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All Byte, No Bark for Air Force Security Forces’ ‘Robotic K-9’

Wednesday, January 13th, 2021

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) —

As a part of its one-year pilot program, the Ghost Robotics Vision 60 visited Scott Air Force Base during an evaluation of the robot’s capabilities.

Heading the test was Air Combat Command’s Agile Battle Lab. The lab identifies, validates and inserts new concepts and technology to enable Agile Combat Employment and its contributions to all-domain warfare.

The Vision 60 autonomous quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicle is an all-terrain, dog-like robot equipped with enhanced sensors.

“By no means is this meant to replace a real K-9,” said Senior Master Sgt. Marcos Garcia, ACC Detachment 3 Agile Battle Lab, AMC liaison. “It is simply a force multiplier and can even maybe save some K-9 lives. The experts in the field envision it supplementing a bomb team or leading a foot patrol.”

This innovative piece of machinery was created to be a low-cost, low-risk force multiplier. Ultimately, this program has the capability of protecting a life.

“The major selling point of this technology is that it’s meant to be expendable, whereas our Airmen are not,” said Master Sgt. Justin Hanlon, 375th Security Forces Squadron operations noncommissioned officer in charge. “We can replace parts on the ghost robot and get it back out to the mission, but the same cannot be said of a human being. The bottom line is this cements our commitment to mitigating risk to our Airmen and protecting them from unnecessary danger.”

Equipped with integrated sensors, the Q-UGV can capture a high-definition video stream and thermal imaging, and boasts an infrared configuration. The Q-UGV also utilizes legs that can attain a current speed of seven feet per second and has been tested to outperform wheels, tracks and drones for certain uses in the field.

“Instead of using a human being as a sentry, imagine a mobile sensor with a high-definition, wide-angle camera and long-range capabilities being controlled by a trained Airman from the safety and security of a Base Defense Operations Center or a Theatre Operations Center in both a garrison or contested environment,” Hanlon said.

During the evaluation at Scott AFB, the ABL sought the insight of force professionals on improvements to the robotic K-9.

“We are a team of motivated innovators and know we have many talented Airmen with great ideas,” Garcia said. “We want to harvest those great ideas and bring them to fruition so we can bring our Air Force into the future.”

While the implementation of this technology is still in its infancy, it has the latent ability to bring the Air Force into a new era of warfighting.

“The ghost robot has potential to aid the enterprise in getting away from the past where we had Airmen walk wingtip to wingtip on flying assets,” Hanlon said. “We can employ our manpower smarter and more efficiently and this may be a small step to that competency.”

As the Air Force looks to close gaps and move towards Agile Combat Employment and Joint All Domain Command and Control, the use of new innovative technology like the Q-UGV may become common across military installations as we seek to enhance mission effectiveness.

By Airman 1st Class Shannon Moorehead, 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Robotics | 2 Comments »

Newly-Acquired Air Force Research Lab Test Aircraft to Aid Personnel Recovery Research

Monday, January 11th, 2021

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —

A small aircraft that is poised to make a big impact on military personnel recovery made a brief stop in the Dayton area on its way to St. Mary’s County, Maryland, where it will be used to test the Air Force Research Laboratory-developed Low Altitude Sensing Helmet system.

The CubCrafters XCub aircraft was ferried from Yakima, Washington, to Lewis A. Jackson Regional Airport near Dayton, on its journey to the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing’s contracted research flight test organization facility, Dec. 21. The aircraft was recently purchased by AFRL to advance the initial “Lysander” flying experiment, which will demonstrate the Low Altitude Sensing Helmet system, known as LASH.

LASH, a portable kit developed within the AFRL 711th Human Performance Wing’s Airman Systems Directorate, contains specialized equipment including a flight helmet, a thermal camera, night vision goggles and various other components. The kit can quickly and easily be installed onto nearly any general aviation aircraft to equip pilots for low-level, low-speed, nighttime flight – something that is essential for personnel recovery and other “featherweight airlift” special missions, according to Dr. Darrel G. Hopper, 711th Human Performance Wing project lead.

“The Air Force’s CODE (Combat Operations in Denied Environment) program determined that these types of missions could not be executed effectively by the large aircraft that we have been using over the last 20 years in areas where we have air dominance,” Hopper said. “Project Lysander was conceived as a method of rescuing isolated personnel in both heavily defended and undefended airspace. A critical element of the project was determined to be a carry-on kit that could allow such operations.” He explained that the LASH system kit was designed to fill this need and provide pilots with sensory situational awareness required to fly safely, at night, at extremely low altitudes and slow airspeeds.

Hopper explained that LASH came about after the Air Combat Command and the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office at AFRL asked the 711th Human Performance Wing’s Airman Systems Directorate to lead this research effort.

“They called on us based on our expertise in this type of work,” Hopper explained. “Our directorate has decades of experience in researching, developing and fielding helmet- and cockpit-mounted displays and other wearable vision aids for combat pilots, aircrews and special operations warriors.”

After careful study of mission requirements and aircraft capabilities, AFRL researchers designed the LASH kit using a number of mostly commercial-off-the-shelf components. The kit was packaged into a compact, easy-to-transport, one-person carrying system that could be easily fitted temporarily to virtually any small aircraft without additional modification.

Hopper said the CubCrafters XCub was identified by ACC as the safest and most capable commercial-off-the-shelf aircraft for the initial flying experiment to test the LASH System kit.

“If we can demonstrate that the XCub can be flown safely at night at low speed and low altitude using the LASH night vision aids, then we can expand LASH system kit use to other types of short takeoff and landing general aviation aircraft.”

After the aircraft reaches the flight test organization in Maryland, it will first be used to fit-test the LASH system. AFRL researchers and contractor partners will next refine the installation and de-installation process as well as baseline-test metrics, and develop the associated test cards, while flying without the kit. The first flights with the LASH system are scheduled for early spring 2021. If flight tests are successful and program objectives are achieved, the LASH system could be on track for technology transfer and possible deployment as early as 2022.

“This system offers the potential to greatly expand our capability to perform necessary personnel recovery and related missions,” Hopper said. “The acquisition and delivery of this test vehicle is a critical milestone in getting the LASH technology and featherweight airlift capability into the hands of the warfighter.”

Hopper added that after the XCub test aircraft has completed its role in this project, AFRL will be able to use it as a test asset for future research projects as well.

Story by Holly Jordan, Air Force Research Laboratory

Photos by by Richard Eldridge

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post | 2 Comments »

First There…That Others May Live: Special Tactics History

Sunday, January 10th, 2021

Posted in AFSW, Air Force, History, SOF | 2 Comments »

Department of the Air Force Directs Commanders to Review Unit Emblems, Mottos, Nicknames, Other Official Symbology

Wednesday, January 6th, 2021

WASHINGTON (AFNS) —

The Department of the Air Force directed commanders to conduct a comprehensive review of official and unofficial unit emblems, morale patches, mottos, nicknames, coins and other forms of unit recognition and identity to ensure an inclusive and professional environment within 60 days from Dec. 23, 2020.

Commanders, at the squadron level and above, will remove any visual representation, symbols or language derogatory to any race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, age or disability status to ensure an inclusive and professional environment.

The directive came in the form of a memorandum from Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown, Jr., and Chief of Space Operations John W. Raymond.

“It is critical for the Department of the Air Force to embody an environment of dignity, respect and inclusivity for all Airmen and Guardians,” the memo stated. “Our core values demand we hold ourselves to high standards and maintain a culture of respect and trust in our chain of command.”

According to Air Force Instruction 84-105, “Organizational Lineage, Honors and Heraldry,” emblem designs and mottos should reflect favorably on the United States Air Force, be original, distinctive, dignified, in good taste and non-controversial.

“Their continued use (of derogatory symbols and language) ostracizes our teammates undermining unit cohesion and impeding our mission readiness and success … Our diversity of experience, culture, demographics and perspectives is a force multiplier and essential to our success in this dynamic global environment … We must ensure all our Airmen and Guardians are valued and respected,” the memo emphasized.

Commanders should consider emblem and motto guidance in AFI 84-105 and consult their historians, staff judge advocates and equal opportunity specialists during the review.

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post | 12 Comments »

Always Ready: 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Executes Negatively Pressurized Conex-Lite Training Mission

Tuesday, January 5th, 2021

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) —

The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron held a COVID-19 patient movement training using the Negatively Pressurized Conex-Lite at Ramstein Air Base, Dec. 14-18.

The week-long training ended with a proof-of-concept flight on a C-130J Super Hercules, solidifying the entire process of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa COVID-19 patient transfer capabilities for the 86th Airlift Wing.

“It was the first time an NPC-L has taken off, at least in U.S. European Command, having a training mission on it, all the assets, and coordinating the integration from the ground piece to the in-flight piece,” said Capt. JD Pilger, 86th AES training flight commander. “Previously, everything was done on the ground, so this is a big deal. The capstone for the week was getting this thing airborne and proving this concept and capability for EUCOM.”

Operations such as these are historically placed within the Air Mobility Command, specifically at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. The initial force training was only conducted there for the entire Air Force, which would then piece together teams and send on deployments to provide this capability operationally.

In July, however, AMC started a flagship initiative to send certified trainers to Ramstein AB to certify 86th Medical Group and 86th AES personnel to be the initial cadre on the NPC-L. This established an organic capability located overseas, therefore widening the pool of certified personnel to the force, said Maj. Josh Williams, 86th AES operations flight commander.

From the 721st Aerial Port Squadron, loading the NPC-L onto the aircraft to the 86th MDG and 86th AES infectious disease team ensuring proper personal protective equipment was worn during each scenario, multiple units were called upon to contribute to the training.

“The training was for developing another force package for the 86th AW, to enable us to move COVID-positive patients utilizing the NPC-L,” Pilger said. “The force package entails members from the 86th MDG, the 86th AES and additional folks over at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, such as our Critical Care Air Transport Team.”

The NPC-L is a smaller version of the Negatively Pressurized Conex, an isolated containment chamber intended to transport individuals with infectious diseases like COVID-19. While the NPC is used on C-17 Globemaster III, the NPC-L was developed for use on a C-130J.

“Pursuant to a U.S. Transportation Command joint urgent operational need request, (the NPC) was fielded, and the follow on to that was the NPC-L,” Williams said. “That is what we’ve now developed our teams and force packages within the 86th AW to support. (The NPC) is actually loadable on a C-130 and can transport patients in EUCOM, as well as U.S. Africa Command.”

Up to nine ambulatory patients, four litter patients, two CCATT critical care patients, or variations thereof, can be transported in the NPC-L.

During the training, Airmen were presented with various patient-transfer scenarios and worked together to execute the mission both on the ground and in the air.

“It was a true team sport throughout the whole thing,” said Capt. Zachary Gooch, 86th AES operations support flight commander. “We could not have done it without the support from Air Terminal Operations Center, maintenance or the medical group.”

Having this organic capability enables Ramstein to provide COVID-19 patient movement overseas without the need for assets deployed from AMC.

“I think we proved that this can be done without having a deployed asset that rolls in and sets up shop,” Gooch said. “We did it, basically, from grassroots.”

By SrA John R. Wright, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, COVID-19 Pandemic, Guest Post, Medical, Training | 3 Comments »

USAF Issues New Physical Fitness Program Manual Which Includes Waist Measurement, Four Days After Eliminating Waist Measurement From Assessment

Monday, January 4th, 2021

Nothing could be more 2020 than the Air Force publishing a new version of AF Manual 36-2905 “Air Force Physical Fitness Program” on 11 December with a four component test, just four days after fundamentally changing the program by issuing guidance to eliminate the waist measurement component.

The test will still consist of a 1.5 mile run, 1 minute of pushups and 1 minute of situps. However, the composite score will be calculated with full points for the waist measurement portion until system changes can be made.

On the upside, the AFMAN is only 77 pages instead of the 147 pages in the old Air Force Instruction issued in 2013. Hopefully, it won’t take another seven years to update the latest, outdated guidance.

Posted in Air Force, Profession of Arms | 1 Comment »

‘A Tribute to Persistence:’ SecAF Presents Air Force Cross to Special Tactics Airman

Monday, January 4th, 2021

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) —

Snapped awake by the sound of belt-fed machine gun fire, then-Senior Airman Alaxey Germanovich, a 26th Special Tactics Squadron combat controller, surveys the compound he had dozed off in after several sleepless days of combat.

“I look around and I don’t see any of my American teammates,” Germanovich said. “(At that moment I said to myself) I need to find my friends right now.”

Grabbing his helmet and rifle, Germanovich bolted out of the compound and into the fight, where he saw several of the Army special forces Soldiers he was embedded with huddling for cover from behind a small rock.

“I knew then that I had to go get to my teammates and help them,” he said.

Germanovich’s base instinct would quickly turn into a grueling battle for survival, but it was those selfless impulses to save and protect his teammates that proved to be the difference between life and death for many of his teammates on that fateful day.

SecAF commends combat controller for valor

Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett presented the Air Force Cross to now-Staff Sgt. Germanovich during a ceremony at Cannon Air Force Base Dec. 10.

Germanovich was awarded the medal, second only to the Medal of Honor, for his actions April 8, 2017, during combat operations against enemy forces in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

“This Air Force Cross is a tribute to your persistence (Staff Sgt. Germanovich),” Barrett said. “You risked your life and weathered blistering enemy fire to save the lives of others.”

In attendance were Col. Matthew Allen, 24th Special Operations Wing commander, the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) team Germanovich was attached to during the combat operations, and Germanovich’s family and friends.

Following the ceremony, Germanovich led those in attendance in memorial pushups to commemorate the event, the firefight and the ultimate sacrifice paid during the clash by Army Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, a special forces Soldier assigned to 7th SFG (A) and a member of the team Germanovich was assigned to.

“This battle was a case study in toughness and extraordinary competence,” Allen said. “But it was also a case study in love. The type of love that demands teammates fight for one another and give everything they have.”

Germanovich’s actions as the air-to-ground liaison for his special operations forces team were credited with protecting the lives of more than 150 friendly forces and the lethal engagement of 11 separate fighting positions.

Facing hell, calling for fire

A native of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, Germanovich enlisted into the Air Force in November, 2012, with two goals in mind.

“I always knew I wanted a challenge,” Germanovich said. “I wanted to have a direct impact on the battlefield wherever I went.”

Five years later, both of those wishes would be granted when he deployed to Afghanistan and embedded with 7 SFG (A) Soldiers and their Afghan partners.

During his tour, the joint force was tasked with clearing several valleys in Nangarhar of fighters. As the multi-day operation progressed and the coalition forces pushed the insurgents closer to the Afghan border of Pakistan, the fighting became more and more violent. It reached a head as Germanovich sprinted through heavy enemy fire to help the Special Forces Soldiers on that fateful day.

After reaching the rock his teammates were pinned down behind, Germanovich began to call in airstrikes to try and suppress the attack.

“It was working to a degree,” Germanovich said. “But we were still receiving extremely effective fire, and one of our partner force members had gotten shot.”

To evacuate the wounded Afghan commando, Germanovich began to call for strikes extremely close to their position in order to create more separation between the coalition forces and the insurgents.

“As the bombs were falling out of the sky, I started screaming at everybody to run for cover,” Germanovich said.

After the partner force member was evacuated, the special operations forces team launched their counter-attack. A separate unit from across the valley was able to pinpoint a key enemy bunker during the firefight, and Germanovich’s element, led by De Alencar, crawled their way towards the position.

Once the fire team reached the top of the bunker, Germanovich and De Alencar dropped grenades into its entrance. Then, as Germanovich secured the opening and De Alencar and the other Special Forces Soldiers began to breach the bunker, insurgents ambushed the team from hidden positions to the south, mortally wounding De Alencar.

“The situation just became complete and utter chaos,” Germanovich said. “The team and I had expended all of our ordnance engaging enemy targets. We expended all of our grenades, there was no more pistol ammunition, and we were out of ammo completely.”

Lying prone with no cover from the attack, Germanovich put out a call to an AC-130W Stinger II gunship aircraft that was leaving the area in order to refuel.

“As they were leaving, I said ‘if you don’t come back, we’re dead.’” Germanovich said.

The gunship did return and began to fire on the enemy fighters, which gave Germanovich and the soldiers the opportunity to move away and evacuate De Alencar.

“All the while, we’re still taking effective fire from the enemy,” Germanovich said. “We began dropping ordnance and basically bombing up this mountainside until we got to safety.”

Germanovich’s actions proved decisive on that battlefield and demonstrated the enormous impact of Air Force Special Operation Command’s precision strike mission, which provides ground force with specialized capabilities to find, assess and engage targets.

“You (Germanovich) told me earlier that you did what any one of your teammates would have done in the same situation,” Allen said. “But we don’t know that. We do know what you did that day: face and devastate a numerically superior enemy … this is why America’s enemies do not take us head on.”

Germanovich’s ability to enable precision strike operations and his bravery in the face of hostile fire are incredibly courageous in their own right, but it was the reason behind his valiant performance that makes him an unquestionable hero.

“It was 100% my teammates,” Germanovich said. “If I’m in danger, I know without a doubt in my mind that my teammates are going to do everything in their power to make sure that I come back, and I would do everything that I could possibly do to make sure that they come back.”

Article by SrA Maxwell Daigle, 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs

Photos by SSgt Michael Washburn and A1C Drew Cyburt

Posted in AFSW, Air Force, Guest Post, SOF | Comments Off on ‘A Tribute to Persistence:’ SecAF Presents Air Force Cross to Special Tactics Airman

Royal Air Force Officer Brings Skills to Moody AFB

Thursday, December 31st, 2020

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) —

After nearly 14 years of service in the Royal Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Chris Bradshaw has traveled 4,300 miles from the Force Protection Force of the RAF Regiment to share his expertise with the 820th Base Defense Group at Moody Air Force Base.

As part of a larger exchange program between the RAF and U.S. Air Force that encompasses positions from the Pentagon down, Bradshaw currently holds the position of director of operations at the 824th BDS.

“The relationship that the Royal Air Force has had with the base defense group is longstanding because we are likely to operate together,” Bradshaw said. “Every year there is a tri-service exercise between the U.K., the French and the Americans. The position here is to help develop that exercising program to make sure relationships are maintained and that we can be interoperable as we move forward into next-generation warfare.”

The position is filled on a volunteer basis. Applicants volunteered about a year and a half early and the RAF chose from that list. After being chosen, Bradshaw still had to complete a number of tasks to secure his position in the 820th BDG.

“I’ve moved over my family as well,” Bradshaw said. “So to bring my wife, who is an active-duty Royal Air Force officer and my son – that was a bit more tricky, (but) fortunately, the (Royal) Air Force managed to give her a three-year career break. We had to jump through that hoop initially to make sure we could continue on the process.

“Then, it was all the visa applications, making sure that I came out here and got to meet who I was going to work for. Then, it was just bouncing back and forth to sort out schooling and education for my son. There was a lot, but it’s been worth it.”

The Force Protection Force’s role is to mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure end-to-end protection of air and space power, at home or deployed. Bradshaw previously worked in Train Advise Assist Command – Air, in the air-to-ground role as a joint terminal attack controller.

“(A few years ago), that’s what I did for (about) four and a half years,” Bradshaw said. “Having that experience and then working for the 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing, I understand what they’re talking about because I speak the language, too.

“I became the director of operations for the 824th BDS because they wanted to plug-and-play some experience of mine. I’ll sit in that position for 18 months. Then, the plan is to move up to the group where I’ll conduct work directly for the colonel in an area of his choosing.”

Bradshaw isn’t the only one bringing unique opportunities to the table. The BDG offers multiple capabilities such as air assault, airborne, ranger and jungle courses that Bradshaw will be able to participate in and learn from.

“That will be good for me operating as an entity on the ground, protecting and defending our RAF assets and infrastructure,” Bradshaw said. “To have that link would be quite beneficial. I’m not going to get the opportunity again and I need to prove the concept for future exchange personnel that it’s open; the door is there. You need to step in and jump out.”

The tactical skills Bradshaw has and will have learned are not the only things he’s taking away from his time with the BDG. Bradshaw says his favorite experience from the program has been seeing people from diverse backgrounds and he’s looking forward to meeting more as he moves to new positions.

“The U.S. is so huge compared to the U.K. that even at the squadron level, you’ve got people from so many different backgrounds, so many different life hurdles and obstacles they’ve had to overcome, that the breadth of individual is vast,” Bradshaw said. “I’ve been extremely well integrated, well looked-after. Everyone is extremely friendly. I still get treated equally, which is as expected.

“It’s been a big change for us having to come across to make this leap, but it’s been made easier by that fact that people have been so welcoming.”

By SrA Hayden Legg and A1C Taryn Butler, 23rd Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, International, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on Royal Air Force Officer Brings Skills to Moody AFB