Two cadets have been found dead within three days at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Air Force officials say both were cadets first-class, and their deaths were not related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first cadet was found dead on campus on March 26 and the second on March 28. An investigation is underway, but officials say foul play is not suspected. “These tragedies have caused incredible shock and pain throughout our USAFA family,” said Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, Air Force Academy Superintendent, in a March 30 statement. “Right now, we are all focused on taking care of the cadets’ families and each other—our cadets, our faculty, our staff—as we grieve this loss. We ask for everyone’s patience and respect for the families’ privacy at this time.”
An Army National Guardsman died on March 28—seven days after being hospitalized with COVID-19—becoming the first U.S. service member to die from the disease. "This is a stinging loss for our military community, and our condolences go out to his family, friends, civilian co-workers, and the entire National Guard community," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in March 30 statement. "The news of this loss strengthens our resolve to work ever more closely with our interagency partners to stop the spread of COVID-19." As of March 30, there are 1,087 total COVID-19 cases in the military community, with 569 of them Active-duty service members. Inside the Air Force, 164 Active Airmen have tested positive.
The Air Force’s troubled new tanker has another serious deficiency: a fuel leak problem that Boeing must fix at its own cost. The service’s KC-46 program office first discovered a fuel leak during a flight test in July 2019, and the Air Force announced March 30 the problem has been upgraded to a “Category One” deficiency, meaning it could cause severe damage. “The Air Force and Boeing are working together to determine the root cause and implement corrective actions,” the service said in a statement.
The Air Force will send 60 Basic Military Training recruits to Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., “no earlier than” April 7 to try and prove that locations other than Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, can also host BMT during contingencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, 2nd Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Andrea Tullos told reporters March 30. The contingency option is just that and is not intended to be a long-term construct, Tullos said. It is designed to be implemented on a surge timeline of 180 days, but can be sustained for longer if necessary.
Foreign countries are boosting their investments in “gray zone” weapons that can confuse and disable satellites, are harder to attribute to a specific attacker, and fall below the level of overt war, posing regulatory challenges, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Washington think tank’s third-annual assessment of space threats argues that space is growing more diverse and more disruptive as governments pursue new capabilities and commercial companies increasingly enter the fray. Space is becoming more dangerous as well, amid a lack of widely accepted norms for behavior on orbit and gaps in current laws and treaties. The CSIS report warns against centering too much on the bureaucratic aspects of reorganizing military space forces and ultimately getting distracted from the burgeoning capabilities of other nations.
The Air Force expects to lose confidence in the full viability of its 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles starting in 2026, three years before replacement nuclear missiles start entering the ground, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.“ According to Air Force officials, as a result of the expected attrition of current field assets, the Minuteman III weapon system will be unable to meet full mission requirements after 2026, should full deployment be required,” the March 26 report said. “Continued asset attrition is also affecting the Minuteman III retirement schedule.”
New documents released March 30 show the Defense Department asking Congress for authority to stop producing an unclassified version of its Future Years Defense Program—its five-year plan for future spending that is released alongside its budget. Required since 1989, the FYDP shows the Pentagon’s near-future priorities and spending plans in the “out-years,” which drive its decision making. According to a March 6 proposal, first published by the Federation of American Scientists, the Pentagon argues the document should remain classified starting with the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill.
Kadena Air Base’s 18th Wing is in the midst of a two-day COVID-19 tactical pause, after two Airmen with separate units became the first and second Active-duty U.S. troops on Okinawa, Japan, to test positive for the new coronavirus. Brig. Gen. Joel Carey, commander of the 18th Wing, in a video posted to the base Facebook page March 28, said both Airmen had recently traveled to Europe and were in restriction of movement status when they developed symptoms. The Airmen’s close contacts also are now in restriction of movement, he said. Carey announced the tactical pause on March 29.
