Ramstein

What is EUCOM’s Ukraine Control Center?

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany—Within days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. European Command stood up a 24/7 operations center to coordinate the rapid delivery of defense assistance from dozens of nations to the front line inside Ukraine. For the first time, the Defense Department described how the EUCOM Control Center Ukraine (ECCU) works during a background for journalists covering the Ukraine Defense Consultative Workshop at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
airmen preferred base

Air Force Ending Program for Career Airmen to Apply for Preferred Bases

Four years after first announcing a program meant to help career Airmen have a chance to move to their preferred base in the U.S., the Air Force is suspending the program starting June 1, citing budgetary constraints and a low rate of Airmen actually getting to where they wanted to go. The end of the Base of Preference program was first detailed in a memo from Chief Master Sgt. Claudia Carcamo, the Air Force’s chief enlisted manager, leaked on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco page. An Air Force spokesperson subsequently confirmed the memo’s authenticity to Air Force Magazine.
Ukraine F-16s

Ukraine Wants F-16s, But USAF Officials Say That’s ‘Not A Recipe for Success’

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany—Ukraine is calling for modern American fighter jets to face Russia’s overwhelming air advantage in the contested skies over the war-torn country, but senior Air Force officials say American F-16s, which require lengthy training, are not yet part of the aid picture. More than 40 nations gathered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on April 26 to consider what type of weapons, including air power assistance, to supply to Ukraine. The war is now shifting to the eastern front in the Donbas region, an area where long-range weapons are desperately needed.

Radar Sweep

OPINION:The Anti-Satellite Test Ban Must Not Undermine Deterrence

Defense News

“Maintaining space as a peaceful domain is a long-held objective going back to America’s earliest days on orbit. The [Biden] administration’s goal to further define rules and norms in this regard is admirable. As Vice President Kamala Harris recently explained, it is important to drive toward an international consensus regarding ‘what is right, what is wrong, and what is acceptable’ in space. Empowering this objective demands a full range of military tools. That includes holding adversary capabilities in space at risk to empower effective deterrence. … Given this reality, it is important to present our leaders with a broad range of options that will deter adversaries from attacking U.S. space-based assets. We must convince our adversaries they cannot destroy our critical satellites, while retaining theirs,” writes retired Gen. Kevin Chilton, explorer chair for space warfighting studies at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Eglin Test Team Demonstrates New Weapon to Sink Ships

Air Force release

Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.’s Integrated Test Team demonstrated a new low-cost, air-delivered capability for defeating maritime threats in the Gulf of Mexico. This was proven when an 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron F-15E Strike Eagle released a modified GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition that successfully destroyed a full-scale stationary surface vessel. This was the second experiment in the QUICKSINK Joint Capability Technology Demonstration.

Space Force's Top Enlisted Leader Would Get $1.8 Million Home in 2023 Budget Request

Military.com

The Department of the Air Force's 2023 budget proposal includes a request to build a $1.8 million home at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to house the Space Force's top enlisted leader. The request for a brand-new, 3,500-square-foot home for the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force is tucked away in the more than $230 million requested to fix and improve privatized base housing for families.

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OPINION: The Pentagon Plans Anew to Head Off an Old Worry: Nuclear War

The Washington Post

Beyond the carnage the Ukraine war has produced on the ground, it has forced military planners to think anew about the risks of nuclear war. For the Pentagon, that means extra urgency in developing a new generation of doomsday weapons that could maintain deterrence.

Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Explains What Weapons are Needed for No-Fly Zone Over Ukraine

Yahoo! News

"We are grateful to the whole world for humanitarian, political, and financial support, sanctions, pressure on the terrorist state, and military-technical assistance—weapons that are already destroying the equipment of the occupiers. But these weapons are not enough to win! We have beaten, are beating, and will be beating the enemy with the equipment we have. But it is not enough for the Air Force to cover the skies over Ukraine with Stinger and Starstreak air defense systems provided by its partners,” says the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk.

First RED HORSE Training Squadron Up, Ready to Run

Air Force Release

The 823rd RED HORSE, Det. 1, inactivated, and the 801st RED HORSE Training Squadron activated during a ceremony at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. RED HORSE stands for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers. This is the Air Force’s first RED HORSE training squadron. Its mission is developing and delivering integrated, realistic training and exercises to combat support teams.

Space Force Sees Room for More Competitors in National Security Launch

SpaceNews

Two space launch companies–United Launch Alliance and SpaceX–currently are under contract to launch military and intelligence satellites for the Space Force. But when these contracts are up for recompete in 2024, the Space Force might consider working with more than two companies, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond told lawmakers.

One More Thing

Mel Brooks Goes to War

HistoryNet

In his own words, the Hollywood legend recounts the funny and not-too-funny sides of service as a combat engineer in World War II.