-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! 0249. CSAF addresses strategic reviews, focuses on people, recapitalization by Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker Air Force Print News WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Understanding that many people may be nervous, have questions or are concerned about rumors in the press regarding the new administration's budget stance, the Air Force's top military leader says, "Don't worry." "What the president has said is that there will be no early supplemental," said Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Michael E. Ryan. "The president wants to look at where we need to go with respect to force structure and modernization and to take some time to study and work through what the alternatives may be before proclaiming any great changes or increases in funding," the general said. "Quite honestly, this is a very rational approach, since the new administration is still coming on board and the SECDEF (secretary of defense) is putting people into place," he said. "They need to have time to organize and familiarize themselves with all of the issues. "Besides, we also need to focus on the many jobs that we need to do right now," he said. "The day-to-day operations of the Air Force are important to stability around the world and to the defense of this nation. "We will participate in these strategic reviews and also the Quadrennial Defense Review," Ryan said. "We have been through several such reviews and will do so again this year." Throughout the reviews, the chief of staff wants to focus on two major areas of concern, people and recapitalization of the force. "Taking care of people is terribly important to the effectiveness of our force," Ryan said. "We are a family Air Force. It's not just the members we need to focus on but also their families." Realizing the Air Force is expeditionary in nature and its people are away from home often, he said, "Taking care of our members' families is an important responsibility. Our people want to know that their families are both safe and provided for. Addressing their concerns lets our people focus on the jobs before them." However, the Air Force is not just a quality-of-life force, he said. "It's a quality-of-service force. Our people also want to have the best tools to do the tough jobs that we ask of them. They deserve only the best when asked to provide this nation's security." "Therefore, in both short- and long-term, the Air Force not only must take care of its people but also provide the tools they need to be the best they can be," he said. "Recapitalization of our aging aircraft fleet and infrastructure is also important." Recapitalization also ensures airmen not only have the proper equipment to accomplish the mission but are able to do so at a much lower risk to themselves. According to Ryan, that is why the Air Force needs the huge leap in technological capabilities that the F-22 Raptor brings to the service's air superiority mission. "I tried to chase (the F-22) in an F-16 Fighting Falcon and I was just amazed at what it could do," the chief of staff said of his first encounter with an F-22. "I had a head start on it, flying one of our hottest F-16s, and tried to race it to 10,000 (feet), and it beat me hands down even with it's test spin recovery parachute, the equivalent of flying with a Volkswagen Beetle strapped on its back. "I was going 1.6 mach in afterburner and the Raptor was walking away from me without using afterburner," he said. "It also flew in complete control at a 60-degree angle of attack and when I tried to mimic its capabilities, I could barely keep the F-16 from falling out of the sky. The Raptor then went and did an aileron roll just to demonstrate its capabilities. Now for someone that has been around airplanes for a very long time and who still flies, this was just incredible." The most revolutionary leap in technology comes from its integrated avionics suite which allows the pilot to focus more on the task at hand instead of having to concentrate on all the dials and multiple displays inside the cockpit. "The Raptor's integrated avionics, combined with its flight capabilities and stealthiness, will enable it to dominate the skies and any other aircraft foreseeable in the next 20 to 30 years," he said. However important a new piece of equipment is to mission accomplishment, the chief of staff feels that without the men and women needed to make it work, it is just a piece of machinery on the flight line. "That is why over the past several years, the Air Force has put a lot of emphasis and resources toward improving the service's recruiting and retention," he said. "I am encouraged by the trend of our current (recruiting and retention) figures," he said, "but I think we can do more. Recruiting and retention is an ongoing struggle. It is one that will never end as long as quality people make up the Air Force and are required to provide global stability and the defense of this great nation. "Therefore, we must always continue our efforts to make sure we have not only the quantity of people needed to maintain the end strength of the Air Force but also people of the right quality," he explained. When recruiting figures were at a 20-year low, Ryan stood firm in his decision not to relax standards. "We were not going to lower our standards just to bring in the numbers of troops necessary to meet our goals. And I am proud to say that we did not. "We need to get the right people with the right intellect and skills to come into our force because I don't want to put the burden of supporting these people on our current members," he said. Keeping those current members in mind, the Air Force has also put a lot of emphasis over the last several years on retaining its corps of professional men and women. "We have focused on pay raises, fixing the retirement system, increasing housing allowances properly to buy down the out-of-pocket expenses of our members, and expanding medical benefits for not just the active duty and their families but also our retirees," Ryan said. "I am optimistic that our efforts are starting to turn around the near-term retention issues, but we cannot rest on the past and we can't declare victory over retention based only on a three-month upswing in rates," he said. "We will continue our quality-of-of life efforts to make sure our Total Force is properly provided for. "I would like to tell our Air Force men and women just how much I appreciate their dedication and hard work," Ryan said. "We ask a lot of them and we ask a lot of their families. But what always impresses me is how our people step up to the tasks before them. Our people don't consider what they do as a job; they consider it a profession. "We are an Air Force of dedicated professionals that allow us as ordinary people, together, to do some extraordinary things," he said. "I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this world a safer place for the next generations and this great country of ours." 0251. Aging aircraft fleet tops concerns for materiel command by Master Sgt. Will Ackerman 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea (AFPN) -- In today's Air Force, the average aircraft platform's age is more than 20 years old. To ensure the Air Force continues to have viable warfighting platforms that can accomplish the mission, the Air Force Materiel Command is aggressively working to modify and sustain the aging fleet, the command's commander in chief, Gen. Lester Lyles, said during a visit here recently. "Our whole reason for existence is to provide assistance to the warfighter," Lyles said. "That support crosses from cradle to grave for every weapon we have in the Air Force inventory, from information technology systems, to F-22s, to F-16s, to F-15 Eagles." The aging aircraft fleet is one of the biggest challenges the Air Force faces today, he said. Buying F-22 Raptors, C-17 Globemaster IIIs and Joint Strike Fighters -- the only platform planned to replace the F-16 -- is how the Air Force plans to modernize the fleet. However, the replacement rate is such that most aircraft platform's average age will not decrease for several years. F-16s are expected to remain in the Air Force inventory until 2024. "That puts a premium on managing our aging aircraft, systems and the fleets we have in the Air Force," he said. "To make sure we have a viable warfighting platform is to ensure we are making the right kind of modifications to put the right kind of equipment into the aircraft so that they can accomplish the warfighting mission." Kunsan's conversion to Block-40 F-16s is a perfect example of that, he said. The 35th Fighter Squadron here has worked since November to convert from Block-30 F-16s, which were primarily daytime capable fighters, to Block-40s equipped with the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night system. The LANTIRN system integrates intake-mounted pods that allow pilots to locate and mark enemy targets day or night, and gives pilots precision-targeting capability. "You are getting rid of the older models from the 35th Fighter Squadron, and they will have the LANTIRN-equipped Block-40s to help do that night mission here that is so vital for the defense of the Republic of Korea," he said. Besides providing aircraft modifications, AFMC provides support to get the maintenance back shops equipped for the modified systems, such as the LANTIRN system, Lyles said. The general said it's always a challenge to convert to a new mission, such as the Block-40s, but AFMC's role is to provide support. "Our role is to make sure you have the proper spares and support equipment for the new mission, block series of aircraft and its equipment, not only during your transition but during its warfighting days, so that the aircraft is properly geared and functioning," he said. For the F-16, AFMC's program office is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and the primary depot support activity is at the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah. The facilities' staffs provide most of the modifications, spares, sustainment and depot maintenance support for the F-16. Another challenge AFMC faces besides aging aircraft platforms is its aging civilian workforce. "The Air Force talks about having more than 370,000 airmen, but what we fail to mention is about the same numbers of civilians are part of the U.S. Air Force," Lyles said. "A large amount of them work at Air Force Materiel Command. Civilians are performing every job within AFMC, except flying the aircraft. The challenge is that in the next eight to 10 years, nearly 70 percent of the Air Force's civilian workforce will be retirement eligible, he said. "We haven't done a very good job of bringing in new civilians into our workforce," Lyles said. Recognizing that this is a serious problem, leadership at the Air Staff and congressional levels worked to limit the potential affect it could have on service programs. "We now have money in our budget to start accepting new civilians to hire and to ensure we can get them the proper training," Lyles said. "We are going to do this over the next several years to try and get the workforce re-invigorated. It's going to be tough, with a lot of challenges. There are other options for civilians in (America's) economy,.but we think we can do a good job bringing (civilians) into every one of our critical career fields so there is no impact to any programs." But it's not only the civilian workforce needs the Air Force's leadership is improving, they are also keenly aware they must recruit and retain the best airmen who are charged with maintaining today's technologically advanced weapons systems. "The Air Force always puts a premium on having the best NCOs and airmen we can find," he said. "They take care of the equipment, make sure the aircraft fly properly and have all the latest 'bells and whistles.' (Airmen) are a critical part of the resources. We couldn't do without them." During his visit here, Lyles said he could tell people were pumped up to accomplish their critical mission "at the point of the spear here in Korea." "I can see it in the people's faces and in their eyes," he said. To ensure people have the best tools and assets to accomplish the Wolf Pack mission is his job as AFMC commander. "I am dedicated to making that happen!" he said. (Courtesy of AFMC News Service) 0250. Web security cannot be a matter of luck by Maj. Barry Jones Information Assurance Policy Branch Air Force deputy chief of staff for Communications and Information WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- In a manner similar to the Internet, the Air Force worldwide information system network has evolved and taken on an unforeseen life of its own. But unlike many commercial entities on the World Wide Web, such as Yahoo, eBay and Amazon, we have experienced no lasting adverse impact from an outside threat within our Web. Why? Positive and diligent Web security policies and procedures practiced by conscientious Air Force members. We've been very good and maybe even a little lucky. With increasing numbers of software applications becoming Web-based, and with the advent of the Air Force Portal, virtually every major functional application will be accessible through the Web. The Air Force Web has recently been singled out as an integral part of combat operations in the Department of Defense's Kosovo After-Action Report, where it stated, "Several important communications capabilities saw their first significant combat application: use of Web-based technologies for coordination and information sharing..." As we are becoming increasingly reliant on the Web, we must also increase our level of vigilance in securing our Web-enabled information systems and the data available on the Web. Most of our communications and information professionals are keenly aware of the requirements to secure our information systems through certification and accreditation, finding and fixing vulnerabilities, virus protection, and so on. But not everyone may fully appreciate the impact of those vulnerabilities associated with our information or data on the Web. For example, the Web can provide foreign intelligence agencies, terrorist groups, and other malevolent organizations located anywhere in the world with incredible amounts of information and resources-all available at the click of a mouse. Former Under Secretary of Defense Dr. John Hamre realized this in 1998 and directed a government-wide scrub of all Web pages for sensitive and personal information. He also directed DOD and its components establish a unit charged with reviewing DOD Web pages for sensitive or inappropriate information. By March 1999, the Defense Information Systems Agency had established the Joint Web Risk Assessment Cell, manned by two active-duty personnel and 20 guardsmen and Reservists. They continually evaluate DOD's Web presence for violations of operations security, privacy and information security. While their efforts were initially carried out manually, they've since partnered with other government agencies to use automated tools to significantly simplify their search and evaluation process. And it is well known that our adversaries can use the same tools for their harvesting. The JWRAC chief, Maj. Jim Lyons, routinely briefs senior DOD officials on findings to raise awareness of the problem. "Education is the key," Lyons said "... preventing sensitive information from getting on the Web in the first place should be our ultimate goal. The moment we post something on the Web, someone we don't want to have it will have already downloaded it." In the Air Force, we're continuing to work to establish the Air Force Web Risk Assessment Cell. The deputy chief of staff for Air and Space Operations leads this effort as a part of the operations security program. "We're still working out details such as the concept of operations, manning resources and chain of command," said Capt. Eric Lambert, Air Force OPSEC program manager. "Learning from the JWRAC's growing pains and partnering with them should help our team mature quickly." In addition to these reviews and "damage assessment" teams, everyone should continually scrutinize information placed on the Web. There is no mission-related reason to post birth dates, detailed base maps or flight schedules on the Web, which makes it easily accessible to foreign agents and terrorists. Also, we shouldn't rely on the supposition that only users in the "dot mil" domain have access to our "military-only" Web pages. This level of protection is mythical and these pages should be treated as if they were available to the public. While AFIs and training materials are being updated to refine our Web posting processes, everyone needs to apply common sense and a large dose of awareness when developing, implementing and maintaining the information we make a part of our network weapon system. The bottom line ... if we leave a weakness in our Web, the odds are that it will not only be found, but exploited by a person or group intending to do harm. Information Assurance is everyone's job. We must all do our part to ensure Web security ... and to take luck completely out of the picture. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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