Goldfein Brings Commanders’ Fitness Push to Air Force Marathon

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio—Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein toed the starting line of the 2019 Air Force Marathon here Sept. 21, hoping to spur a greater focus on physical fitness in the service from the top down. The Air Force’s top uniformed officer wants commanders to drive a fitness-minded culture change within their organizations and “emphasize fitness as a responsibility of being an airman.” To set an example, Goldfein trained for about three months to run in the half-marathon event at Wright-Patterson. “I should never ask any airman to do something that I’m not willing to do,” Goldfein said en route to the race. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

One Year Later, Air Force Looks to Network its Way to 386 Operational Squadrons

Top Air Force leaders are skeptical that the “Force We Need” growth plan they laid out last year to meet the National Defense Strategy’s needs will actually come to fruition. But they’re betting that connecting USAF platforms in new ways will provide more combat power to make up for smaller-than-expected fleets. Another new force-size report is due out in the spring. Read the full story by John A. Tirpak.

image of advertisement

Want to Understand MDC2? Think About Uber, USAF Official Says

When designing its next-generation, multi-domain command-and-control vision, the Air Force is looking to a perhaps unlikely example: Uber. The rideshare app can offer the service a model for pulling together reams of disparate data to move people around, as well as an example of software that humans trust and rely upon daily. “Just like that works for us in our private lives, we, too, are trying to get our capabilities within seconds to the right place, at the right time, to the right target, to the right effect,” Preston Dunlap, the Air Force’s chief architect for an advanced battle management system, said recently. To get there, the Air Force has six lines of effort underway to achieve its goal of multi-domain command and control. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

USAF Mulls Cuts to Munitions Buys as Production Hums

The Air Force is buying large numbers of munitions to restock after using its stores against the Islamic State and in Afghanistan, but is starting to think about what happens once its storage is full and as the US shifts its focus away from the Middle East, Air Force Materiel Command boss Gen. Arnold Bunch said during AFA’s 2019 Air, Space & Cyber Conference. “In the past, when budgets went low, we took money out of the weapons,” Bunch said. “We’ve got to make sure that if we do that in the future, or if we decide to back off the levels we’re buying at, we’re making a conscious decision to do that.” Read the full story by John A. Tirpak.

image of advertisement

––––––––––

RADAR SWEEP

Here’s What the Air Force’s Chief of Staff Wants to Do in His Last Year

At his final AFA Air, Space & Cyber Conference as chief of staff, Gen. David Goldfein talks with Valerie Insinna about his plans for 2020—his last year as chief. Defense News

OPINION: A Speech for the Next SECAF to Launch a New Era of Spacepower

“The history of the speech goes back to 2015, when then chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen, Mark A. Welsh, asked Air University to supply some ‘big ideas’ for major initiatives for the Air Force and help construct a bold new Air Force narrative,” writes Peter Garretson, a former director of Air University’s Space Horizons Research Task Force who now works as a senior fellow in defense studies at the American Foreign Policy Council. War on the Rocks

Air Force Certified Falcon Heavy for National Security Launch, but More Work Needed to Meet Required Orbits

Space and Missile Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. Thompson: "They are fully certified now. But that doesn’t mean the work on the Falcon Heavy stops.” Space News

Air Force Pumps Cash into “Vanguard” Effort, Small Industry Teams

A year-old Pratt & Whitney effort to free up a handful of its engineers to think big has already caught the eye of the Air Force, which has asked the company’s GatorWorks shop to pitch in on key research and development projects. Breaking Defense

Step Forward: Airmen Can Once Again Volunteer to be First Sergeants

The Air Force this fall is moving to a new system for hiring first sergeants in which airmen can volunteer to serve as one of the most important enlisted airmen in a unit. Until now, a move to first sergeant has been a Developmental Special Duty assignment and candidates have been nominated by their supervisors to be considered for that job. But beginning with this fall’s assignment cycle, first sergeant candidates will be chosen for their initial assignments through both a volunteer and nomination process, the Air Force Personnel Center announced in a Sept. 19 news release. Air Force Times

DOD Apologizes After Tweet Suggests US Military Would Bomb Millennials Who Tried to Raid Area 51

"The last thing #Millennials will see if they attempt the #area51 raid today," the tweet read. The accompanying image was a B-2 Spirit bomber, a highly-capable stealth aircraft built to slip past enemy defenses and devastate targets with nuclear and conventional munitions. Business Insider

DHS Wants Industry to Help Improve Pay for Cyber Personnel

By rolling out a “market-sensitive” pay structure and supporting more flexible career paths, the department hopes to make its cybersecurity jobs more appealing. Nextgov

Pompeo to Meet with Russia’s Top Diplomat Lavrov at UN

The two envoys last met in mid-May in Sochi, Russia. Since then, Washington, D.C, and Moscow abandoned their 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty, which limited the use of nuclear and conventional medium-range weapons. Agence France-Presse via Yahoo! News

UK, France, Germany Blame Iran for Saudi Oil Attacks

Britain, France, and Germany joined the United States on Sept. 24 in blaming Iran for attacks on key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, but the Iranian foreign minister pointed to claims of responsibility by Yemeni rebels and said: “If Iran were behind this attack, nothing would have been left of this refinery.” Associated Press

Habitat for Humanity Is Helping Combat Veteran Homelessness—but Community Concerns Often Get in the Way

The community, named the Lee A. Crossley Veterans Community after a local Army veteran, includes 26 newly built homes on a cul-de-sac called Honor Lane. All the homes are designated for veterans and offer an ownership opportunity as one means to help address veteran homelessness, said Ken Cates, director of the area Habitat for Humanity, an international nonprofit that offers home ownership. Stars and Stripes via Military.com

One More Thing

NASA Awards Lockheed Martin Contract for Six Orion Spacecraft

NASA and Lockheed Martin have finalized a contract for the production and operations of six Orion spacecraft missions and the ability to order up to 12 in total. Orion is NASA’s deep space exploration spaceship that will carry astronauts from Earth to the Moon and bring them safely home. Lockheed Martin has been the prime contractor during the development phase of the Orion program. Lockheed Martin release