The new attention put on the ICBM mission is paying dividends in terms of the seasoning of the ICBM cadre, said Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, head of Air Force Global Strike Command. Speaking with reporters in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, Kowalski said the Air Force used to have to press missileers into service; the missileers would then put in for transfer to space operations as soon as they were allowed. Lately, however, “we no longer have to non-volunteer people for the ICBM business,” he noted. In fact, “we’re actually turning them away,” he added. (For more coverage of Kowalski’s roundtable, see Deterrence Will Suffer and New Strategic Stuff and Back to Guam.)
The Air Force is shoring up its cyber defenses both on and off base for critical infrastructure such as water and electrical power, and industry experts are calling for more, even specialized, dedicated microgrids offsite to support USAF operations in case of a total blackout caused by cyberattacks.
