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COMAFSOC Delivers Closing Remarks at SAWS

Wednesday, March 6th, 2024

HURLBURT Field, Fla. —  

Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, delivered a keynote speech concluding the Special Air Warfare Symposium on Feb. 29, 2024 at the Fort Walton Beach Convention Center.  

SAWS is an annual symposium focused on special air warfare, SOF aviation mission sets, their partners, and enabling technologies.  The symposium, co-sponsored by AFSOC, included keynotes and panels composed of AFSOC senior leadership, leaders from across the U.S. and international SOF aviation enterprise and industry experts.  

Throughout the two-day symposium the attendees were challenged to reimagine how SOF aviation needs to adapt from several decades of counterterror focused operations to a world of increasing strategic and geopolitical instability and competing with peer adversaries.  

Bauernfeind explained how 2023 AFSOC Strategic Guidance focuses the command on the need for accelerated transformation to meet the demands of combatant commands, theater air components, and theater special operations commands, with a focus on developing people as the key to success. 

“It’s going to be our people, our Air Commandos, that make this happen,” said Bauernfeind.  

From establishing an Outreach Squadron to assist the Air Force Recruiting Service in exciting young Americans to join the military, to reducing initial qualification training by 50% while investing in augmented and virtual reality to enhance training, to developing a robust certification, validation and verification process that includes high-end readiness training and develops a culture of mission command before Air Commandos deploy, AFSOC is taking steps to develop its people throughout their service.  

Bauernfeind also outlined changes to better align AFSOC’s Wings with regional challenges and encompass all four mission areas: SOF mobility, SOF strike, SOF ISR and SOF air-to-ground integration.  

“All of our wings will be mission oriented with all our AFSOC capabilities. They will be theater focused… as we align our wings to get after regional problems for the joint force.” 

This includes establishing Theater Air Operations Squadrons focused on long-stare intelligence, multi-domain operations, air advising, and developing concepts of operations for the toughest problems. 

Looking to the future fight, Bauernfeind stated, “We know our Air Commandos had been wildly successful over the last few decades, but how are we going to ensure success for tomorrow?”  

Initiatives like developing modern high-speed vertical take-off and lift platforms to build out the ability to operate independent of traditional runways, returning focus to electromagnetic spectrum operations and enhancing precision effects through systems like small cruise missiles and reimagining how the MQ-9 is utilized through the Adaptive Airborne Enterprise. 

Bauernfeind concluded with why he is confident AFSOC will be successful in all these efforts.  

“We have an amazing team whether it be active duty, guard, reserve, our government civilians—that are focusing on pathfinding for the future, and I am excited to see what our people can do.” 

By Maj Jessica Gross, Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

US Air Force Bombers Conduct Training with Swedish Air Force

Monday, March 4th, 2024

Luleå, SWEDEN (AFNS) —  

U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota launched from their deployed location at Luleå-Kallax Air Base, Sweden, to train alongside Swedish air force aircraft Feb. 26.   

The mission, dubbed Vanguard Adler, was conducted as part of Bomber Task Force 24-2 and designed to integrate the U.S. bombers with Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters and joint terminal attack controllers operating in the Arctic and Baltic regions.   

The exercise included surface attack, air interdiction and close air support scenarios, all aimed at building partnerships and increasing readiness.  

“This timely opportunity for our crews to exercise our collective defense capabilities with our Swedish partners, soon to be NATO allies, in the Artic region is incredible,” said Lt. Col. Benjamin Jamison, 37th Bomb Squadron director of operations and BTF 24-2 lead. “It demonstrates our ironclad commitment to our partners and allies, demonstrates our expansive reach, and sends a strong deterrent message to potential adversaries.”   

The capability to generate sorties from locations like Luleå is a key focus area for U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. Through Vanguard Adler, BTF 24-2 sought to exercise the ability to quickly integrate forces and equipment at Allied and partner locations.  

All training objectives were met, according to officials.    

The U.S. routinely demonstrates its commitment to NATO allies and partners through BTF missions. Through these missions, USAFE-AFAFRICA enables dynamic force employment in the European theater, providing strategic predictability and assurance for Allies and partners while contributing to deterrence by introducing greater operational unpredictability for potential adversaries.   

Regular and routine deployments of U.S. strategic bombers also provide critical touch points to train and operate alongside our Allies and partners while bolstering a collective response to any global conflict.   

BTF 24-2 marks the first multi-day deployment of U.S. Air Force bomber aircraft to Sweden. 

By 1st Lt Cameron Silver

USAFE-AFAFRICA Public Affairs

US Air Force Updates DAFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Department of the Air Force Personnel

Friday, March 1st, 2024

AFI 36-2903 rewrite just dropped which, incorporates policy changes from the 102nd Air Force Uniform Board, incorporates all other guidance memorandums and features updated graphics for visual clarity.

The updated policy outlines:

• Religious Accommodation Process
• No-hat, No-salute areas
• Specialized nametag wear for DAF and Joint Chiefs support staff
• Two-piece flight duty uniform
• Bags, to include gym bag, backpack, handbags
• Flight duty uniform policy
• Female wear of mess dress trousers or slacks
• Wear of caps for baldness or hair loss due to medical conditions
• Permanent wear of EPME badge
• Security Forces shield on the OCP uniform
• Beverage consumption while walking in uniform
• Wear of cold weather headbands
• Authorized wear of commercial maternity cold weather outerwear
• Wing commander delegation to approve religious regalia
• Organizational emblems on the back of morale shirt
• Heritage morale patches on the flight duty uniform

It also highlights authorized and unauthorized examples of grooming standards for:

• Tattoo/brands/body markings
• Mustache wear
• Male and female hair standards
• Female nail polish colors and other cosmetics

It also clarifies duty badge guidance, explaining the wear and placement of up to three duty badges on male and female service, semi-formal, formal and mess dress uniforms. Lastly, it clarifies sister service/joint unit patch wear, and provides graduate patch criteria.

The updated DAFI 36-2903 can be found here.

167th Communications Flight Redesignated as Squadron

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. —  

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A ceremony marking the redesignation of the 167th Communications Flight as a squadron was held at Shepherd Field, Martinsburg, W.Va., Feb. 3, 2024.

During the ceremony the 167th Communications Squadron guidon was revealed and the 167th Communications Flight guidon was furled for the final time.

Air National Guard units nationwide are redesignating their communications flights to communications squadrons due to the growing responsibilities and emerging mission-sets required of the communications career field.

There’s been many technological advances since the communications flight was established at the 167th nearly 60 years ago, explained Lt. Col. Donald Carpenter, 167th Communications Squadron commander.

“Now we’re on the cusp of a new technological era with artificial intelligence, machine learning and large language models,” said Carpenter. “A new season requires a new approach, and the Air Force sees that and is realigning the force to do that.”

The 167th Communications Squadron units enables the information technology infrastructure of the wing. They are responsible for the computer and networking hardware, printers, cell phones, handheld tablets, software deployment, software updates, communications security for the classified network, radio equipment, wireless networks, base fiber optic and copper infrastructure that connects the wing to the Department of Defense network.

As a squadron, the communications unit is postured to take on additional roles to protect cyberspace platforms and to meet expeditionary and mission generation support requirements.

Carpenter acknowledged that there will be challenges as the squadron adjusts to the new mission-sets but said they will get through it.

“We’ve been on a journey for three years to reshape the organization to what it is today,” he said. “We’ll continue to drive that needle forward to much greater success.”

By SMSgt Emily Beightol-Deyerle, 167th Airlift Wing

Air Force to Re-Introduce Warrant Officer Rank, Other Major Changes

Saturday, February 24th, 2024

AURORA, Colo. (AFNS) —  

To best optimize itself for Great Power Competition, the Air Force plans to, among other things, bring back warrant officers within the cyber and information technology professions, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin during a presentation Feb. 12 at the Air Force Association’s 2024 Warfare Symposium.

That change was among two dozen announced by senior Air Force officials. Each change is specifically designed to prepare the service for strategic power challenges from competitors like China and Russia.

“Both China and Russia are actively developing and fielding more advanced capabilities designed to defeat U.S. power projection,” said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. “The need for modernization against capable, well-resourced strategic adversaries never stops. But modernization isn’t the only thing we need to do to be competitive. Today we are announcing 24 key decisions we have made to improve both the readiness of the current force and our ability to stay competitive over time, to continuously generate enduring competitiveness.”

Those changes, Kendall said, focus on people, readiness, power projection and capability development and are implemented within the Department of the Air Force, the Air Force and the Space Force.

Spotlight: Science and Tech
Within the Air Force, Allvin explained, the service is looking to better attract and develop cutting-edge talent, specifically within information technology and cyber fields. The service plans to expand technical tracks for officers and create technical tracks for enlisted, and to also reintroduce the rank of warrant officer within the information technology and cyber fields as a way to maintain technical leadership with those skills.

“We know there are people who want to serve. They just want to code for their country. They would like to be network attack people and do that business,” Allvin said. “But everybody needs to see themselves into the future beyond just this assignment or the next. So, developing that warrant officer track for this narrow career field, we anticipate will drive that talent in and help us to keep that talent. There’s something specific about this career field, why it’s attractive and it’s a nice match for a warrant officer program. The pace of change of the cyber world, the coding world, the software world — it is so rapidly advancing, we need those airmen to be on the cutting edge and stay on the cutting edge.”

The Air Force had warrant officers when it was created in 1947, after being split off from the U.S. Army. But the service stopped appointing warrant officers in the late 1950s.

Allvin also discussed changes in the way the Air Force will conduct exercises. The plan is for the service to implement large-scale exercises and mission-focused training which encompasses multiple operations plans to demonstrate and rehearse for complex, large-scale military operations, he said.

“We’re going to reorient ourselves to more large-scale exercises rather than a smaller scale that have been a product of the last two to three decades,” Allvin said. “Large-scale means multiple weapons systems, multiple capabilities, coming together in a combat-simulated environment and showing our ability to execute the mission that’s going to be expected of us in the high-end conflict.”

Exercises in recent years, he said, have already been getting bigger. But those enhancements have been driven at the local level, not from the top down. That will change.

“Our Air Force needs to institutionalize this,” he said. “And we’re going to do that.”

He said the Air Force is looking at fiscal year 2025 for its first large-scale, multi-combatant command exercise targeted at Indo-Pacom.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said a change underway within the Space Force is to enhance readiness by implementing standards that reflect operations under contested conditions rather than those of a benign environment.

“The legacy force that we had, our roots … were built around efficiency, built around a benign environment,” he said. “So, the standards for readiness that we kind of held our forces to was different. It wasn’t built for the domains that we’re facing, a contested domain.”

Now, Saltzman said, the Space Force must rewrite its standards for readiness centered around a contested domain, rather than an uncontested domain.

Spotlight: DoD Space Strategy
That, he said, means in part having the right mix of officers, enlisted personnel and civilians in Space Force units. It also means training must be aimed at more than just procedural competency.

“As soon as you put a red force in the mix, as soon as you put a threat in the mix, it radically changes your training,” he said. “You have to have advanced training, you have to have tactics training, you have to understand how you work together, in-comms, out of comms, with other units, in order to continue to achieve the kinds of effects in a contested domain when an adversary, a capable adversary, is doing everything they can to stop you from being successful.”

Space Force, he said, will build a training infrastructure and a test infrastructure to validate its tactics so operators will know more than just how to operate equipment — but will be successful against an adversary.

Kristyn Jones, who is currently performing the duties of the under secretary of the Air Force, also pointed to changes at Department of the Air Force level. There, she said, among those changes, the department expects to create an Air Force Integrated Capabilities Office to lead capability development and resource prioritization. The office is expected to drive Department of the Air Force modernization investments.

“We’ll be looking at capabilities across our services, not in stovepipes,” she said. “We’re enabling end-to-end creation of effects. This organization will help us to prioritize our investments and will be responsible for working with us to determine the next iteration of operational imperatives.”

By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News

919th SOW Makes History, Salutes Legendary Air Force Pioneers

Friday, February 23rd, 2024

DUKE FIELD, Fla. —  

The 919th Special Operations Wing made history Feb. 3, 2024 demonstrating a new capability on the same airfield some of the Air Force’s most revered aviation pioneers trained more than a half century ago.

Throughout the four-day exercise, the unit integrated non-standard aviation, Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Mission Sustainment Team operations to prepare for future contingencies where the famed Doolittle Raiders trained for their daring one-way mission in the offensive against Japan decades ago.

“This exercise demonstrated the 919th’s ability to employ the functionality of an entire unit and establish an operational air base all while maintaining a very small footprint,” said Col. Jason Grandy, 919th SOW commander. “We developed this training to fit AFSOC’s deployment model which is focused on the competition between rising powers. We did it in a manner that also allowed us to validate a proof of concept for a few of our mission sets.”

As part of the exercise, members from the 919th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron and 919th Special Operations Medical Squadron flew aboard a C-146A Wolfhound aircraft to perform a medical evacuation for critically injured servicemembers at a remote overseas location. After the aircraft landed, members applied life-saving medical care on a simulated battlefield before loading the casualties on stretchers for transport on the C-146 back to a higher level medical facility for treatment and care.

“Our security forces members are elite and have some of the best training to protect not only the lives of aircrew but also those on the battlefield,” said Grandy.

Air Commandos from the 2nd Special Operations Squadron used the venue to continue devising strategies to enhance the capabilities of the MQ-9 Reaper. In this case, they integrated the weapons system into the exercise in ways it has not been used before.

“We are transforming for the future in every aspect of our mission,” said Lt. Col. David Payne, 2nd SOS commander. “Not only did our members accomplish the shortest known runway landing for an MQ-9 via Satellite Launch and Recovery to date, we also provided casualty evacuation overwatch, as well as ammo resupply to ground forces.”

The culture of innovation that lives within the squadron was the catalyst behind an initiative to provide an ammo resupply using an MQ-9 travel pod after completing a short field landing on Eglin Aux Field 1 (Wagner Field).

“I think it’s important to point out that in February 1942, Doolittle and his crew trained for the shortest takeoff in B-25 history (400 feet),” said Payne. “Now 82 years later, we are following in his footsteps landing the MQ-9 on the shortest known field on the same airfield. The achievement required technical order waivers which allowed for a 33 percent decrease in runway required for landing.”

Payne noted the aircraft departed the tarmac at Hurlburt Field, Fla., near a facility named The Richard E. Cole building. Cole was the co-pilot for Doolittle on the lead aircraft for the Doolittle Raiders and the last surviving member of the Raiders before passing away in April 2019 at the age of 103.

The 919th Special Operations Mission Support Group was equally impressive proving they can provide the warfighter with operational flexibility for mission sustainment and generation with a very small footprint.

Mission Sustainment Teams are comprised of highly trained personnel to set up a contingency location for a brief period of time. These specialized teams include a variety of support specialists to offer a base operations capability with skill sets in fuels, communications, security forces and civil engineering among others.

“We provided MST elements at multiple forward locations throughout the exercise enabling airlift and overwatch assets to transit and receive the support needed while they were on the ground,” said Col. Olivia Nelson, 919th SOMSG commander. “This is the first time our Airmen have exercise the deployment of multiple elements of an MST, and we learned many valuable lessons in the process. I’m incredibly proud of their efforts.”

Payne commended the support specialists for enabling his unit’s exercise objectives and concluded by promising to continue pushing the envelope for innovative and transformation.

“We’re not done,” said Payne. “We’ll keep leaning forward and doing things only SOF [Special Operations Forces] can do.”

By LtCol James R. Wilson, 919th Special Operations Wing

Air Force Awards Xwing Military Approval to Fly Autonomous Air Force Cargo Missions Across California

Monday, February 19th, 2024

San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2024 – Xwing, the leading supplier of modular autonomy technology for aviation, has announced the successful completion of its recent participation in AGILE FLAG 24-1. The company transported mission-critical cargo with daily autonomous missions throughout the week-long exercise, accumulating over 2,800 autonomous flight miles to military bases and civilian airports, including March Air Reserve Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Sacramento McClellan Airport, Meadows Field Airport, and Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

“We saw first-hand during AGILE FLAG that the use of Xwing’s autonomous aircraft eliminated the need to fly a larger aircraft such as a C-130 to deliver critical cargo to the warfighter on short notice,” said Maxime Gariel, President, CTO and co-founder of Xwing, “When you fly missions autonomously, you operate with the speed and efficiency required for dispersed ACE operations, delivering cargo and personnel at a much lower cost and risk.”

AGILE FLAG 24-1 was a Total Force exercise, which ran from January 22 – February 4, 2024 bringing together Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC) at military bases and public airports throughout California centered on Agile Combat Employment. After rigorous safety and technical assessments of the Xwing aircraft and operations, the Air Force awarded Xwing a Military Flight Release (MFR) to operate their autonomous aircraft for Public Aircraft Operations (PAO). These approvals allowed Xwing to deliver official Air Force cargo with autonomous taxis, takeoffs, and landings at military and civilian installations.

“Achieving an Air Force Military Flight Release certification is a momentous milestone removing the barrier to transition and unlocking key testing and experimentation opportunities,” said Kate Brown, AFWERX Autonomy Prime deputy branch chief. “AGILE FLAG was an opportunity to showcase autonomous light cargo logistics and demonstrate operational relevance and increased technical readiness.”

A core component of ACE operations is the ability to flexibly execute dispersed logistics to unsurveyed locations with little or no ground support. Air Force operational leaders assigned Xwing cargo missions based on real-time logistics needs of the exercise. This included delivery of sensitive weather equipment and other critical cargo to various locations throughout the week-long event, and demonstrated an increase in the speed to deliver critical parts and reduced the number of requests for traditional heavy lift aircraft, the two key enablers that autonomous aircraft offer operational commanders. The exercise required Xwing to navigate through the busy Los Angeles basin, where the autonomous aircraft successfully integrated with heavy traffic at March ARB and complied with Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions. Xwing successfully illustrated the role of autonomy as a force multiplier and risk mitigator to rapidly disperse contingency operations into unknown, contested, degraded or operationally limited (CDO) environments.

“Our technology has proven effective over hundreds of successful autonomous flights,” said Craig Milliard, Xwing Flight Test Manager, who remotely supervised the flights from a ground control station at Sacramento McClellan Airport, “This exercise gave us the opportunity to stretch the operational envelope into new environments, day and night, with real-world cargo proving that we can effectively complete Air Force mission objectives.”

Xwing’s participation was part of a newly awarded Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Details of Xwing’s first Agile Flag mission can be found via AFRL. This is a continuation of Xwing’s partnership with AFWERX which included a Phase II contract that began in May of 2023.

Florida Guard’s 202nd RED HORSE Hosts Contingency Exercise

Sunday, February 18th, 2024

CAMP BLANDING, Fla. – The Florida Air National Guard’s 202nd RED HORSE Squadron conducted the FEBEX24 exercise Feb. 2-3 to assess and enhance the readiness of its members. Airmen assigned to the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Civil Engineer Squadron and 125th Medical Group also participated in the exercise.

“RED HORSE deploys as a unit and is a self-sustaining unit,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Encarnacion, 202nd RED HORSE Squadron unit deployment manager.

The Airmen worked on tactical combat casualty care, force protection, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives training.

Airmen established infrastructure, operated in austere environments, and faced hostile forces attempting to overtake the camp while in a simulated forward operating base. Airmen responded to the hostile forces with fire, practicing core competencies such as TCCC and force protection.

When enemy forces simulated a flight line attack, 202nd RED HORSE members repaired the airfield and built protective structures to keep assets safe. Members completed this task while wearing mission-oriented protective posture gear due to simulated exposure to chemical weapons.

“They’re being tested on different skills that they would need to be utilized for a wartime event,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Abbey Mears, 125th CES installation emergency manager.

The exercise allowed Airmen to step outside their career fields and practice core competencies of other jobs.

“This exercise is important because you get a lot of Airmen that are proficient at only doing their job,” said Encarnacion. “At the end of the day, they have to learn how to be a security forces member, a medic, or even an emergency manager. It’s important for all these Airmen to get this hands-on training.”

The training also featured a joint training sortie with the Florida Army National Guard, in which Airmen were loaded on a U.S. Army HH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for a simulated medical evacuation.

“I think the big foot stomp with this is the importance of training like we’re going to fight,” said Mears.

Lessons taken from this experience will help set the foundation for future exercises.

Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer (RED HORSE) Squadrons are highly mobile and rapidly deployable response forces. They repair heavy damage to recover critical Air Force facilities and utility systems following enemy attack or natural disaster in remote, high-threat environments worldwide.

By Senior Airman Brooke Keisler, 125th Fighter Wing Public Affairs