Daily Report

Oct. 2, 2012

A Decoy Through and Through

The Air Force's Miniature Air Launched Decoy is a veteran of combat. Or, then again, maybe not. In a press release last week from decoy-maker Raytheon, a company executive referred to the decoy as "combat-proven." That was news to us since we were aware of no previous Air Force or company declaration of this seemingly important milestone. Air Combat Command did not refute the claim, but declined to provide the Daily Report with any details, citing operational security. "We cannot discuss operational details of MALD employment since such information would decrease our ability to effectively employ the system," said an ACC spokesman on Sept. 28. Click here to continue to the full report.

AFMC’s Five-Center Construct Reaches Initial Operations Milestone

Air Force Materiel Command declared initial operational capability on Oct. 1 for its new five-center organizational construct. “We have spent many months working through very deliberate phases of planning, implementation, and transition with an ever-present goal of providing more efficient...

Small Efforts Together Can Have Big Impact

Airmen can make a "big impact" on the service's overall budget just by making small changes to conserve energy, said the service leadership in a letter to airmen marking October as energy action month. The Air Force has adopted the theme "I am Air Force Energy" to emphasize the role of each airman in being a good energy steward, state Secretary Michael Donley, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, and CMSAF James Roy in the Sept. 28 missive. Airmen's contributions can be in the form of "flying our aircraft at energy-efficient altitudes, not letting vehicles or equipment idle, or simply turning off the lights," they write. This year, almost 10 percent—or roughly $10 billion—of the Air Force's budget will be dedicated to energy, according to the letter. While the service "has made great progress" in operating more efficiently, "every airman must participate in order to achieve our vision of an assured energy advantage in air, space, and cyberspace," states the letter. (See also Oct. 1 Washington, D.C., release.)

NORAD, NORTHCOM Honor Transformational Leaders

NORAD and US Northern Command officials on Oct. 1 rechristened the two organizations’ headquarters building at Peterson AFB, Colo., in honor of two former commanders. Renamed the Eberhart-Findley Building, the facility bears the names of retired Gen. Ralph Eberhart, former...

Pentagon Task Force Visits F.E. Warren

The Defense Science Board’s permanent task force on nuclear weapons surety visited F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., last month as part of its ongoing review of the Air Force nuclear enterprise. The task force is making stops at Air Force nuclear...

Army to Join AirSea Battle

The Army is preparing to formally join the Pentagon’s AirSea Battle operational concept, reported the Washington Times. The land service will soon issue a memo outlining how it will implement its role in the concept, according to the newspaper’s Sept....

Back to the Deep Freeze

A C-17 from JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., launched aerial resupply activities for the 2012-13 season of Operation Deep Freeze, the US military’s mission providing logistical support to US scientific researchers in Antarctica. Active Duty and Reserve airmen of McChord’s 62nd Airlift...

Moody’s First King Retires

The 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga., retired the first of its HC-130P aircraft as the unit converts to the new HC-130J variant. Aircraft No. 65-0987 departed the Georgia base for the final time on Sept. 25 on a...

Contract Let for Taiwanese F-16 Upgrade

The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a foreign military sales contract valued at up to $1.85 billion towards the upgrade of 145 F-16A/B Block 20 aircraft for the Taiwanese air force. Lockheed Martin announced the deal on Oct. 1, but...