Daily Report

July 31, 2012

Jackson Takes Over Air Force Reserve

Lt. Gen. James Jackson became Air Force Reserve chief and Air Force Reserve Command boss in a ceremony July 30 at Robins AFB, Ga. “I will not overlook that the Reserve’s strength is based on a careful balance of family,...

Spencer Becomes Vice Chief of Staff

Lt. Gen. Larry Spencer pinned on his fourth star and became the Air Force’s new vice chief of staff during a Pentagon ceremony, announced service officials. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presided over...

Without WARNing

Lawmakers had mixed reaction to the Labor Department’s July 30 guidance that it’s inappropriate for defense companies and other federal contractors to invoke the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to issue notices of potential mass layoffs due to the...

Space Fence Progress

Raytheon and Lockheed Martin completed preliminary design reviews of their competing space fence designs for the Air Force, announced both companies. PDRs allow the Air Force to evaluate the cost, schedule, and technology maturity of each company’s design. “By building...

Two Left on the Fireline

The decreased wildfire threat in the Rocky Mountains region permitted two of the four C-130s still on fire alert last week at Boise Air Terminal, Idaho, to return home. “The forest service is very comfortable with where they are, in...

Civil Engineers Return

Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo., once again boasts a civil engineer squadron to upgrade, repair, and maintain the 21st Space Wing’s five-acre underground command facility there. Complex officials activated the 721st CES on July 17, states the wing’s July 27 release....

Bye Bye Kestrels

The Air Force Academy retired its TG-10C Kestrel glider fleet after certifying a final new cadet instructor pilot on a check ride last week. The school acquired 12 TG-10s in 2002 for use in cadets’ basic and aerobatic training. The...

Filling in the Knowledge Gaps for Space Launch

The Pentagon has made progress towards addressing the knowledge gaps and data deficiencies in its new space launch acquisition strategy, but more clarity is needed, according to Government Accountability Office auditors. Last year, GAO made seven recommendations to address this...

Orbital Thoughts

Slashing satellite and space launch programs would displace the United States as the world’s leading power within decades, said speakers at a space forum on Capitol Hill. Steven Bucci, a Heritage Foundation senior research fellow, viewed satellite capabilities as fundamental...

Eternally Grateful

A B-17 trailing smoke overflew US airmen in World War II flight uniforms at the former Knettishall Airfield in Coney Weston, England—home of the Army Air Forces’ 388th Bombardment Group (Heavy) during the war—to salute the group’s members killed in...