routine ICBM Launch, a Twofer

An Air Force Space Command launch team at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Aug. 23 conducted a routine test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM, sending the missile with its unarmed re-entry vehicle to a target near the Kwajalein Atoll in...

Keys Honored as Distinguished ROTC Grad

Retired Gen. Ronald Keys, former leader of Air Combat Command, was the first person inducted as an AFROTC Distinguished Alumni, a program initiated by the Holm Center for Officer Accession and Citizen Development at Maxwell AFB, Ala. The retired four-star...

Kehler Receives Hartinger Award

Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, received the Hartinger Award Aug. 21 from the National Defense Industrial Association. The NDIA award, presented by the association’s Rocky Mountain Chapter, recognizes outstanding achievement in military space. It’s named after...

Yeager to Enter California Hall of Fame

Among its 2009 inductees, the California Museum Hall of Fame has included retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the Air Force test pilot, who, among numerous feats and an Air Force career that included becoming a fighter ace in World War...

Aluminum + Ice, Eco-Friendly Rocket Fuel

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research and NASA joined forces earlier this month to boost a small, all-carbon-fiber, minimum-diameter rocket using an environmentally safe propellant, known as ALICE, for its aluminum powder and ice composition. The fuels team included...

Air Sorties 082609

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Aug. 20-22, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 76 96 172 10,064 CAS/Armed Recon 69 256 325 22,458 Airlift 436 436 30,706 Air refueling 167 167 10,948 Total 1,100 74,176 OIF=Operation Iraqi...