Hurricane Season 2019 is Here. Is the Air Force Ready
Heading into peak hurricane season, the Air Force is taking steps to learn from the devastation Hurricane Michael caused in the Florida Panhandle. Multiple studies have spurred changes from command and control to facility requirements, some of which are already in place for the 2019 hurricane season. “Just like any other near-peer adversary that we have, I think the Air Force is starting to recognize weather as an adversary as well,” said Lt. Col. Perry Sweat, commander of the 96th Weather Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla. “We need to look at it [through] the same lens.” Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.
Information Warfare Merger Expected in Fall as USAF Adds Missions
USAF Shuffles C4ISR Leaders; Jamieson to Retire
ROBOpilot Crashes After Inaugural Flight
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RADAR SWEEP
Defense Secretary Says ISIS Not in a Resurgent State in Syria Despite Pentagon Report Saying ISIS is Resurging
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Aug. 21 that ISIS was not "in a resurgent state in Syria" despite a Pentagon inspector general report saying the terror group is re-surging in that country. "I don’t agree that ISIS is in a resurgent state in Syria, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen them spring up in places like Afghanistan," Esper said in an interview with Fox News, his first since becoming defense secretary. CNN
Strikes on Iran-Backed Militias Threaten to Destabilize Iraq
An Isreali airstrike on an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq, confirmed by US officials, is threatening to destabilize security in the volatile country that has struggled to remain neutral in the conflict between Washington and Tehran. The July 19 attack targeted a base belonging to Iranian-backed paramilitary forces in Amirli in the northern Salaheddin province, and killed two Iranians. The attack was followed by at least two other mysterious explosions at munitions depots near Baghdad belonging to the militias. Associated Press
How Amazon and Silicon Valley Seduced the Pentagon
Tech moguls like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt have gotten unprecedented access to the Pentagon. And one whistleblower who raised flags has paid the price. ProPublica
Pentagon Expresses “Concern and Disappointment” Over Axed South Korea-Japan Intelligence Sharing Pact
The Pentagon reacted with dismay on Aug. 22 over South Korea’s announcement that is axing an intelligence sharing agreement with Japan, urging the two sides to come to another arrangement quickly, citing safety concerns. The Hill
A New, More Secure GPS Signal Could Be Ready by 2020
A fix that will allow military ground systems to receive a highly secure, military signal from GPS III satellites is on track for early 2020, according to Lockheed Martin executives. The news comes on the eve of the Air Force launching the second GPS III satellite into space. C4ISRNET
OPINION: 5G: Speed Isn’t Everything; DoD, FCC Need to Work on Spectrum
“To protect the content of 5G transmissions, the Pentagon should accelerate development of mobile applications using end-to-end encryption,” writes Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “Today’s military radios or encrypted email only encrypt a message in transit. The message exists in an unencrypted form in the receiving server.” Breaking Defense
High Levels of Toxic Chemicals Found in Water at Air Force Academy, Officials Say
Groundwater at the US Air Force Academy is contaminated with the same toxic chemicals polluting a southern El Paso County aquifer, expanding a problem that has cost tens of millions of dollars to address in the Pikes Peak region. Plans are underway to begin testing drinking water wells south of the academy in the Woodmen Valley area after unsafe levels of the chemicals were found at four locations on base, the academy said Aug. 22. The Gazette
SECNAV Orders Comprehensive Review of Navy, Marine Corps JAGs
Navy Secretary Richard Spencer’s memorandum ordered the Navy and Marines to study the laws, regulations, policies, resourcing “and any corrective actions necessary” to revamp legal community training and professional development; organization and command relationships and oversight; staffing levels; and career progression of the sea services’ attorneys. Navy Times
Drone War Takes Flight, Raising Stakes in Iran, US Tensions
From the vast deserts of Saudi Arabia to the crowded neighborhoods of Beirut, a drone war has taken flight across the wider Middle East, raising the stakes in the ongoing tensions between the the US and Iran. Associated Press
One More Thing
Here’s Why Growing Antibiotic Resistance is “Serious and Frightening” for the Military
As the military medical community fights the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant germs, a military medical historian painted a stark picture of the worst-case scenario—the stench and agony of field hospital wards in the pre-antibiotic days of World War I. Military Times