Wednesday, 14 March 2012
U.S. Air Force
Morning Report
DO NOT FORWARD WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM PRODUCT OWNER
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BUDGET
C-Span: Lawmakers Look into DoD Budget, Future Military Programs (1)
AF Times: Air Force hopes to put F-35s at fewer bases (3)
NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE
GSN: U.S. Cuts THAAD Acquisition Plans (8)
WIN TODAY’S FIGHT
CSIS: Blog: New U.S. strategy needed in Afghanistan (11)
AP: Panetta seeks to boost support for Kyrgyzstan base (12)
CARING FOR AIRMEN
WR Patriot: Air Force: 12 months and counting since last on-duty ground fatality (15)
MODERNIZATION
DoD Buzz: Ohio Guard accuses AF of fudging C-27J figures (18)
ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
Flight International: IN FOCUS: T-38 replacement faces six-year schedule gap (20)
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
CTV: Tories raise prospect of nixing F-35 deal (21)
OF INTEREST
ABC News: F-22 Crash Widow Sues Lockheed Martin for Wrongful Death (25)
BUDGET
1. Lawmakers Look into DoD Budget, Future Military Programs
(C-Span, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing with two top U.S. Southern and Northern
Commanders on the Defense Authorization Request for 2013 and the future of the defense program.
2. Defense industry leaders say continued defense cuts could be devastating
(Warner Robins Patriot, 13 Mar 12) … Gene Rector
Defense budget cuts and the prospect of even more reductions are having a telling impact on the
nations aerospace and defense industry.
3. Air Force hopes to put F-35s at fewer bases
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Marcus Weisgerber
The Air Force is looking to slash the number of locations where it will base F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
squadrons to bring down the jet’s estimated trillion-dollar sustainment costs.
4. McKeon sees big shortfalls in DoD budget
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(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Rick Maze
The powerful chairman of the House Armed Services Committee doesn’t support more increases in
Tricare health insurance fees and is worried about how budget limits could force faster and more
painful personnel cuts.
5. McCain to block DoD requests to move money
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Rick Maze
Sen. John McCain has worsened the Pentagon’s cash flow problems by announcing he will no longer
approve reprogramming requests that shift money between accounts.
6. Spy mission proposed for Falls National Guard unit
(Stars and Stripes, 13 Mar 12) … Jerry Zremski
WASHINGTON -- Spy planes could be coming to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station if the Air
Force agrees to a plan that aims to prevent deep cuts in National Guard units such as the Falls-based
107th Airlift Wing.
CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN THE NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE
7. Russian official: No NATO summit missile deal
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Vladimir Isachenkov
MOSCOW — Russia and the United States have failed to narrow their differences over a planned
U.S. missile shield and stand practically no chance of reaching a compromise at the NATO summit in
Chicago in May, a top Russian official said Tuesday.
8. U.S. Cuts THAAD Acquisition Plans
(Global Security Newswire, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
The U.S. Army could receive three fewer Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense firing units and 66
fewer interceptors than previously planned under Defense Department spending plans, Inside
Defense reported on Friday.
9. EXCLUSIVE-US dangles secret data for Russia missile shield OK
(Reuters, 14 Mar 12) … Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is leaving open the possibility of giving Moscow certain
secret data on U.S. interceptor missiles due to help protect Europe from any Iranian missile strike.
PARTNER WITH JOINT AND COALITION TEAM TO WIN TODAY’S FIGHT
10. Manas Closing Could Hasten Afghan Exit
(Military.com, 13 Mar 12) … Michael Hoffman
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday could play an even bigger role
than last weekend's civilian killings in Afghanistan in determining whether the U.S. withdraws its
troops earlier than planned.
11. Blog: New U.S. strategy needed in Afghanistan
(Center for Strategic and International Studies, 13 Mar 12) … Anthony H. Cordesman
The United States needs to look beyond the latest incident and focus on the broader patterns in U.S.
and Afghan relations. It needs to realize that its current strategy is becoming a façade that can only
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make things worse, and it needs to make a hard choice: Admit that the United States is headed
toward an exit strategy or recast current U.S. efforts in cooperation with our allies so that we provide
a real transition strategy based on credible goals, credible resources, and doing things the Afghan
way.
12. Turkey, US air forces conduct military exercise in Konya
(Today’s Zaman 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
Turkey and the United States began a joint military exercise, Anatolian Falcon 2012, in the Central
Anatolian city of Konya last week as tensions escalate in Iran and Syria.
13. Blog: McCain slams White House stance on Afghanistan policy
(The Hill, 13 Mar 12) … Carlo Munoz
The White House's consideration of an early pull out from Afghanistan will only embolden antiAmerican sentiment in the country and opens the door to terror groups in the region, a top Senate
Republican said on Tuesday.
14. Panetta seeks to boost support for Kyrgyzstan base
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Lolita C. Baldor
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Kyrgyzstan’s leaders to
stress that America needs the continued use of the U.S. air base there beyond the end of its contract
in 2014, largely as a transit center to bring troops home from Afghanistan.
DEVELOP AND CARE FOR AIRMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES
15. Air Force: 12 months and counting since last on-duty ground fatality
(Warner Robins Patriot, 13 Mar 12) … Gene Rector
For the first time in its history, the Air Force has gone for more than 12 months without a fatal on-duty
ground accident.
16. Air Force to expand drug testing for prescription drug abuse
(Federal News Radio, 13 Mar 12) … Jolie Lee
The Air Force is expanding drug testing to include prescription medications. The Defense
Department Health Behaviors Survey found self-reported misuse of pain medication for non-medical
purposes by all servicemembers increased from 2 percent in 2002 to 7 percent in 2005 to 17 percent
in 2008, according to an Air Force release.
17. Pilot program for autism treatment extended
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Patricia Kime
The Pentagon announced Tuesday it is extending a pilot program that provides autism treatment to
the children of service members.
MODERNIZE OUR AIR, SPACE AND CYBERSPACE INVENTORIES, ORGS AND TRAINING
18. Ohio Guard accuses AF of fudging C-27J figures
(DoD Buzz, 13 Mar 12) … Michael Hoffman
Air National Guardsmen refuse to go quietly into the night and accept the cuts laid out in the Air
Force’s 2013 budget request.
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19. Enthusiasts Call For More, Faster US Bombers
(Aviation Week, 13 Mar 12) … Bill Sweetman
The U.S. Air Force talked until recently of just a 100-aircraft fleet of new bombers, but advocates are
calling for more. Dave Deptula, the retired three-star general who headed reconnaissance programs
for the armed service during recent wars, says that it’s easy to get to a 200-aircraft bomber fleet—
with one 12-aircraft squadron for each of 10 air expeditionary forces, and other aircraft to support
strategic deterrence and cover attrition and depot maintenance.
RECAPTURE ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
20. IN FOCUS: T-38 replacement faces six-year schedule gap
(Flight International, 13 Mar 12) … Stephen Trimble
With the US military facing lean times, the US Air Force's Air Education and Training Command
(AETC) is not immune from procurement pressure, despite its importance in providing the combat
pilots of the future.
GLOBAL AIR, SPACE, and CYBERSPACE ENVIRONMENT
21. Tories raise prospect of nixing F-35 deal
(CTV, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
The federal government has not dismissed the prospect of backing out of the F-35 stealth fighter jet
program, associate defence minister Julian Fantino told a House of Commons committee Tuesday.
22. Taiwan to launch annual military drill amid China's growing threat
(Central News Agency, 13 Mar 12) … Elaine Hou
Taipei - Taiwan is gearing up for large-scale annual military drills involving its three services to
strengthen the country's defense capabilities amid a growing threat from China, the Defense Ministry
said Tuesday.
23. U.S. Urged to Cancel Russia Arms Deal Over Syria
(Agence France-Presse, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
WASHINGTON - U.S. senators are urging the Pentagon to cancel a contract with a Russian company
approaching $1 billion to buy helicopters for Afghanistan, voicing outrage over Moscow’s arming of
Syria.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
24. Scandals scar US home base of Afghan massacre suspect
(Reuters, 14 Mar 12) … Unattributed
TACOMA: Long before the American soldier suspected of slaying 16 Afghan villagers was identified
as an army sergeant from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the sprawling installation had earned a
reputation as the most troubled outpost in the US military.
25. F-22 Crash Widow Sues Lockheed Martin for Wrongful Death
(ABC News, 13 Mar 12) … Lee Ferran
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The widow of the F-22 Raptor pilot who died after a malfunction in his jet cut off his oxygen system
during a training mission in Alaska is suing the F-22 manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, and other major
defense contracting companies for wrongful death, negligence and fraud.
26. Jacoby: NORAD mission safe despite AF cuts
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Brian Everstine
The U.S. Northern Command chief sought to reassure lawmakers Tuesday that despite delays to the
beleaguered F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and additional Air Force cuts, the North American Aerospace
Defense Command will be able to protect American citizens with existing aircraft.
27. Flares fired near Vance AFB planes, pilots report
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
ENID, Okla. -- Authorities are investigating a report of someone shooting flares near Vance Air Force
Base planes.
28. Military: gunman report led to communication collapses during Tucson Air Force base
lockdown
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
PHOENIX — An initial report about a suspicious gunman at an Air Force base on the edge of Tucson
led to a series of communication breakdowns, according to the military’s review of the ensuing
lockdown.
29. Carroll to lobby Air Force for Embraer jobs
(Jax Daily Record, 13 Mar 12) … Karen Brune Mathis
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll said Monday she intends to head to Washington, D.C., this weekend and
next week and during her trip will let the U.S. Air Force know that Jacksonville is ready to welcome
Embraer.
HEADLINES
CNN at 0530
Santorum's Southern sweep
Panetta on 2-day visit to Afghanistan
Syrian forces overtake rebel stronghold
FOX News at 0530
Santorum Wins 2 Primaries in South
Panetta Arrives on First Afghan Visit After Killings
Native American Tribe Gets Permit to Kill Bald Eagles
NPR at 0530
Southern Slam: Rick Santorum Takes Alabama, Mississippi Primaries
Fed: Most Major U.S. Banks Would Survive Severe Recession
Tea Party Spawns New Effort Against Voter Fraud
USA Today at 0530
Rick Santorum wins Alabama, Mississippi
Afghan official: Video shows soldier surrendering
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March Madness: Which teams are bracket busters?
Washington Post at 0530
Santorum wins GOP primaries in Ala., Miss.
Most recent crisis between U.S., Afghans may follow a familiar script
Probe targets recruiting program for Army National Guard, Reserve
FULL TEXT
BUDGET
B1
Lawmakers Look into DoD Budget, Future Military Programs
(C-Span, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Lawmakers-Look-into-DoD-2013-Budget-Future-Military-Programs/10737428980/
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing with two top U.S. Southern and Northern
Commanders on the Defense Authorization Request for 2013 and the future of the defense program.
Air Force General Douglas Fraser, Chief of Southern Command testified along side Army General
Charles Jacoby Jr., Commander of the Northern Command.
With proposed cuts to their budgets, the chiefs defended important programs to Senate lawmakers,
particularly the drone program and on-going military projects in Latin America.
Gen. Fraser described Iran’s efforts to expand its influence in the region by working with countries
friendly to that nation, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua.
He and Gen. Jacoby also described the continuing violence related to drug trafficking, including rising
violence in Central America and the use of submersible vehicles by cartels to ship their product
In past hearings, both commanders warned that the sequestration cuts would be a challenge for the
military. Gen. Jacoby said he was concerned about a "a cascading effect of risk."
RETURN
B2
Defense industry leaders say continued defense cuts could be devastating
(Warner Robins Patriot, 13 Mar 12) … Gene Rector
http://warnerrobinspatriot.com/bookmark/17855383-Defense-industry-leaders-say-continued-defense-cuts-could-be-devastating
Defense budget cuts and the prospect of even more reductions are having a telling impact on the
nations aerospace and defense industry.
At an Air Force Association event last week in Arlington, Va., Fred Downey, Aerospace Industries
Association vice president, said, “We don’t believe the cuts will stop” and “more unplanned cuts are
sure to come.”
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According to an AFA account of the session, Downey said defense industry officials met with Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta last November regarding the runup period to the fiscal year 2013 budget.
That budget request, submitted to Congress in February, will begin a ten-year series of cuts in
defense spending totaling $487 billion.
“We told him that the $487 billion in cuts were manageable though not desirable,” Downey told the
AFA audience.
But the AIA official said he had serious doubts regarding assumptions in the 2013 budget, particularly
those that indicated $60 billion will be saved through additional efficiencies.
“Nobody on the planet believes that,” Downey asserted, “and industry leaders believe investment
accounts will be hit harder.”
The fiscal year 2013 budget includes an Air Force request for 54 aircraft, the lowest number since
1914, according to the AFA.
For that reason, companies with cash are not investing in more defense capability, Downey noted,
“but rather in information technologies and health care.”
A report commissioned by AIA warns that continued steep cuts in the nation’s defense budget could
have devastating effects on the industry and on the nation’s economy.
According to the report, U.S. aerospace and defense companies accounted for $324 billion in sales
revenue during 2010. The industry directly employed more than one million workers and created 2.5
million indirect jobs. The industry contributed a net $42 billion to the nation’s trade balance and
accounted for 2.23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Marion Blakey, AIA president, is quoted in an AIA release: “The data speak for itself. America’s
aerospace and defense industry is a sector that punches far above its weight. Over one million
American jobs and the security of our nation are at stake.”
RETURN
B3
Air Force hopes to put F-35s at fewer bases
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Marcus Weisgerber
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/03/air-force-joint-strike-fighter-f-35-at-fewer-bases-031212w/
The Air Force is looking to slash the number of locations where it will base F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
squadrons to bring down the jet’s estimated trillion-dollar sustainment costs.
The effort, led by Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Herbert “Hawk”
Carlisle, the deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements, looks at reducing the F-35
bases from the 40s to the “low 30s,” senior service officials say.
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“When you reduce the number of bases from 40 to the low 30s, you end up reducing your footprint,
making more efficient the long-term sustainment,” David Van Buren, the service’s acquisition
executive, said in a March 2 exit interview at the Pentagon.
A 2010 Pentagon estimate pegged the 50-year sustainment cost of 2,443 Air Force, Navy and Marine
Corps F-35s at more than $1 trillion. Reducing the number of F-35 bases and increasing squadron
sizes at other locations could yield cost savings, according to Schwartz.
“You can base the F-35 or any weapon system at multiple locations and that requires additional
support equipment, it requires additional infrastructure and so on and so forth,” Schwartz said at a
Feb. 29 Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington. “If, on the other hand, you choose to base
at fewer locations and have larger squadrons — 24, 30, perhaps 36 aircraft per squadron — there are
considerable savings and efficiencies associated with that.”
The number of bases could go down even further, Schwartz said, noting that could mean fewer
training simulators and less support equipment.
There are many ways to reduce sustainment costs, according to Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with
the Teal Group. This could include diagnostic systems that help with spare-parts management and
taking a lean approach to field repairs.
“The problem is that very often, cutting your sustainment costs is at odds with actual war-fighting
needs, a classic battle of accountants versus logisticians,” he said.
The Air Force operates F-35s at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Nellis
Air Force Base, Nev., is expected to receive operational test jets later this year.
“The chief has taken the initiative to go look at this and do what he can do to try to reduce that
footprint over time,” Van Buren said.
Asked how much the Air Force could save over the long term by truncating the number of bases, Van
Buren did not provide an estimate, saying only that it would, “come out in further calculations of the
sustainment cost of the program.”
Allies concerned about costs
The hefty sustainment estimate is a “big area of concern” for allies who plan to purchase the F-35
because “they have much smaller defense budgets” compared to the U.S., Van Buren said.
“In many of the cases, they have one or maybe two main operating bases where they’ll have their
entire fleet,” he said, noting that each nation will have its own sustainment estimate.
“Whether it provides possible cost saving or the illusion of cost saving, or merely something that
drums up political support, it doesn’t sound like a bad message to send,” Aboulafia said of the Air
Force’s plan to reduce the number of F-35 bases to save money.
Beyond the basing reductions, F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin is looking at areas to improve
sustainment, including improving the jet’s reliability, Van Buren said.
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The Pentagon’s 2013 budget proposal includes $9.1 billion for 29 jets, down 13 jets from prior plans.
In all, the Pentagon has chosen to cut 179 F-35 aircraft buys between 2013 and 2017, which it says
will save $15.1 billion.
The Air Force still plans to purchase 1,763 F-35 aircraft over the program’s lifetime.
By slowing production, the Pentagon will be able to focus more on development of the jet, which is
happening simultaneously with production.
“As one changes a profile and reduces base, you have a different calculation with overhead
absorption,” Van Buren said.
At the same time, the Pentagon has completed an independent assessment of what it believes the F35 should cost.
“That should-cost evaluation that was led by [Shay] Assad, [director of defense pricing], was very well
done — I would say it was excellently done — [and] is a part of the discussion of what we want that
program to be on a part of [low-rate, initial production] 5 and on forward,” Van Buren said.
Van Buren, who is stepping down as the Air Force’s top acquisition official at the end of March,
declined to provide that “should-cost” figure. In addition, the Pentagon is negotiating the fifth LRIP
contract with Lockheed.
“We were able to work with [Lockheed Martin] to get a fixed-price, incentive fee contract for LRIP 4,
two years [earlier] than had been contemplated by the [program executive office] at that time,” Van
Buren noted.
RETURN
B4
McKeon sees big shortfalls in DoD budget
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Rick Maze
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/03/military-mckeon-sees-big-shortfalls-defense-budget-031312w/
The powerful chairman of the House Armed Services Committee doesn’t support more increases in
Tricare health insurance fees and is worried about how budget limits could force faster and more
painful personnel cuts.
Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., also complains that there are billions in shortfalls in the Obama
administration’s proposed $649.1 billion defense budget for fiscal 2013.
In a March 9 letter to the House Budget Committee, McKeon doesn’t say how much he believes
should be allocated to defense, but he identifies shortages in Navy shipbuilding, Air Force and Navy
strike fighters, air-to-air missiles, and the overall number of Air Force aircraft as troubling issues, as
well as the industrial bases to build Army tactical wheeled vehicles and to arm brigade combat teams.
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He also expresses concern about operations and maintenance accounts, especially in equipment
maintenance, and warns of risks from reduced funding for missile defense and for the modernization
of nuclear weapons.
“There are significant holes,” McKeon said of the 2013 defense plan.
On Tricare, where the Defense Department is proposing a switch to income-based fees that could
quadruple costs for some retirees and their families, McKeon said he thinks the Pentagon is taking
the wrong approach to wrestling with admittedly higher health care costs.
“Increasing fees funds the increased costs, not controls them,” McKeon says in the March 9 letter.
“Much like Obamacare, the administration’s request simply passes costs to others instead of reducing
costs within the system.”
Initiatives that hold down costs would be welcome, he said, but fee increases are not.
“After 10 years of war, our troops have endured enormous stresses, hardships and consequences
from their wartime service. They should not have to return home to such significant near-term
increases in health care costs for their families,” he said.
McKeon raises two separate concerns about proposed reductions to the size of the active-duty
military.
First, he is concerned the Army and Marine Corps could be forced to make precipitous cuts in their
active forces if troop withdrawals are accelerated from Afghanistan. This could happen, he said,
because war-related contingency funds are being used to pay for 49,700 active-duty soldiers and
15,200 active-duty Marines.
If combat operations wrap up and funding is cut, the two services would be forced “to accelerate
manpower reductions or fund the personnel from other accounts, which will most certainly break faith
with the all-volunteer force,” he said.
The Army, working on a plan to drop from 552,100 soldiers this year to 490,000 in fiscal 2017, wants
to limit reductions to 10,000 to 17,000 a year, but would be forced to make a steeper decline without
contingency funds. The Marine Corps, dropping from 202,100 Marines in 2013 to 182,100 in 2017,
wants to limit reductions to no more than 5,000 a year.
The second personnel issue raised by McKeon is the need to increase mandatory spending caps
within the defense budget so that the services may use early retired pay and voluntary separation pay
to help shape the force as it gets smaller. Within an increase in the spending caps, the services would
have to use less expensive involuntary separations to make reductions, McKeon said.
Spending $4 billion more over 10 years would help the Navy delay the retirement of some ships, and
spending $1.5 billion more on Army procurement would maintain the industrial base for M1 Abrams
tanks and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, he said in a 12-page letter to the House Budget Committee, a
panel that will soon recommend spending limits for various federal programs.
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In contrast to McKeon’s letter, the Democrat chairman and the ranking Republican member of the
Senate Armed Services Committee essentially endorsed the Obama administration’s proposed
budget in their joint March 8 letter to Senate Budget Committee.
“At this time, we believe that the funding levels we are recommending allow us to meet our current
national security requirements,” said the letter signed by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman, and
John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican.
RETURN
B5
McCain to block DoD requests to move money
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Rick Maze
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/03/military-john-mccain-blocks-reprogramming-requests-031312w/
Sen. John McCain has worsened the Pentagon’s cash flow problems by announcing he will no longer
approve reprogramming requests that shift money between accounts.
Other than for emergencies, McCain he will not support Pentagon requests to move money until he
receives a detailed report on money transfers over the last two years.
As ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain has the power to
singlehandedly block reprogramming requests because he is one of eight people who must sign off
on the transfers. The chairmen and ranking minority party members of the House and Senate armed
services committees and the defense appropriations subcommittees all must approve requests to
shift money between accounts.
McCain notified Defense Secretary Leon Panetta of his decision in a March 9 letter that was made
public on Tuesday. “I will not support any further reprogramming requests for new, unauthorized
programs except for emergency requirements,” McCain wrote.
Reprogramming is an administrative process created to allow flexibility in moving money between
budget accounts as needs change during the year. This practice has been especially helpful to the
Army to cover shortfalls in recent years.
Last year, Congress approved between $12 billion and $15 billion in transfers, McCain said. This
year, just two months after the fiscal 2012 Defense Authorization Act was signed into law, the
Defense Department has sent seven transfer requests to Congress totaling more than $850 million,
he said.
Reprogramming is used throughout defense programs, covering unexpected costs for personnel,
maintenance or weapons programs. The practice is controversial because the military is essentially
asking for permission to alter spending allocations made by Congress.
RETURN
B6
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Spy mission proposed for Falls National Guard unit
(Stars and Stripes, 13 Mar 12) … Jerry Zremski
http://www.stripes.com/news/air-force/spy-mission-proposed-for-falls-national-guard-unit-1.171492
WASHINGTON -- Spy planes could be coming to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station if the Air
Force agrees to a plan that aims to prevent deep cuts in National Guard units such as the Falls-based
107th Airlift Wing.
An unspecified number of MC-12 spy planes would be assigned to the 107th, replacing the C-130
cargo planes the unit currently flies, under a proposal by the Council of Governors that was obtained
by The Buffalo News.
It's possible that the governors' proposal will be amended to give the Niagara unit unmanned
intelligence, survey and reconnaissance planes, such as Reapers or Predators, instead of the MC12s, sources said.
If enacted, either possibility would save an undetermined number of the 845 jobs, including 580 parttime Guard positions, that would disappear under the current Air Force plan to strip the 107th of its
mission.
The proposal comes from the Council of Governors, a bipartisan group of 10 state executives
appointed by President Obama to work with the federal government on security and disaster
response issues.
And it comes amid growing concern in statehouses across the country that the Air Force budget plan,
which disproportionally trims the National Guard, will undercut the special role those state-based units
play in emergency response and disaster recovery, as well as foreign military missions.
"The Guard has always been an efficient, less costly force to achieve these multiple missions," the
nation's governors said in a joint statement last week. "Governors remain strongly opposed to the
disproportionate personnel and equipment cuts in the Guard and urge the Air Force to work with them
to find alternative solutions to maximize capabilities at the lowest possible cost."
Under the Air Force's budget proposal, the Air National Guard would take the hardest hit, losing 5,000
personnel slots compared with 3,900 for the active-duty Air Force and 900 for the Air Force Reserve.
"Our total force programmed reductions follow detailed assessments of future conflict scenarios and
rotational requirements," said the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz.
In other words, the Air Force doesn't believe it needs as many Air National Guard units as it now has
to fulfill future military missions.
But the governors think they need Guard units.
In contrast to the Reserves, the part-time U.S. military, National Guard units are state-based militias,
although federally funded, that the governors frequently deploy for disaster response.
For example, five Gulf state governors, all Republicans, last week wrote to Obama to complain about
the proposed elimination of a Texas Air National Guard unit.
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The Council of Governors has a special role in working with the federal government on such issues,
which is why it has detailed an alternative Air Force budget plan.
That proposal would cut 3,000 fewer Guard positions than the Air Force plan, while trimming an
additional 2,500 active-duty slots. It would also save $700 million more than the Air Force plan.
Most notably for Western New York, the governors' proposal would assign a new mission to the
107th, one of two major units at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
And it's exactly the kind of mission that local lawmakers and the Niagara Military Affairs Council, a
local citizens group, have been seeking for months.
The MC-12 is one of the Air Force's "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance" planes, as are
the drones -- the Reapers or the Predators-- under consideration for the base.
Local lawmakers have been seeking such an "ISR" mission for the 107th because those missions are
growing amid the Pentagon budget cuts.
In a recent conversation with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, said Rep. Kathleen C. Hochul, DAmherst, "I said I want to ensure that the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station has a place in the military
of the future,"
Fearing possible Air Force cutbacks, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., last June began pushing the
Niagara base as a possible site for a new Customs and Border Protection facility.
And along with Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.; Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport; Rep. Brian
Higgins, D-Buffalo; and Hochul, Gillibrand for months has pressed the Pentagon to either keep the
107th's current mission or provide the unit with a new one.
That effort seemed to fall on deaf ears â0;” but the Council of Governors' report may not.
"It's currently being reviewed by Air Force staff," which will make recommendations to the secretary
and chief of staff of the Air Force, said spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.
Sources said top Air Force officials are chafing under the pressure from the governors, thinking they
shouldn't have a strong role in shaping the U.S. military force structure.
But the Air Force also faces pressure from Congress, which must approve the Guard cutbacks
unveiled last week as part of the Pentagon budget.
Top Air Force officials will discuss the Guard cuts at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
March 20, and they're likely to hear plenty from the panel's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
"It's fair to say that he has concerns," a Levin aide said.
Those concerns, combined with the Council of Governors' plan, give the Niagara air base's
supporters some hope.
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Asked about the Council of Governors' plan during his visit to Washington last week, Lt. Gov. Robert
Duffy said: "We're waiting to see their proposal, but we would welcome any increased missions or
capabilities that the military could place at the Niagara Falls air base."
Spy planes on horizon
The Air Force is considering two options for new missions at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station:
MC-12W
Mission: Medium- to low-altitude, twin-engine turboprop aircraft that the Air Force uses for
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to provide support to ground forces.
Crew: Two pilots and two sensor operators
Cost: $17 million
Range: Between 1,500 and 2,400 nautical miles
MQ-9 Reaper
Mission: An armed, remotely piloted aircraft flying at medium altitudes, used both to collect
intelligence and attack targets.
Crew: Drone, commanded by a pilot at a remote location, with a co-pilot operating the sensors and
weapons
Range: 1,000 nautical miles.
Cost: A team of four Reapers costs $53.5 million
Source: U.S. Air Force.
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CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN THE NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE
N1
Russian official: No NATO summit missile deal
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Vladimir Isachenkov
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/03/ap-russian-official-no-nato-summit-missile-deal-031312/
MOSCOW — Russia and the United States have failed to narrow their differences over a planned
U.S. missile shield and stand practically no chance of reaching a compromise at the NATO summit in
Chicago in May, a top Russian official said Tuesday.
Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Washington is going ahead with its plans for a missile
shield in Europe without considering Russian concerns.
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The U.S. says the NATO missile shield is aimed at deflecting potential missile threats from Iran, but
Moscow fears that it will eventually grow powerful enough to undermine Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
“I think it would be very difficult to achieve any success at the summit,” Antonov said. “As of today,
there is no document for the leaders to approve.”
NATO has said it wants to cooperate with Russia on the missile shield. But it has rejected Russia’s
proposal to run the shield jointly.
Without a NATO-Russia cooperation deal, President Dmitry Medvedev has sought guarantees from
the U.S. that any future shield is not aimed at Russia. He has threatened to aim missiles at the U.S.
shield if no agreement is reached.
Antonov said any moves “will depend entirely on how the U.S. implements its plans.”
“If it conducts the policy of presenting us with a fait accompli, that doesn’t show trust and respect for
us as partners,” Antonov said.
He wouldn’t say whether President-elect Vladimir Putin would participate in the NATO summit
beginning May 20 after attending the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations summit at Camp
David.
“We still need to do a lot with our American friends and NATO colleagues to reach common ground
and put it on paper,” he said. “I think it will require more time than there is ahead of the summit.”
Antonov said he was skeptical about media reports that the U.S. could try to assuage Moscow’s
concern about the missile shield by sharing confidential technical data, saying U.S. laws would bar
the transfer of such data to Russia.
But, he said Russia would consider such offers if they are made.
Antonov added that an earlier U.S. proposal for cooperation in military technologies hasn’t brought
any results. “A legal basis is needed for the exchange of sensitive information,” he said.
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N2
U.S. Cuts THAAD Acquisition Plans
(Global Security Newswire, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/us-cuts-thaad-acquisition-plans/
The U.S. Army could receive three fewer Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense firing units and 66
fewer interceptors than previously planned under Defense Department spending plans, Inside
Defense reported on Friday (see GSN, Feb. 14).
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The budget proposal calls for deployment of six firing units, Lockheed Martin THAAD program head
Mat Joyce said. The Obama administration has called for a $1.8 billion reduction in THAAD program
spending from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2017, according to a previous report.
"That is something that is going to be subject to discussion and debate [in Congress] over the next
few months, but that is the current number for the U.S. government," Joyce said.
The United States previously intended to deploy between nine and 11 units, Joyce's predecessor
Tom McGrath said in September.
Joyce said interceptor manufacturing speeds appear likely to "stay around 36 per year for some
time." The Army intends to procure 230 interceptors from fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2017, a quantity 66
weapons below last year's projection.
The United States appears set to construct 42 THAAD interceptors in the current budget cycle,
records indicate. McGrath roughly two months ago said the nation would probably build more than 48
of the systems in fiscal 2012.
The transportable THAAD system is intended to eliminate short- and intermediate-range ballistic
missiles both within and outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Lockheed Martin late last year said it had received a deal worth nearly $2 billion to construct THAAD
components for the United States and United Arab Emirates (see GSN, Jan. 3). The defense
contractor indicated the deal might increase the effort's longer-term viability.
"Additional [international sales] could positively impact cost reduction as well," Joyce stated two
weeks ago.
"There is obviously additional interest in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf area that we continue
to pursue," he said, declining to identify particular governments. "I'd say there is also interest in the
Asia-Pacific region with some countries there that we continue to pursue, but probably the most near
term would be another Middle East country."
"We've hit our marks delivering the 24th missile for the first [U.S. Army] battery in December," he
added (Jen Judson, Inside Defense, March 9).
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N3
EXCLUSIVE-US dangles secret data for Russia missile shield OK
(Reuters, 14 Mar 12) … Jim Wolf
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/exclusive-us-dangles-secret-data-for-russia-missile-shield-ok
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is leaving open the possibility of giving Moscow certain
secret data on U.S. interceptor missiles due to help protect Europe from any Iranian missile strike.
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A deal is being sought by Washington that could include classified data exchange because it is in the
U.S. interest to enlist Russia and its radar stations in the missile-defense effort, a Pentagon
spokeswoman said Tuesday in written replies to Reuters.
No decision has been made yet on whether the United States would offer data about the interceptors'
"velocity at burnout," or VBO, said Air Force Lieutenant Colonel April Cunningham, the
spokeswoman, but it is not being ruled out.
VBO is at the heart of what Russia wants as the price for its cooperation, said Riki Ellison, head of the
private Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, who has close ties to missile defense and military
officials.
VBO tells how fast an interceptor is going when its rocket-booster motor fuel is spent and the motor
burns out.
With VBO and certain other technical data, Moscow could more readily develop countermeasures
and strategies to defeat the system and transfer the information to others, Ellison said.
Ellen Tauscher, the administration's special envoy for strategic stability and missile defense, held
talks in Moscow Tuesday with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, including on missile
defense, a State Department spokesman said.
The Defense Department, in its response to Reuters, ruled out giving Russia information on either
"telemetry" or U.S. "hit-to-kill" technology.
Telemetry involves the automatic transmission and measurement of data from remote sources to
monitor a missile flight. Hit-to-kill is the way in which modern U.S. interceptors, such as Raytheon
Co's Standard Missile-3, destroy targets by slamming into them.
The department emphasized the Obama administration was following in the footsteps of the George
W. Bush administration in seeking missile defense cooperation with Moscow, a process formally
begun in 2004.
In keeping open the possibility of sharing VBO information with Moscow, Obama is at odds with
Republicans in Congress who have said they will seek to legislate a prohibition on such data-sharing.
Republican Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House of Representatives' Armed Services
subcommittee on strategic forces, faulted the administration for what he described as "caving" to
Russian concerns at the expense of U.S. interests.
"That is why it is important Congress insist on protecting our classified missile defense information,
and our right to deploy missile defenses without concern for Russia's posturing," he said in a
statement Tuesday to Reuters.
The sharing of such data might help salve Russian concerns about the layered shield being built in
Europe by the United States and its NATO allies, chiefly to fend off the perceived threat from Iranian
missiles.
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Moscow fears the bulwark could grow strong enough over time to undermine its nuclear deterrent
force. It has threatened to deploy missiles to overcome the shield and potentially target missile
defense installations such as those planned in NATO members Poland and Romania.
The Defense Department, in its reply to Reuters, said the sharing of classified U.S. data is subject to
an interagency group known as the National Disclosure Policy Committee, which evaluates requests
for dealing with other governments.
Bradley Roberts, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told Turner's committee last week the
United States had been making "no progress" toward persuading Russia to drop its opposition to the
shield despite its willingness to consider sharing certain classified data.
RETURN
PARTNER WITH JOINT AND COALITION TEAM TO WIN TODAY’S FIGHT
P1
Manas Closing Could Hasten Afghan Exit
(Military.com, 13 Mar 12) … Michael Hoffman
http://www.military.com/news/article/manas-closing-could-hasten-afghan-exit.html
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's visit to Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday could play an even bigger role
than last weekend's civilian killings in Afghanistan in determining whether the U.S. withdraws its
troops earlier than planned.
President Obama called the deaths of 16 Afghans, allegedly at the hand of an American soldier,
"tragic and shocking," but he didn't say it would speed up the pullout. Panetta also said the U.S.
remained committed to the scheduled pullout -- however, he didn't eliminate the option of moving
more troops out faster.
What could force the Pentagon's hand is lost access to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan when the U.S.
lease runs out in July 2014. The base serves as a major hub for the supplies and troops flown in and
out of Afghanistan.
Since Pakistan closed its border to supply convoys last November, the U.S. military has had to
depend even more heavily on air transport to support the war effort in Afghanistan. The cost to ship in
supplies such as food and equipment has increased as much as fivefold since the border closing.
Even if the planes carrying troops or supplies don't land at Manas, the refueling tankers assigned to
the Kyrgyzstan base support flights to Afghanistan. Last year airmen at Manas oversaw 4,786
refueling flights.
More than 1,500 troops and contractors maintain operations out of Manas with a fleet of KC-135
refueling tankers. The unit oversees thousands of tons of cargo flying into Afghanistan each month.
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The U.S. pays Kyrgyzstan $60 million per year to use the base. The former Soviet bloc nation
threatened to end U.S. use of the base in 2009 before the American officials agreed to increase the
annual fee from $17 million to $60 million.
Kyrgyzstan leaders said they have no intention to extend the U.S. lease past July 2014. Defense
analysts say this could be another power play to increase the annual fee, or it could be a result of
pressure from nearby Russia.
Panetta's visit to Kyrgyzstan – his first – in the midst of the spiraling political situation in Afghanistan
shows DoD's dedication to the air base. He discussed extending the lease with Busurmankul
Tabaldiev, the secretary of Kyrgyzstan's Defense Council.
"I want to thank them and ensure that relationship can continue into the future as well," Panetta told
reporters aboard his plane.
Without access to Manas, U.S. officials might have to speed up their exit from Afghanistan by six
months, defense analysts told Military.com. It took a year for the U.S. to move its massive military
infrastructure out of Iraq.
In Iraq, the U.S. had access to ports and Kuwait. U.S. soldiers got so used to driving massive supply
convoys into Kuwait they started to call it the "catcher's mitt."
Afghanistan shares a border with Iran and Pakistan. The U.S. Army is testing how much of its
infrastructure it can drive along the Northern Distribution Network, that winds through the countries
north of Afghanistan, said Maj. Gen. Kevin Leonard, the head of Military Surface Deployment and
Distribution Command.
The Army and Air Force are still studying exactly how long it will take to move U.S. infrastructure out
of Afghanistan. Officials expect it to take considerably longer than Iraq.
Losing access to Manas for the last six months of the pullout would severely add to the degree of
difficulty to leaving Afghanistan, analysts said.
Even though Tabaldiev told reporters before the meeting the military mission will end at Manas, a
U.S. defense official said the Pentagon hopes there is some "wiggle room" with that commitment.
"We think that there may be some longer-term wiggle room there, so we're not ruling anything out,"
the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters. "It's important that we underscore to
them and to this new president that it is in fact very important to us."
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P2
Blog: New U.S. strategy needed in Afghanistan
(Center for Strategic and International Studies, 13 Mar 12) … Anthony H. Cordesman
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/13/new-u-s-strategy-needed-in-afghanistan/
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The United States needs to look beyond the latest incident and focus on the broader patterns in U.S.
and Afghan relations. It needs to realize that its current strategy is becoming a façade that can only
make things worse, and it needs to make a hard choice: Admit that the United States is headed
toward an exit strategy or recast current U.S. efforts in cooperation with our allies so that we provide
a real transition strategy based on credible goals, credible resources, and doing things the Afghan
way.
We need to face the fact that the tragic killing of Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier only highlights the
growing problem the United States faces in creating any kind of strategy for Afghanistan that can
survive engagement with reality.
Seeing from an Afghan Perspective
We need to begin by understanding the Afghan perspective and the level of the problems we now
face. Many educated and urbanized Afghans are grateful and realize the scale of their dependence
on the United States. Many other Afghans, however, have little or no understanding of the outside
world and are not even aware of 9/11. They see the United States in terms of their own very different
cultural and religious values, and they are heavily influenced by insurgent propaganda and
conservative clerics and tribal leaders.
The Afghan perspective has little broad sympathy for the Taliban and insurgents, but its view of the
United States and our allies is shaped by night raids that kill civilians, air strikes that kill civilians,
constant checkpoints and security barriers, detentions, and lower-level clashes and incidents
involving International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, contract security forces, and Afghan
civilians and forces that are never reported.
It is shaped by failed aid projects and resentment of corruption, which Afghans feel is bred by
massive foreign spending and uncontrolled contracts. It is shaped by previous high-profile incidents—
the “kill team” platoon that attacked Afghans for sport, the urinating on a Taliban corpse, and the
burning of Qur’ans.
More broadly, it shaped at the top of the Afghan government and Afghan society by U.S. deadlines
that keep accelerating, the growing feeling that U.S. and allied action is a prelude to largely
abandoning Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and steadily sharper cuts in troop levels, aid, and
spending. It is shaped by constant criticism of the Afghan record on corruption, narcotics, power
brokers, human rights, effective governance, creation of a functioning justice system, and insistence
of sovereignty.
Many Afghans in the government fear the United States is using peace talks to cover an exist
strategy at their expense - a strategy that many in the north feel will give the Taliban and insurgents
control over much of the country. It is also personal: there has been one incident after another where
senior and lower-level U.S. officials clash with President Hamid Karzai and lower-ranking Afghan
officials over everything from a future strategic framework agreement to a particular corrupt governor
or human rights case.
The Afghan Problem from Our Perspective
At the same time, we need to be grimly realistic about the Afghan side, as well, and about the
prospect we can somehow suddenly transform it. There are far too many legitimate reasons to
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criticize Karzai, corrupt officials from ministers and provincial governors on down, and the Afghan
power brokers that are today’s replacement for warlords.
Ten years on, the Afghan legislature is a hollow shell, and no one can guarantee the integrity of the
presidential election due in 2014. Nepotism and favoritism are the rule, not the exception. So is
favoritism by family, ethnicity, and sect, and the latent division of Afghans into the non-Pashtun north
and different Pashtun belts in the south and east. Aid efforts may be producing more civil servants
and a much greater Afghan capacity to spend, but we have little to show in terms of actual capacity to
govern honestly and effectively and expand governance and the justice system in the field and the
areas where insurgents are being pushed out at anything like the necessary rate.
There are elements in the Afghan government that are capable of managing and executing the kind
of programs called for in current development plans. However, this capacity is far from the minimum
requirement needed to take over current programs as most aid teams leave the field and major cuts
take place in the military and spending. The current system and spending levels are critically
dependent on a vast flood of money from military and aid spending, which the World Bank points out
directly funds most Afghan government spending and development and which is so large that it
approaches Afghanistan’s domestic GDP.
The failure to manage U.S. and allied military spending and aid funds has enriched and corrupted a
small elite—and corrupted many more at lower levels. A decade of counternarcotics efforts has
constantly shifted the areas of production but done nothing to eliminate a domestic economy based
far more on narcotrafficking than a “new Silk Road,” and it has created a nation-wide structure of what
have come to be called “criminal networks.”
The Afghan National Security Forces are making progress, but this progress is rushing toward goals
that are far too fast, far too large, and based on spending that has to be financed from the outside at
levels that cannot be sustained. There are too few properly trained U.S. and allied advisers and
partners and far too high a rate of attrition and turnover in Afghan forces. The Afghan Army is making
progress, but it would need at least two more years after 2014 to really be able to take over
responsibility for security, and the Afghan Air Force is not supposed to be ready before 2016.
The police still suffer from massive corruption, and it is unclear than even the best elements of the
local police can hold together once foreign advisers leave. There is no effective governance and
justice system (sometimes, there is no system at all) in far too many high-risk and conflict areas, and
no police force can be effective on its own. Moreover, it is all too clear from past insurgencies that
military gains are almost meaningless if the government cannot come in immediately and hold and
build.
Dealing with Reality
There are three options or strategies we can use to deal with the situation. The first is a strategy of
“exit by denial.” We can go on trying to preserve as much of the past strategy as possible. We can
continue setting impossible goals for transforming the Afghans and for continuing levels of U.S. and
allied funding and support.
We can ignore all of the pressures building up on both sides as mistrust continues to rise, pledges are
made and not kept, and outside forces and spending drops faster than planned. We can focus on
empty policy statements, concepts, and conferences. We can continue to report nothing but good
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news or spin reality as best our public affairs officers can manage. We can waste much of the limited
time left before 2014, play out a partisan debate in the United States through November 2012, and
then join our allies in blundering out as best we can.
The second strategy is an “honest exit” strategy. We do not put political cosmetics and face-saving
gestures first. We accept the fact that we will not sustain the level of effort needed through 2014,
much less beyond. We accept what this means for peace negotiations. We don’t promise the Afghans
more money and forces than they will really get.
We deal with the human consequences of these actions and ensure that those Afghans who worked
with us are safe. We provide at least enough money and support so that, if there is a chance that the
Afghan government and forces can survive with a far lower level of resources, they have at least that
much support. We try to work with Pakistan, China, Russia, the Central Asian states, and even Iran to
do as much as possible to limit the role of the Taliban and other insurgents, protect the non-Pashtun
areas in the north and the large numbers of urban and other northern Pashtuns, and give Kabul a
meaningful role. These efforts may well fail, but they at least offer the Afghans some chance.
The third strategy is the most challenging. It is to create a “real transition” plan with real resources
through a period that is likely to last at least through 2020. This does not mean going on with the
current strategy. It means a comprehensive and honest reassessment of what can be done to enable
the Afghans to do things their way and largely on their own as soon as possible.
It means dealing with Afghan anger and perceptions by ending much of the criticism and calls for
reform. It means accepting the fact that continued aid will have to go to the same power structure that
now exists and facing the reality that most current abuses of government, policing, human rights, and
the justice system will only change when Afghans are ready to change them.
It means a zero-based examination of what kind of Afghan security forces can really be created with
the money and time available, as well as what level of U.S. and allied advisory and partnering
presence is both needed and feasible given the security problems and tensions on both sides and
real world future resource constraints. It means accepting a narco-economy, power brokers, and
Afghan management of development and operating aid funds, where the most that can be done from
the outside is penalize gross waste and corruption.
Unfortunately, there is no real way to know how feasible such a strategy really is. It requires a
transition plan we have failed to develop, a level of interagency and international cooperation and
realism that does not yet exist, and a far more honest dialogue with the Afghans than has taken place
to date. It is the most responsible strategy of the three, in theory, and the one most likely to serve our
longer-term strategic interests, but it is far from clear that we can go from “exit by denial” to a “real
transition” plan in practice.
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P3
Turkey, US air forces conduct military exercise in Konya
(Today’s Zaman 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-274226-turkey-us-air-forces-conduct-military-exercise-in-konya.html
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Turkey and the United States began a joint military exercise, Anatolian Falcon 2012, in the Central
Anatolian city of Konya last week as tensions escalate in Iran and Syria.
The combat exercise began March 5 and will continue until March 15, according to a statement
released by the Press Operations Center of the US Department of Defense. The point of the 11-day
air combat exercise is to increase the interoperability of the two states' air forces.
“Training with the Turkish air force now ensures smooth communication and tactical effectiveness if
we should ever have to go to war together,” said US Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Murray, commander of
the 480th Fighter Squadron. “Our air forces pride themselves on adaptability and flexibility, and this
exercise showcases those capabilities by allowing us to work with our international partner in fastpaced training scenarios.”
Turkey's joint military games with the US mostly were conducted in partnership with Israel and
sometimes with other allies. Turkey cancelled several military drills with Israel both in Konya and in
the eastern Mediterranean last year amid escalating tensions with the Jewish state, also prompting a
US pullout from these war games.
The Press Operations Center statement explained that the most critical tactics being focused on
during the military exercise are those used against surface-based air defense systems, as US pilots
share their Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) techniques with Turkish pilots. SEAD, also
known as "Wild Weasel" and "Iron Hand" operations, are military actions to suppress surface-based
air defenses and anti-aircraft artillery.
Fifteen jets and 250 personnel attached to the US's 480th Fighter Squadron, currently stationed at a
US air force base in Germany, came to Turkey for the joint exercises with the Turkish Air Forces
(THK).
Military air exercises between Turkey and the US were intensely disputed in 2010. The US refused to
participate in October 2010 as Turkey had cancelled an international segment of the Anatolian Eagle
military training by excluding Israel from the exercise.
Turkey said it cancelled the military exercises because of a botched flotilla raid in which eight Turkish
citizens and a US citizen of Turkish origin were killed on board the Mavi Marmara by Israeli special
forces while attempting to deliver a shipment of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
RETURN
P4
Blog: McCain slams White House stance on Afghanistan policy
(The Hill, 13 Mar 12) … Carlo Munoz
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/operations/215765-mccain-slams-white-house-plan-on-afghanistan
The White House's consideration of an early pull out from Afghanistan will only embolden antiAmerican sentiment in the country and opens the door to terror groups in the region, a top Senate
Republican said on Tuesday.
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The Obama administration's deliberations on Afghanistan "discourages our friends and encourages
our enemies," Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) told reporters. The administration "continues to talk
withdrawal" even as Taliban forces look to leverage recent atrocities by American troops to their
advantage.
McCain's comments come a day after President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
dismissed any notion that American troop withdrawals would be accelerated, due to the furor caused
by Sunday's alleged shootings of Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier. The administration on Monday
reaffirmed its commitment to begin troop redeployments in 2014 , saying it did not plan to speed up
the process.
However, a recent report in the New York Times states that the White House is considering the idea
of pulling 20,000 American troops from the country by 2013. One plan, backed by National Security
Adviser Thomas Donilon, would be to announce that at least 10,000 more troops would come home
by the end of December, and then 10,000 to 20,000 more by June 2013, according to the Times.
That stance, according to McCain, sends "a message to the region that we are leaving" at a time
when the situation in Afghanistan is at its most precarious.
Sunday's incident was only the latest in which U.S. and coalition troops have drawn the wrath of the
Afghan people.
Last month, coalition forces set off a wave of violence in the country after American troops
accidentally burned Qurans at an Air Force base. Two high-ranking U.S. officers were killed inside the
Afghan Interior Ministry during the weeklong protest. Last April, a colonel with the Afghan air force
shot several U.S. Air Force officers at Bagram Air Base in Kandahar.
McCain angrily dismissed arguments that U.S forces should adopt a smaller presence in Afghanistan,
focused on counterterrorism operations, as a way to quell rising opposition to the American mission in
the country.
"That didn't work in Iraq, and it won't work in Afghanistan," McCain said, adding the troop surge in
Afghanistan could still turn the country around, "once the president stops talking about withdrawal."
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P5
Panetta seeks to boost support for Kyrgyzstan base
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Lolita C. Baldor
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/13/panetta-seeks-boost-support-kyrgyzstan-base/
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Kyrgyzstan’s leaders to
stress that America needs the continued use of the U.S. air base there beyond the end of its contract
in 2014, largely as a transit center to bring troops home from Afghanistan.
A senior U.S. official traveling with Mr. Panetta to Kyrgyzstan said the U.S. believes there may be
some “wiggle room” for additional negotiations for a longer-term contract.
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The official said the defense chief on Tuesday will underscore the importance of the transit center for
both countries, for regional security as well as the possible transition to a lucrative commercial hub in
the future. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the
discussions.
On Tuesday evening, Mr. Panetta met with Taalaybek Omuraliev, Kyrgyzstan’s defense minister, and
Busurmankul Tabaldiev, the secretary of the Defense Council. During the early part of the meeting,
Mr. Tabaldiev, a civilian, told Mr. Panetta that while Kyrgyzstan “has shown readiness” to support the
U.S. and transit center after 2014, he said that after 2014 “there should be no military mission.” He
said the airport was a civilian, commercial enterprise. His comments echo those of the new president.
Mr. Panetta simply offered his thanks for the continued support of the transit center.
Kyrgyzstan President Almaz Atambayev has insisted that the lease will expire in June 2014, and U.S.
officials say negotiations on extending the pact have not begun. Mr. Atambayev has said the
existence of the base leaves the former Soviet nation in Central Asia vulnerable to retaliatory strikes
over U.S. military action in the region.
The base has been the subject of much contentious dispute between the two countries. But in 2009
the U.S. was able to reach an agreement with the Kyrgyz government for use of the base in return for
$60 million a year.
Right now, all the U.S. troops moving in and out of Afghanistan travel through what’s called the
Manas Transit Center. Large numbers of troops are set to come home in 2014 as the war winds
down.
In addition, Manas handles a substantial amount of the air-to-air refueling missions for jet fighters
during Afghanistan war operations.
The transit of personnel and supplies in and out of Afghanistan has become problematic for the U.S.,
leaving Kyrgyzstan as one of the few remaining key routes.
In addition to the vital air transport role, Kyrgyzstan is one of just a few ground routes that the U.S.
can use to ferry supplies into Afghanistan.
Pakistan shut down its ground supply routes after U.S. airstrikes in November killed a number of
Pakistani troops. Since then, the U.S. has had to increase its use of ground routes through the central
Asian countries. The high-speed rail route through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan handles the
bulk of the ground supplies, but some trucks go through more mountainous routes in Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan.
Before the 2009 agreement, the U.S. was paying a little more than $17 million a year for the use of
Manas.
According to Pentagon statistics, there were about 4,800 refueling flights out of Manas for the
Afghanistan war in 2011, with at least 24,000 aircraft receiving fuel totaling roughly 300 million
pounds. At least 580,000 passengers came through the base last year, largely going in and out of
Afghanistan.
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RETURN
DEVELOP AND CARE FOR AIRMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES
D1
Air Force: 12 months and counting since last on-duty ground fatality
(Warner Robins Patriot, 13 Mar 12) … Gene Rector
http://warnerrobinspatriot.com/bookmark/17853318-Air-Force-12-months-and-counting-since-last-on-duty-ground-fatality
For the first time in its history, the Air Force has gone for more than 12 months without a fatal on-duty
ground accident.
On-duty ground safety, according to an Air Force press release covering the accomplishment,
includes industrial, occupational, sports and recreation and traffic-related activities while on the job.
The last fatal accident was reported on Feb. 17, 2011.
Maj. Gen. Greg Feest, Air Force chief of safety, attributes the accomplishment to a team effort.
“This wonderful feat is due to the unrelenting commitment by commanders, supervisors, safety
professionals and airmen at all levels,” Feest said. “I applaud the work done by all in keeping our
airmen safe.”
Bill Parsons, Air Force chief of safety, agreed with Feest.
“The Air Force’s investment in creating safe workplaces and procedures, managing risk and
eliminating hazards clearly demonstrates that it’s possible, even under tough situation, to protect our
airmen from hard,” Parsons is quoted in the Air Force release.
“Airmen work more confidently and efficiently, and tragic loss to co-workers, friends and family is
avoided, when organizations emphasize safety,” Parsons added.
RETURN
D2
Air Force to expand drug testing for prescription drug abuse
(Federal News Radio, 13 Mar 12) … Jolie Lee
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=395&sid=2783979
The Air Force is expanding drug testing to include prescription medications.
The Defense Department Health Behaviors Survey found self-reported misuse of pain medication for
non-medical purposes by all servicemembers increased from 2 percent in 2002 to 7 percent in 2005
to 17 percent in 2008, according to an Air Force release.
"We want to lean forward and be very proactive in educating our people about the dangers of
prescription drug misuse, as well as do what we can to try to deter misuse of prescription
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medications," said Lt. Col. Mark Oordt, chief of alcohol and drug abuse prevention for the Air Force, in
an interview with The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Jared Serbu.
The expanded testing will begin May 1. The Air Force is focused in particular on opiates and
sedatives, drugs that are highly addictive and therefore most prone to misuse, Oordt said.
The rise in prescription drug abuse is not particular to the Air Force. The Centers for Disease Control
reports that prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States.
Oordt said the Air Force's expanded testing will not change the procedure for testing collection. The
only changes will occur in the laboratories.
If an airman tests positive for a prescription drug, the sample is handed to a medical review officer,
who is a physician, to check the airman's medical record and ensure that the drug is a legitimate
prescription, Oordt said.
"If the prescription is identified, the test is not reported as positive," Oordt said.
The Air Force is also testing for spice, a synthetic substance that has similar effects as marijuana.
The service has recognized this substance as a problem among airman for "the past couple of years
or so," Oordt said. The dangers of spice are it is "fairly readily available" and, because it is manmade, the effects can vary widely.
Servicemembers with a substance abuse problem can get treatment and still be protected from
discipline as part of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) Program.
However, "once an airman has been ordered to provide a urine sample as part of the drug testing
program, any disclosure is not considered to be voluntary," according to the Air Force release.
RETURN
D3
Pilot program for autism treatment extended
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Patricia Kime
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/03/military-tricare-autism-treatment-pilot-program-extended-031312w/
The Pentagon announced Tuesday it is extending a pilot program that provides autism treatment to
the children of service members.
Tricare Management Activity will extend the Enhanced Access to Autism Services demonstration
program through March 2014, according to a news release.
The initiative allows beneficiaries — qualifying offspring of active-duty personnel — to receive 10
hours a week of applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, a treatment that helps autistic youngsters learn
new skills and improve communications.
The program continuation is good news for the families of the estimated 20,000 autistic military
children.
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But advocates and some members of Congress believe Tricare needs to do more to serve this
population.
In a congressional hearing March 8, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., said the program ideally should
provide at least 25 to 40 hours a week of treatment, in accordance with standard accepted practices.
But it definitely should be extended to include children of military retirees and medically retired
personnel eligible for Tricare, he added.
“Imagine being wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and forced to medically retire and your child loses his
or her autism therapy. We have an obligation to provide the health care needs of our military
families,” Hinchey said.
Reps. Walter Jones, R-N.C., and John Larson, D-Conn., have introduced the Caring for Military Kids
with Autism Act that would require the Pentagon to offer the coverage to children of those
beneficiaries.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson told the House
Appropriations defense panel March 8 that the law would need to be changed for the Pentagon to
widen its coverage.
He said ABA is considered an educational intervention rather than a medical therapy and cannot be
offered under Tricare unless it’s provided within the Extended Care Health Option program, offered to
active-duty personnel for beneficiaries with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities, physical
disabilities or other conditions that cause them to be homebound.
“We currently provide about $36,000 a year in benefits to active-duty service members for
dependents who have this condition,” Woodson said. “One of the things we need to do in trying to
craft the benefits for servicemen and women with children afflicted is to understand what needs to be
addressed within the educational lane versus the health care lane,” Woodson said.
He added that his office needed to become more involved with the “education folks” at the Pentagon
to explore treatment options.
RETURN
MODERNIZE OUR AIR, SPACE AND CYBERSPACE INVENTORIES, ORGS AND TRAINING
M1
Ohio Guard accuses AF of fudging C-27J figures
(DoD Buzz, 13 Mar 12) … Michael Hoffman
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2012/03/13/ohio-guard-accuses-af-of-fudging-c-27j-figures/
Air National Guardsmen refuse to go quietly into the night and accept the cuts laid out in the Air
Force’s 2013 budget request.
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For the most part it’s not the senior leaders who have inflicted the most damage to the Air Force
leadership’s case. An Air Guard captain and major have put together separate briefings refuting the
analysis used on Capitol Hill by senior leaders to justify the cuts.
First, an F-16 pilot wrote up what’s called the “Buzz Brief” that has circulated the Pentagon and
Congress. Maj. Joe “Buzz” Walter explained how it didn’t make sense to cut Guard fighter squadrons
to save money if those Guard units are cheaper to operate than active duty squadrons.
Now, it’s Ohio Air National Guard Capt. Dave Lohrer’s turn to take on his service. He has accused the
Air Force of intentionally inflating the life-cycle costs of a C-27J to justify cutting the program as first
reported by Defense News.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told Congress that he chose to cancel the C-27J
because it was too expensive. He cited the aircraft’s 25-year life cycle costs at $308 million per
aircraft.
Schwartz said the C-130 could fulfill most, if not all, of the C-27 mission sets at a lower cost. The Air
Force four-star then cited the C-130J’s 25-year life cycle costs at $213 million per aircraft and the C130 H at $185 million per aircraft.
The decision to cut the C-27J angered the Air Guard because their units were in line to fly most of the
fleet. The Ohio Air Guard flew the first few built.
Lohrer argues that the service added 53 more airmen than the C-27J needs to its cost analysis to
push the 25-year life-cycle price up an additional $112 million, according to the Defense News report.
An Air Force officer who has seen the report called it well researched saying the service mistakenly
applied the same standards to the C-27J as they did to the C-130 even though they are different
aircraft.
Lohrer’s report has gained attention from Capitol Hill where Congressmen have attacked the Air
Force’s cuts to the Guard. Congress has demanded the service provide them the studies and
analysis the service used to justify each cut so their staffs could verify the service’s work themselves.
Expect to hear plenty of questions come from Congress on the C-27J when Schwartz and Air Force
Secretary Michael Donley return to the Hill on Wednesday to defend its budget before the Senate
Defense Appropriations committee.
RETURN
M2
Enthusiasts Call For More, Faster US Bombers
(Aviation Week, 13 Mar 12) … Bill Sweetman
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/dti/2012/03/01/DT_03_01_2012_p27427570.xml&headline=Enthusiasts%20Call%20For%20More,%20Faster%20US%20Bombers
The U.S. Air Force talked until recently of just a 100-aircraft fleet of new bombers, but advocates are
calling for more. Dave Deptula, the retired three-star general who headed reconnaissance programs
for the armed service during recent wars, says that it’s easy to get to a 200-aircraft bomber fleet—
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with one 12-aircraft squadron for each of 10 air expeditionary forces, and other aircraft to support
strategic deterrence and cover attrition and depot maintenance.
Larger numbers would replace the entire existing B-1, B-2 and B-52 bomber fleet—which has a long
life ahead of it but costs a lot to operate—and make for a better-structured production and block
improvement program.
Airpower expert Rebecca Grant, launching a new report on the need for a bomber in February,
argued that the USAF bomber should have a supersonic dash capability. While valuable—particularly
in evading threats in the event of detection—that would call for new variable-cycle engines, and so far
there has been no supersonic aircraft without vertical tails, which are taboo in terms of all-aspect
stealth.
The next few years will see a debate between enthusiasts and those calling for a “good enough”
bomber program— the “80% solution” notion made famous by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates
during his efforts to rein in Pentagon acquisition issues—and particularly in view of the problems that
have afflicted other major defense projects (see p. 30).
The probability that the Air Force might get a new bomber took a definite uptick with the mid-2011
departure of Gates and the then-vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. James
Cartwright. Gates had terminated the original Next-Generation Bomber program in 2009, and
Cartwright pushed the aircraft carrier-based unmanned combat vehicle as an alternative to a bomber.
However, the defense guidance issued by the Obama administration in early January endorsed the
Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) as key to defeating anti-access/area denial (A2AD) threats, and
in a document with a presidential signature —which makes the program fireproof as long as Barack
Obama is president.
In itself, this action confirms that the Pentagon is convinced that stealth technology will defeat the
toughest threats, well into this century. That is likely due to progress with an extremely stealthy UAV
developed by Northrop Grumman under a classified program that started in 2008.
The new UAV and LRS-B will be stealthy in themselves, but will also form part of an LRS family of
systems, including stand-in electronic attack delivered from UAVs. The key to survival will be to locate
threat radars—which can be done from well outside detection range—and to jam them, possibly with
expendable systems or from outside targeting range. Even if radar can be developed to detect an
extreme-stealth platform, it will not take much energy to prevent it from doing so.
The UAVs provide the ability to search large areas, without using un-stealthy systems and
undesirable levels of radar power. The manned aircraft provides human supervision and connectivity,
operating within line-of-sight of the UAVs. The crew’s presence makes loss of communications less
critical than it might be with an all-unmanned force.
Another reason for the bomber’s resurgence is concern about the ability and motivation of rivals and
adversaries to pursue A2AD strategies, with the aim of preventing U.S. forces from intervening in
their regions. China’s alleged “carrier-killer” DF-21 anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) has become the
symbol of these threats. The ASBM cover a large expanse of ocean from launch points inside the
“red bubble” of denied airspace that is covered by a high-end surface-to-air missile system.
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Mobility protects the ASBM launcher and the surface-to-air system from long-range missile attack.
Because they pose a direct threat to friendly forces, it is important to be able to carry out an
immediate strike assessment and confirm their destruction. Both attributes make them LRS-B targets.
A defensive directed-energy weapon (DEW) is another option for the new bomber. Nobody today is in
a position to guarantee delivery of a practical airborne microwave or laser DEW. However, the
quadrangle of DEW technology —range, lethality, power and cooling requirements, and weight—
suggests that a bomber-defense system, capable of destroying an incoming missile or disrupting its
guidance, would be the first practical airborne DEW.
The 2013 budget request asked that the LRS program receive $292 million. The total through 2017 is
$6.3 billion. Pentagon comptroller Robert Hale suggests a per-unit cost target of $550 million per
aircraft. “We see it as an important goal,” Hale said. “I’d like to treat it as absolutely [hard and] fast.”
RETURN
RECAPTURE ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
A1
IN FOCUS: T-38 replacement faces six-year schedule gap
(Flight International, 13 Mar 12) … Stephen Trimble
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/in-focus-t-38-replacement-faces-six-year-schedule-gap-369094/
With the US military facing lean times, the US Air Force's Air Education and Training Command
(AETC) is not immune from procurement pressure, despite its importance in providing the combat
pilots of the future.
AETC chief Gen Edward Rice imposed a new "culture of cost consciousness" in a 12 January
speech, calling on his employees to individually pose such mindful questions as whether they turned
off the lights when they left the office, or if they really need to keep a dozen government-funded pens
and pencils inside their desks.
Not surprisingly, more expensive bills, such as replacing the command's fleet of 508 ageing Northrop
T-38 Talon jet trainers, are also receiving sharper scrutiny by Rice and his superiors in the air force
chief of staff's office.
Rice's predecessor, Gen Stephen Lorenz, had unveiled a plan three years ago to award a contract for
at least 350 new jets in late 2014. Under his plan, the first training unit for future fighter and bomber
pilots to be equipped with the new aircraft would field the type in 2017.
The prospect of selling hundreds of aircraft in an otherwise bleak sales environment attracted at least
four bidders, including a T-100 variant of the Alenia Aermacchi M-346, the BAE Systems T129 Hawk,
Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 and perhaps a new, purpose-built aircraft
designed by Boeing.
However, the USAF leadership failed to make a strong commitment to invest in the programme. The
T-X advanced pilot trainer never made the list of the service's top three acquisition priorities, which
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have exclusively included a new bomber, the Lockheed F-35A Lightning II and the Boeing KC-46A
tanker.
In a February 2011 interview, Rice declined to specifically commit to keeping the in-service date in
fiscal year 2017 as scheduled.
Then, in November, the AETC announced air force and Department of Defense budgets planners
were, in fact, considering delaying the in-service date for T-X because of "budget constraints". No
details were provided.
Finally, in early February 2012, the AETC confirmed a three-year delay to the initial operational
capability (IOC) of the T-X fleet, stretching the schedule to begin replacing the T-38 from FY2017 to
FY2020. At the same time, the USAF reduced the total T-X budget from FY2013 to FY2016 to $82.9
million, a 70.1% cut.
The AETC also initially said contract award had slipped by one year, but was mistaken. Subsequent
budget documents have revealed there is no change in original contract award date, which is at the
end of September 2014.
The six-year period between contract award and the IOC date presents potential bidders with a
puzzling dilemma, as the same USAF budget documents that call for this gap also describe the T-38's
future replacement as a non-developmental, off-the-shelf aircraft. The air force is aware that three
advanced jet trainers are already in production.
The USAF has not explained why it still needs to award the development contract so far ahead of the
entry-into-service date, if there is so little development that needs to be done.
The bidders' confusion is perhaps illustrated by their varying public approaches to the nascent
competition.
So far, BAE has led the most pronounced sales campaign in the bidding process. As an ongoing
"road show" directly exposes the Hawk to the USAF pilot community, BAE has announced Northrop
Grumman and L-3 Link Simulation & Training as major partners in the bid.
Alenia, meanwhile, has called the T-X bid a strategic opportunity, which allows it to offer the M-346
rebranded as the T-100. In January, Alenia demonstrated how the T-100 ground-based training
system can be networked with software developed by CAE to the Hawker Beechcraft T-6 Texan II
primary trainer already in USAF service.
Both Lockheed and Boeing, meanwhile, have taken a less aggressive position in the competition.
Both companies have displayed images of their concepts at major USAF events, but have announced
no major partnerships or demonstrations specifically tied to the T-X campaign.
The companies may have plenty of time to wait for the USAF to clarify the long gap in the acquisition
schedule.
Meanwhile, the USAF has launched the Pacer Classic III structural retrofit programme for the T-38C.
It is targeted at preserving the airworthiness of 125 T-38Cs, which are at high risk of grounding during
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the next eight years. After the retrofits are complete, the T-38 fleet is expected to remain airworthy
until 2026.
RETURN
GLOBAL AIR, SPACE, and CYBERSPACE ENVIRONMENT
G1
Tories raise prospect of nixing F-35 deal
(CTV, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120313/fantino-fighter-jets-120313/20120313/?hub=MontrealHome
The federal government has not dismissed the prospect of backing out of the F-35 stealth fighter jet
program, associate defence minister Julian Fantino told a House of Commons committee Tuesday.
"We have not, as yet, discounted the possibility, of course, of backing out of any of the program,"
Fantino said.
He made the comment under questioning from members of both opposition parties.
Fantino said the government remains committed to buying the jets, although no contract has yet been
signed. However, he also told the all-party committee the government is still considering "if and when"
to sign the contract.
It's a significant change in tone as the Conservatives have been adamant that the purchase of the jets
is a priority for Canada's military.
In 2010, the Conservative government announced they intended to buy 65 F-35 jets to replace
Canada's aging CF-18 fighters. At the time, the government said the first jet could be ready by 2016
and the purchase of the jets would cost $9 billion.
However, Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 program has hit several setbacks. The U.S. and several other
nations have scaled back their orders.
The U.S. delayed the purchase of 179 F-35 jets to at least 2017 in order to save $15.1 billion. Italy
has also cut its order from 131 to 90 planes and Turkey has halved its order.
Fantino insisted his government would not leave the air force in the lurch when the CF-18 jets reach
their intended retirement date in 2020.
The Conservatives have been under increasing political pressure on the F-35 program as the
opposition paints the jets as an expensive purchase at the expense of other areas of government
spending, such as pensions.
However, outside of the committee, Fantino denied the Conservatives are backing down from their
commitment.
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"I'm being realistic," he said. "Until such time as the purchase is signed and ready to go, I think the
only appropriate answer for me is to be forthright. We are committed to the program. We intend to do
the best we can for our men and women and Canadian taxpayers with respect to replacing the CF18."
RETURN
G2
Taiwan to launch annual military drill amid China's growing threat
(Central News Agency, 13 Mar 12) … Elaine Hou
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201203130011
Taipei - Taiwan is gearing up for large-scale annual military drills involving its three services to
strengthen the country's defense capabilities amid a growing threat from China, the Defense Ministry
said Tuesday.
The annual Han Kuang series of exercises will be held in two stages, with live military drills scheduled
for April and computer-aided war games set for July, said Maj. Gen. Hao Yii-jy, assistant deputy chief
of the General Staff for Operations and Planning.
More than 200,000 military personnel from the Army, Air Force and Navy will participate in the fiveday exercises that begin April 16 to practice high-tech military tactics based on innovation and
asymmetrical forces.
"All existing military equipment" will be incorporated into the exercises, including the Hsiung Feng 2E
(HF-2E) cruise missile, Hao said at a regular news briefing.
Three parts of the exercises will be opened to the public, said ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Luo
Shou-he.
Starting July 16, the five-day computer-aided war games will test Taiwan's information and electronic
warfare capabilities, Hao said.
Aside from the Han Kuang exercises, the three forces will also hold other drills and war games later
this year.
RETURN
G3
U.S. Urged to Cancel Russia Arms Deal Over Syria
(Agence France-Presse, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120313/DEFREG02/303130008/U-S-Urged-Cancel-Russia-Arms-Deal-OverSyria?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
WASHINGTON - U.S. senators are urging the Pentagon to cancel a contract with a Russian company
approaching $1 billion to buy helicopters for Afghanistan, voicing outrage over Moscow’s arming of
Syria.
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“U.S. taxpayers should not be put in a position where they are indirectly subsidizing the mass murder
of Syrian civilians,” 17 senators across party lines wrote March 12 in a letter to Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta.
The United States plans to buy 21 Mi-17 helicopters for the Afghan military from Russia’s
Rosoboronexport by 2016. The contract totals $375 million by 2016, with an option to buy $550
million worth more, according to the letter.
Russia has refused to stop arms shipments to Syria and has offered diplomatic support to President
Bashar al-Assad as he puts down a year-long revolt that activists say has killed more than 8,500
people, mostly civilians.
The senators voiced alarm at reports that Rosoboronexport has shipped arms to Syria and that
Syrian forces used Russian weapons in opposition stronghold Homs.
Activists recently said the throats of 47 women and children were slit in a massacre in Homs,
following a month-long bombardment of the rebellious Baba Amr neighborhood where 700 people
were said to have died.
“We urge you to use all available leverage to press Russia and Russian entities to end their support
of the Assad regime, and that includes ending all (Department of Defense) business dealings with
Rosoboronexport,” the senators wrote to Panetta.
The letter’s signatories included Dick Durbin, the No. 2 senator from President Barack Obama’s
Democratic Party, and Jon Kyl, the No. 2 senator from the rival Republican Party.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland did not take a position on the senators’ letter but
said the contract would upgrade the Russian-made fleet that forms the backbone of Afghanistan’s
fledgling military.
“We obviously share the intent, which is to persuade Russia to end its arms supply to Syria,” Nuland
told reporters.
But she said if the contract were canceled, “it would seriously hurt our effort to get the Afghans
increasingly into the lead of their own security.”
Obama hopes that Afghan forces can take care of their own security to allow U.S. forces to leave by
the end of 2014, ending an increasingly unpopular war launched more than a decade ago after the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The task has become even more urgent amid outrage over a U.S. soldier’s massacre of 16 Afghan
villagers.
RETURN
ITEMS OF INTEREST
I1
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Scandals scar US home base of Afghan massacre suspect
(Reuters, 14 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C03%5C14%5Cstory_14-3-2012_pg7_33
TACOMA: Long before the American soldier suspected of slaying 16 Afghan villagers was identified
as an army sergeant from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the sprawling installation had earned a
reputation as the most troubled outpost in the US military.
The army and air force facility near Tacoma, Washington, drew scrutiny as the home base of several
soldiers convicted of wartime atrocities in 2010 and as a base scarred by a record number of suicides
last year. It has deployed troops repeatedly to Iraq, and late last year, sent soldiers to Afghanistan.
More recently, staff at the base hospital has come under investigation for the reversal of nearly 300
post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses during the past five years.
The independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes in December 2010 called Lewis-McChord,
home to 43,000 active-duty military personnel and some 14,000 civilian employees and contractors,
"the most troubled base in the military".
"This was not a rogue soldier," Jorge Gonzalez, a veteran and activist, said in a statement about
Sunday's killings. He called Lewis-McChord "a rogue base, with a severe leadership problem".
In the 2010 case, Lewis-McChord was the home base of five enlisted men from the former 5th Stryker
Brigade who were charged with premeditated murder in connection with three separate killings of
unarmed Afghan civilians. The victims of those slayings, which until Sunday's massacre ranked as
the most egregious atrocities by US military personnel in 10 years of war in Afghanistan, died in
random attacks staged to look like legitimate combat engagements. In the latest case of violence
against innocent Afghans, a US army staff sergeant walked off a base in the Kandahar province in
the middle of the night and began shooting civilians in two nearby villages. Sixteen villagers died and
five more were wounded. Lewis-McChord officials declined to discuss Sunday's killings, and refused
to even verify that one of its soldiers stands accused of the crime, as has been confirmed by
Pentagon and congressional sources. But Lieutenant Colonel Gary Dangerfield, a base spokesman,
disputed the notion that the installation was especially problem-plagued. "I don't think we're any
different from any other base in the army," he told reporters on Monday. "We're like any other base
that has endured the stress of combat in the last 10-plus years. So with that you may have issues and
concerns that will arise." He also declined to comment on a CBS News report that the wife and two
young children of the soldier implicated in Sunday's massacre have been moved onto the base for
their own protection.
The accused sergeant, now in custody, was part of the 2-3 Infantry, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat
Team from Lewis-McChord. He had arrived in Afghanistan in December 2011 after serving three
tours of duty in Iraq. A 2008 military study found a sharp rise in the incidence of mental health
problems reported among non-commissioned officers who were on their third or fourth deployment.
But others have pointed to what they call a breakdown in the chain of command, including civilian
attorneys for the defendants accused in the 2010 murders, who said higher-ranking officers bore
some responsibility for misconduct by their troops. No officers were ever charged in that case. Four of
the accused killers were convicted or pleaded guilty in court-martial proceedings of murder or
manslaughter charges and were sentenced to prison. One was found guilty of cutting fingers off
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corpses as war trophies. Photographs entered as evidence showed several soldiers posed casually
with the bloodied bodies of their victims.
Charges were dismissed against a fifth soldier last month, ending a 21-month investigation that grew
out of a probe of rampant hashish abuse within the Stryker unit and resulted in seven other GIs
charged with lesser offences.
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I2
F-22 Crash Widow Sues Lockheed Martin for Wrongful Death
(ABC News, 13 Mar 12) … Lee Ferran
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/22-crash-widow-sues-lockheed-wrongful-death/story?id=15909809
The widow of the F-22 Raptor pilot who died after a malfunction in his jet cut off his oxygen system
during a training mission in Alaska is suing the F-22 manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, and other major
defense contracting companies for wrongful death, negligence and fraud.
Anna Haney, wife of the late Capt. Jeff Haney, filed a complaint in an Illinois court Monday alleging
Lockheed knowingly sold the U.S. Air Force "dangerous and defective" planes that did not provide life
support systems "that would allow our pilots to survive even routine training missions, such as the
one that killed" Haney, according to a report by the Courthouse News Service.
In addition to Lockheed Martin, the suit names other major defense contractors such as Boeing,
Honeywell International and Pratt and Whitney -- all involved in various aspects of the F-22's systems
-- as defendants. The complaint also alleges that the U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin
millions of dollars on a new contract to investigate and solve ongoing problems with the planes' life
support systems.
The planes, which cost the government a total of $77.4 billion for over 180 planes, have yet to be
used in combat from Iraq and Afghanistan to Libya even though they were declared combat ready in
late 2005. Though the Air Force has said they were simply not an operational necessity, since at least
2008 the planes have also suffered from a mysterious, recurring problem apparently stemming from
the oxygen system in which several pilots have reported experiencing "hypoxia-like symptoms" in
mid-air.
A Lockheed Martin spokesperson told ABC News they "do not agree" with the allegations in the suit.
"The loss of the pilot and aircraft in November 2010 was a tragic event and we sympathize with the
family for their loss. We are aware that a complaint that makes a variety of claims associated with the
accident has been filed... We do not agree with those allegations and we will respond to them through
the appropriate legal process," the spokesperson said.
F-22 Raptor Cuts Off Pilot's Oxygen Before Crash
Capt. Jeff Haney was killed in November 2010 when, after completing a training mission over the
Alaskan wilderness, a malfunction in his $143 million plane caused his oxygen system to shut off
completely, causing him to experience "a sense similar to suffocation," according to the Air Force's
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investigative report into the incident. Haney's plane entered a sharp dive and, seconds later, crashed,
spreading debris more than a quarter mile.
After more than a year-long investigation into the crash, the Air Force concluded that he was at fault
for crashing the plane.
"The [investigation] board president found, by clear and convincing evidence, the cause of the mishap
was the [pilot's] failure to recognize and initiate a timely dive recovery due to channelized attention,
breakdown of visual scan, and unrecognized spatial disorientation," the December 2011 report said,
essentially saying Haney was too distracted by the lack of oxygen to fly the plane properly. The report
also noted other contributing factors in the crash but said it was still a mystery as to what caused the
original malfunction.
When testifying before Congress last week, however, Air Force chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz
denied the Air Force had blamed Haney. "We did not assign blame to the pilot," Schwartz said. "…
This was a complex contingency that he did his best to manage and, in the end, we lost aircraft
control."
In addition to Haney's crash, the Air Force has also been investigating the source of a mysterious,
recurring problem in which pilots in the F-22 cockpit have reported experiencing "hypoxia-like
symptoms" in mid-air. Last year the full fleet of the planes were grounded for five months while the Air
Force tried to find out what was wrong, but they were unable to identify any single problem and have
allowed the planes back in the air.
Still, the problem persists. In the six months since the planes have returned to the sky, there have
been at least nine more instances of pilots reporting the hypoxia-like symptoms, according to the Air
Force. Hypoxia occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen and can cause dizziness, confusion and
lack of judgment.
An Air Force spokesperson told ABC News the service was aware of the suit but declined to
comment at this time.
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I3
Jacoby: NORAD mission safe despite AF cuts
(Air Force Times, 13 Mar 12) … Brian Everstine
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/03/air-force-jacoby-norad-mission-safe-despite-cuts-031312/
The U.S. Northern Command chief sought to reassure lawmakers Tuesday that despite delays to the
beleaguered F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and additional Air Force cuts, the North American Aerospace
Defense Command will be able to protect American citizens with existing aircraft.
Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. said that while NORAD is “very eager” to have the next-generation
F-35s come online, the command is not concerned about its aircraft and can get the job done with
American F-16s and F-22s, along with Canadian aircraft.
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“We go through a rigorous process of inspections and tests and exercises that all of our alert sites
can meet the standard required for the air control mission,” Jacoby said at a Senate Armed Services
Committee hearing.
The questioning came following the Air Force’s announcement of proposed cuts to the Air National
Guard, including 21 F-16s from Des Moines, Iowa, in fiscal 2013. The Air Force’s proposal also slows
production of the F-35 and includes a total of 124 mobility aircraft over five years.
“I know the Air Force has had to make some tough calls, but I have great faith that they’ll provide
capable aircraft for us to use in the future,” Jacoby said.
The Air Force’s planned $2.8 billion service-life extension of F-16s will also help NORAD during the
F-35 delay, Jacoby said.
The service’s budget proposal includes ending 24-hour alert status at two alert sites: Duluth, Minn.,
and Langley, Va. The bases will not be closed, and the cuts will not affect the size of fighter
squadrons at the bases, Jacoby said.
If the situation calls for it, Jacoby said he has the authority to reverse the conditions and change the
alert status of the bases.
“I’m passionate about the air control alert,” Jacoby said. “There’s a high standard, a high expectation
of American public that we’re going to defend the country’s air space, and I will make sure my views
are known.”
Lawmakers, however, expressed dismay at the cuts.
“If you had more resources, though, in this area, you could put them to work, I assume?” asked Sen.
Mark Udall, D-Colo.
“Senator, I think any [combatant commander] that you had before you would know what to do with
additional resources,” Jacoby said.
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I4
Flares fired near Vance AFB planes, pilots report
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/state/flares-fired-near-vance-afb-planes-pilots-report
ENID, Okla. -- Authorities are investigating a report of someone shooting flares near Vance Air Force
Base planes.
Officials say officers were notified Monday afternoon by base personnel that someone may have
been firing flares at the planes.
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The base says the pilots of a T-6A Texan II reported seeing flares as they flew over an area east of
the base. A spokeswoman for the base says it's not known whether someone was firing the flares
intentionally at the plane.
Police say no one has been arrested, and the incident will be forwarded to the Air Force Office of
Special Investigations.
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I5
Military: gunman report led to communication collapses during Tucson Air Force base
lockdown
(AP, 13 Mar 12) … Unattributed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/military-gunman-report-led-to-communication-collapses-during-tucson-air-force-baselockdown/2012/03/13/gIQAtbOb9R_story.html
PHOENIX — An initial report about a suspicious gunman at an Air Force base on the edge of Tucson
led to a series of communication breakdowns, according to the military’s review of the ensuing
lockdown.
There were unconfirmed reports of gunfire at the base on Sept. 16 that prompted officials to limit
traffic onto Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, lock down the base’s schools and disrupt military flights.
In the end, no shots were fired and no weapons or gunman were found after a search of a building
where an armed person was reportedly spotted.
The Arizona Republic reports (http://bit.ly/yTFYHY ) a report released Monday said that an
unauthorized suspect carrying a gun on a military base is referred to as an “active shooter,” even if no
weapon has been fired.
So when a civilian at the Tucson facility mistakenly reported seeing a man with an assault rifle,
military responders began talking about an active shooter, and civilian emergency dispatchers off the
base spread word that a man with a gun had opened fire.
Eventually, Davis-Monthan officials declared the emergency over and announced there was no
gunman. They declined to explain the false alarm, but the report issued Monday offers a detailed
explanation along with recommendations to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
The report said teams from the FBI, Tucson Police Department and Border Patrol responded “on their
own authority,” without being formally requested. For example, the FBI sent a SWAT team, snipers,
bomb technicians, hostage negotiators and commanders. That led to further confusion about who
was in charge because Davis-Monthan officials had never worked with the FBI, the report said.
Hours after the witness claimed to have seen a gunman enter a building, an observation team
reported seeing a suspect on the structure’s second floor, the report said. As a result, security
officials believed an armed man held “an elevated position with a wide field of fire” and was potentially
“part of a larger coordinated attack on the installation.”
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At the same time, some of the estimated 9,000 people in lockdown on the base began issuing
Facebook and Twitter messages that incorrectly told of shootings and victims, according to the report.
The witness and observation team were mistaken about a gunman, and their errors were
compounded by emergency-response problems, Davis-Monthan officials said.
The report said the Defense Department had upgraded security efforts in 2009 after Maj. Nidal Malik
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood, Texas, killed 13 soldiers and left 32 wounded in a terrorist
rampage.
The report recommended that Davis-Monthan personnel receive education on the use of emergency
terminology. It also calls for training and increased communication with the FBI and other outside lawenforcement agencies.
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I6
Carroll to lobby Air Force for Embraer jobs
(Jax Daily Record, 13 Mar 12) … Karen Brune Mathis
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=535906
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll said Monday she intends to head to Washington, D.C., this weekend and
next week and during her trip will let the U.S. Air Force know that Jacksonville is ready to welcome
Embraer.
The Air Force set aside the $355 million contract that would have allowed Embraer to build the A-29
Super Tucano warplane and create 50 local jobs.
Carroll said the Air Force will re-open bidding on the contract and needs to know of Jacksonville’s
interest.
“We want this manufacturing to come here,” she said.
She said Kansas has been “very vocal” and Florida needs to be the same.
Lane Wright, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott, said Carroll was traveling to Washington, D.C., for a
National Lieutenant Governors Association meeting. He said that because defense issues are among
her main focuses that she will stop by the Pentagon and other areas of national affairs.
“Embraer will be a part of it,” he said, but is not the primary reason for her trip to the capital.
Embraer was planning to partner with Sierra Nevada Corp., which was awarded the U.S. Department
of Defense contract in December after its main competitor, Wichita, Kan.-based Hawker Beechcraft,
was excluded in a “pre-award exclusion.”
Hawker Beechcraft filed suit against the U.S. government Dec. 27 and the Air Force put a “stop-work”
order to Sierra Nevada on Jan. 4. The Air Force then set aside the contract that would have allowed
Embraer to build the warplane in Jacksonville.
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The decision re-opens contract bidding for the light attack aircraft.
Sierra Nevada is based in Sparks, Nev., near Reno. Embraer is based in Brazil.
Embraer was planning to build the planes at a 40,000-square-foot hangar at Jacksonville International
Airport. Jacksonville City Council approved incentives for the project, which promised an average
salary of $49,500, plus benefits. Council approved a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund of
$150,000 for Embraer contingent upon the contract.
Under the QTI, the City would refund $30,000 and the state would be responsible for $120,000.
Embraer was expected to generate an annual payroll of about $2.5 million and invest $1.8 million in
assembly equipment, according to Joe Whitaker, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission
targeted industries coordinator, in a presentation to the Council Finance Committee.
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END OF FULL TEXT
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