The U.S. Space Force is being built from the existing Air Force with a priority to keep a small and low-priced footprint, relying heavily on existing force structure. The Air Force on Feb. 3 sent a 26-page document to Congress outlining the plan for the structure of the new service —with the main goal to be lean, agile, and “minimize cost and bureaucracy.” The document, which was required under the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, likely will continue to evolve, with a finalized version expected in early May. “Building the Space Force from the ground up is an historic opportunity to take a clean sheet approach to designing a 21st century military service with a streamlined organizational structure,” Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett wrote in the document.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—You see the intercontinental ballistic missile before you hear it. Upon ignition in its underground silo, the horizon blooms bright red-orange, and a ball of light rises west over the Pacific Ocean. A dull roar intensifies as the unarmed nuclear missile jets upward to arc over the moon on its way to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. As the weapons reach 50 years since they were first deployed across the U.S., the Air Force is checking that its more than 400 Minuteman IIIs can still perform. At the same time, the service is looking ahead to the future Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent missiles that will replace Minuteman III and outlast some of the people managing it.
A health of the defense industrial base was given a grade of "C" by the National Defense Industrial Association in a report released Feb. 5. The NDIA says the report will be issued annually to gauge whether the industrial base is able to surge at need, is properly funded, and is not onerously regulated, among many other evaluated factors. The grade was pulled down by cyber theft and a shortage of skilled labor and materials, but was buoyed by strong demand for U.S. defense goods and services.
Two charted aircraft arrived at Travis Air Force Base, California, on Feb. 5 carrying about 350 passengers evacuated from the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak. The 747s flew from Wuhan, China, and were received at Travis by personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Passengers from one of the planes will be quarantined for 14 days at a hotel on base, while the other aircraft refueled and continued on to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Also on Feb. 5, the Pentagon announced Camp Ashland, Nebraska, also will provide housing for up to 75 people who may be quarantined upon returning to the United States.
