CBO Sets Space Corps Estimate at $3.6 Billion
The Congressional Budget Office on June 26 set its cost estimate for standing up a Space Corps within the Air Force to $3.6 billion, after predicting in May the price of a new service could reach $4.3 billion. In a previous report, CBO said the annual cost of staffing and standing up a service would sit between $820 million and $1.3 billion. Its updated analysis argues the Pentagon would spend $2.3 billion on recurring personnel costs spread over five years, hitting $1 billion annually by 2024. The report also projected one-time construction and renovation costs could range between $1.1 billion and $3 billion. Now, the nonpartisan financial scoring group estimates one-time costs would total $1.4 billion between 2020 and 2024, with some additional expenses after 2024. However, the organization warned costs could significantly fluctuate as the government refines and implements its plan for a new space service. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.
B-2, F-22, Air Force One to Fly Over DC on July 4
A USAF B-2, F-22s, and a VC-25—known as Air Force One when the President is on board—will fly over Washington, D.C., on July 4th as part of President Donald Trump’s planned celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. Other participating aircraft including US Marine Corps F-35s, the Blue Angels, and the next Marine One. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.
A-10 Hits Bird, Drops Training Bombs
USAF Stands Up Air Force Medical Readiness Agency
The Air Force stood up a new field operating agency and retired the Air Force Medical Operations Agency and the Air Force Medical Support Agency in a June 28 ceremony at the Defense Health Headquarters in Falls Church, Va., according to a July 1 Air Force Surgeon General release. The Air Force Medical Readiness Agency, which was mandated by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, will run point on "medical readiness programs, expeditionary medical capabilities,” and the service’s readiness-centric mission-support requirements, while helping Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Dorothy Hogg come up with policies to back up “major commands and base-level unit missions,” the release said. Hogg said the new agency will be laser-focused on readiness, while the Defense Health Agency will eventually take ownership of health benefit delivery. Brig. Gen. Mark Koeniger, who previously led Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s 711th Human Performance Wing and will serve as AFMRA’s first commander, said the agency will help USAF increase its responsiveness to new readiness demands, and provide better support to major commands’ and military treatment facilities’ readiness efforts. The agency is slated to become fully operational next year. ––Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
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RADAR SWEEP
New Air Force Medical Program Aims to Get More Airmen Deployable
The Air Force is planning to reorganize its medical personnel teams in an effort to help sick airmen get healthy and off the non-deployable list. Military.com
Air Force Backtracks on Short Re-enlistment Bonus Deadline
The Air Force on July 1 reversed course and announced that some airmen in medical career fields—who were within days of losing their eligibility for thousands of dollars in re-enlistment bonuses—will now have until the end of July to decide. Air Force Times
Europeans Urge Iran to Abide by Nuclear Pact; Israel Says Preparing Military
European signatories to a nuclear pact with Iran said on July 2 they were “extremely concerned” by Tehran’s apparent breach of the 2015 deal, as Israel said it was preparing for possible involvement in any confrontation between Iran and the United States. Reuters
One More Thing
A Mysterious Fast Radio Burst Was Traced to a Galaxy 3.6 Billion Light-Years Away
For the first time, a single burst of cosmic radio waves has been traced to its point of origin: in this case, a galaxy about 3.6 billion light-years from Earth. CNN