Daily Report

Jan. 3, 2012

Super Tucano Picked as Light Air Support Platform

The Air Force selected the A-29 Super Tucano as the Light Air Support platform, awarding Sierra Nevada of Sparks, Nev., a $355 million contract to supply 20 Super Tucanos and associated equipment and support services. The Air Force is procuring...

President Signs Defense Policy Bill

President Obama signed H.R. 1540, the Fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill, into law, despite his reservations about language in the legislation on the military detainment of suspected terrorists. “The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not...

Obama Nominates Locklear to Lead US Pacific Command

President Obama has tapped Adm. Samuel Locklear, the current commander of Allied Joint Forces Command, to lead US Pacific Command. If confirmed by the Senate, Locklear would replace Adm. Robert Willard, who has served in that position since October 2009....

Many RPA Operators Feel under High Stress

While nearly half of the pilots, intelligence coordinators, and sensor operators of remote piloted aircraft flying in combat in Southwest Asia report high levels of stress and exhaustion, these symptoms are more often linked to their long, erratic schedules rather than exposure to combat, according to a recent Air Force study. Conducted between 2009 and 2011, researchers at USAF's School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, surveyed more than 800 MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, and RQ-4 Global Hawk pilots and sensor operators. Forty-six percent of Predator and Reaper pilots reported "high operational stress," while 41 percent of sensor operators and 39 percent of intelligence coordinators reported the same. Forty-eight percent of Global Hawk sensor operators reported high stress as did 44 percent of RQ-4 pilots. Identified as main causes of the stress were long hours, frequent shift changes, low manning, and the "mind numbing" task of sustaining vigilance over endless hours of sensor feeds, according to the study's findings. Among the study's recommendations are the optimization of work and rest cycles as well as shift rotations. (Study full document and stress screening presentation; caution, large-sized files.)

Year in Review: January 2011

Air Frame: Year in Review, January 2011: Video and still images appeared on the Internet on Jan. 11, 2011, of China’s J-20 stealthy looking combat aircraft, shown here, making its maiden flight. That was the same day on which then-Defense...

Reserves Get New Command Chief

Air Force Reserve Command boss Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner has selected CMSgt. Kathleen Buckner for the command’s top enlisted position. Prior to this assignment, Buckner served as the command chief for the 349th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, Calif.,...

Appropriations Funding Breakdown

The national defense-related portion of H.R. 2055, the consolidated appropriations act for Fiscal 2012, contains $518.1 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget, $20.8 billion below the President’s request, but still $5.1 more than the enacted Fiscal 2011 total, according to...

Maintaining Peace on the Korean Peninsula

The United States is committed to maintaining “peace and stability on the Korean peninsula” following the death of North Korea’s leader in mid-December, said Pentagon spokesman George Little. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and South Korean Minister of Defense Kim Kwan-jin...

Don’t Walk, Run

Registration for the 2012 Air Force marathon is now open. Although race organizers have added 1,500 extra spots, they still expect all 15,000 spots to sell out based on the race’s recent growth. “We are encouraging everyone to beat the...