Daily Report

March 13, 2013

Back From the Future

The Air Force is looking 10 years ahead to see what capabilities it must have in 2023 and will work backwards from that to see how it must build its budgets for the next few years, according to Lt. Gen....

Twenty-Eight Questions Later

An April conclave of Air Force four-star generals will make some of the “big thing” decisions about where the service is headed in the next 10 years, said Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller, the Air Force’s strategic planning chief, on March...

Multi-Mission T-X?

The Air Force may want to add another mission for the T-X trainer that Air Education and Training Command wants to replace the T-38, said Lt. Gen. Michael Moeller, who heads the strategic plans and programs office (A8) on the...

Gaining Clarity in the Cyber Realm

The Defense Department has made slow, but steady progress in developing an “effective, mature” cyber policy that outlines appropriate rules of engagement for operating in this domain, as well as roles in missions and command and control, said Sen. Carl...

Weighing the Threat from North Korea, Iran

Gen. Robert Kehler, head of US Strategic Command, said Tuesday the United States’ 30 ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California provide enough capability to defend against a “limited” ballistic missile attack from North Korea or Iran. However, he told members...

A Cybersecurity EZ Pass

US Cyber Command boss Army Gen. Keith Alexander on Tuesday called on Congress to pass legislation that would provide industry with the authority needed to share real-time information with the government and at the same time enable the Defense Department...

The Three-to-Six Month Mark

Three to six months following the end of a deployment is often when one starts to discern post-traumatic stress disorder, said Army Col. Rebecca Porter, behavioral health chief in the Army surgeon general’s office, on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in...

Kadena Fighter Squadron Wins Top Honor

The 44th Fighter Squadron, an F-15 unit under the 18th Wing at Kadena AB, Japan, won the Raytheon Trophy for 2012, recognized as the Air Force’s top air superiority squadron during last year. “I would just like to thank all...

Fifth WGS Satellite Arrives in Florida for Launch

WGS-5, the Air Force's fifth Wideband Global Satellite Communication spacecraft, arrived in Titusville, Fla., for final processing prior to its scheduled launch into space later this year from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, announced Boeing, the satellite's manufacturer, on Tuesday. The satellite will undergo preflight checkout, fueling, and encapsulation at Astrotech's facility in Titusville before its transport to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket will carry WGS-5 into orbit where it will join four other WGS spacecraft already operating. WGS satellites support simultaneous X-band and Ka-band communications for the US military and several partner nations' militaries. The four satellites already on orbit are "meeting or exceeding all mission requirements," states Boeing's March 12 release. WGS-5 is the second WGS satellite in the Block II configuration, which offers data transmissions at higher rates than the first three WGS spacecraft, all of which are in the Block I standard. WGS-6, the next WGS satellite in the series, has completed testing and is in storage awaiting its scheduled mid-2013 launch date, according to the release. WGS-7, -8, -9, and -10 are in various stages of production. (Includes Los Angeles release)

Sequestration Hits Airmen-Students

The Air Force has suspended military tuition assistance for airmen for the remainder of Fiscal 2013 as a result of the budget sequester, announced service officials on Tuesday. Effective March 11, airmen are not permitted to submit new requests for...

New Medal’s Precedence Under Review

In a seemingly rapid about-face, the Pentagon announced Tuesday that Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey will conduct a review of the US military’s newly established Distinguished Warfare Medal to re-examine its order of precedence relative to other US military...