-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! 1131. F-22 gets green light for low-rate production by Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Defense Acquisition Board approved the F-22 Raptor to enter low-rate initial production, Pentagon officials announced Aug. 15. The decision means Lockheed-Martin will build 10 F-22s using fiscal 2001 funds, and 13 in fiscal 2002. There are currently eight F-22s already flying. "The program has met all its exit criteria for entering into low-rate production and is performing to its design goals," said Pete Aldridge, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. The acquisition board unanimously approved low-rate production, Aldridge said. Low-rate production will run through fiscal 2005, then shift into high-rate production. The program will provide air dominance through the next 20 years, Aldridge said. The board's decision requires the Defense Department and the Air Force to seek a lift in the F-22's current $37.6 billion budget cap. The production budget would rise to $45 billion. Research, development and testing of the aircraft cost about $18 billion, raising the total cost to about $63 billion. The acquisition board also cut the total number of F-22s to be produced from 331 to 295. The board reached this decision because of a difference in the cost estimates between the Air Force and the independent Cost Analysis Improvement Group. The Air Force estimated greater savings than the independent group once the F-22 enters high-rate production, Aldridge said. The board's solution was to accept the Air Force program cost estimates, but the independent group's estimate of the number of aircraft the money will buy. The decision gives the Air Force incentive to achieve the savings it forecasted. "If the Air Force can, in fact, get the cost estimate at their level, they can buy more airplanes," Aldridge said. Low-rate production is set to rise to 30 aircraft in fiscal 2005. High-rate production calls for 90 aircraft per year beginning in fiscal 2006. Aldridge said the plan can change as circumstances dictate. "Anything can happen next year," he said. "It depends on what happens to the budget, what happens to the production, what happens in the operational test and evaluation. We address these programs every year, but we have to layout a plan. Right now, this is our plan." 1128. Air Force helps fight Western fires PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) -- An Air Force Reserve unit here and Air National Guard units in California and Wyoming have sent specially equipped aircraft and support people to help fight wildfires in the western United States. Specially configured C-130 Hercules from the 302nd Airlift Wing here will be staging out of Boise, Idaho, and C-130s from the 153rd AW in Wyoming and the 146th AW in California were activated Aug. 13, and are currently staging out of Klamath Falls, Ore. The C-130s, equipped with the U.S. Forest Service's Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, can release 3,000 gallons of water or 27,500 pounds of fire retardant per drop. 1130. Error, malfunction cause Predator accident LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- Officials investigating the March 30 crash of an RQ-1L Predator unmanned aerial vehicle have determined the accident resulted from operator error. The Accident Investigation Board report released Aug. 16 by Air Combat Command said the Predator experienced an icing problem and the pilot was unable to maintain control of the aircraft. The Predator, which belonged to the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., was supporting the Kosovo Stabilization Force. There were no injuries or fatalities, but the Predator was destroyed upon impact. The pilot recognized the icing problem, the report said, but failed to immediately execute critical checklist steps for pitot static system failure. The pitot static system uses air and static pressure to determine the aircraft's altitude and airspeed. There is also substantial evidence that nonuse of the pitot static heating system was a substantially contributing factor in this mishap. (Courtesy of ACC News Service) 1129. Captains may make major sooner by Staff Sgt. Amy Parr Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- Captains wanting a promotion to major may not have to wait as long anymore. A proposal recently submitted to Congress would modify the grade-ceiling table in Title 10 U.S.C. 523, calling for a 7-percent permanent grade relief to majors. This table provides the authorized strengths of commissioned officers on active duty in the grades of major, lieutenant colonel and colonel. By increasing the authorized Air Force major grade ceiling by 7 percent, more officers at any one time will wear the rank of major than previously allowed by law, said Lt. Col. Jan Middleton, Air Force promotion, evaluation and separation policy chief at the Pentagon. The average time in service to pin on major will go from 11.1 to 9.5 years over the next three to four years. Captains should become majors between nine and 11 years, according to the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act. The grade relief will allow the Air Force to make this goal by letting more captains pin on faster through an accelerated board schedule, said Maj. Bill Nolte, Air Force officer promotion policy chief. This Air Force initiative was requested, Nolte said, because for nearly a decade the Air Force has been unable to meet the management act's guidelines. "Other services (officers) pin on (O-4) nine to 12 months earlier than the Air Force," he said. "This is a source of dissatisfaction with Air Force officers." The grade relief to major will also compensate officers more adequately for work performed, Middleton said. "In the nonrated line, 17 percent of field grade billets must be filled by company grade officers due to field-grade shortages," she said. "It also has a positive effect on retention. "Officers can frequently do better financially and faster outside the Air Force," Middleton said. "Bringing down the pin-on time to major with the accompanying pay raise may encourage some officers to remain in the Air Force." The program will also better align career decision points for pilots, Nolte said. "Combined with the new 10-year active-duty service commitment for pilots," he said, "this initiative will ensure pilots pin on major six to 12 months prior to their service commitment expiring." If approved, and if the Air Force chooses to implement major grade relief, Nolte said it will begin in 2002 and affect all captains meeting a promotion selection board under which the Air Force chooses to implement grade relief. 1126. Patrick sees rockets' red glare three times in five days by Ken Warren 45th Space Wing Public Affairs PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- The people who operate the Air Force's Eastern Range can take a well-deserved break after supporting a frenzy of space launches that paralleled the hectic pace of the pioneer days of America's space program. >From Aug. 6 to 10, the range supported three planned ground-to-space launches in five days for the first time since the early 1960s. But a full-fledged vacation is not on the horizon for the men and women of the range. They will be working on range modernization efforts. The range supported the successful launches of an Air Force Titan IV-B rocket Aug. 6, a Boeing Delta II rocket Aug. 8, and the Space Shuttle Discovery on Aug. 10. The last time a similar event took place was when three rockets left Earth for space Dec. 8 through 11 in 1964, according to 45th Space Wing records. Fitting this many launches into the range schedule in such a short period was a large, but manageable, challenge for the 45th Space Wing, which operates the Eastern Range, officials said. The primary challenge involved reconfiguring the range to support each mission. Each launch vehicle has its own unique requirements. Reconfiguring the 15-million-square-mile range, with sites as far north as Newfoundland and south to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, is an intensive process. It involves adjusting and checking out the vast network of radars, telemetry, command destruct, communications, meteorology systems and more needed to accommodate the different launch vehicles. With the busy week behind it, officials said the range will not support launch operations until Sept. 21; however, range resources will still be used. New switches for systems are being installed and tested in conjunction with an ongoing modernization effort called Range Standardization and Automation. People at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles -- with a detachment here -- are responsible for providing systems and services to meet the 45th Space Wing's spacelift range requirements. Center personnel are charged with doing their mission on time and in the most cost-effective manner possible to support the wing's role to provide the United States with continued safe and competitive access to space. "A large number of resources have been committed to support crucial upgrades and testing of the range safety systems," said Lt. Col. Andre Lovett, 45th Range Squadron commander. "Even though we won't be launching rockets, the range won't really be shut down." (Courtesy of Air Force Space Command News Service) 1127. Agreement made to upgrade weapons detection devices KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- People attempting to sneak concealed weapons into schools and government buildings will face greater chances of detection from technology developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. Scientific Applications and Research Associates, Inc., in Huntington Beach, Calif., is working with AFRL's the Directed Energy Directorate here. The two signed a cooperative research and development agreement to upgrade weapons detection devices similar to those used at airports, federal facilities and other high security areas. "We've been using the same technology for land mine detection since World War II and it hasn't changed," said Dean I. Lawry, an electrical engineer with the directorate's plasma branch of the high-power microwave division. This technology is incorporated in current walk-through security archway systems. Developed at the laboratory in 1995, the technology detects not only the metal objects carried by individuals but can tell if those objects are weapons, Lawry said. The technology emits a low-level electro-magnetic pulse that is absorbed by metal objects, such as guns, knives or other metallic objects, he said. This absorbed energy in turn emits electrical signals that are unique to different types of objects, detected by receiver coils within the archway. These signals rapidly discriminate between weapons and other metallic items such as belt buckles, keys or coins based on differences in electrical impulses before the person leaves the archway. Using seven receiver coils, the archway is able to indicate the location of the concealed object, Lawry said. "The near-term, high-priority application of the new weapon detection technology is for school safety since it enables low-cost, unattended monitoring of all school entrances," said Dr. Parviz Parhami, chief executive and financial officer for the civilian firm. Another characteristic of the system is the ability to send photographs, of anyone detected carrying a weapon, to a central office, he said. Under terms of the five-year agreement, the laboratory will loan the company a prototype device to upgrade and develop devices for schools, government and commercial facilities and public places such as museums or amusement parks. 1125. Now showing: Aug. 20 edition of Air Force Television News SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- In the Aug. 20 edition of Air Force Television News, Staff Sgt. Bill Scherer reports on the effects of exposure to JP-8 jet fuel. Preliminary reports have officials calling for the use of more effective protective equipment for Air Force fuelers. On the subject of health, Tech. Sgt. Paul Firman reports about the potential problem with blood supplies in the Air Force because of Mad Cow disease, and how a shortage of diphtheria and tetanus vaccine will affect the military community. Senior Airman Israel Aviles uses the recent package bombing at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas to report on why security awareness is so important and what can happen when those in uniform become complacent. >From Columbus AFB, Miss., Senior Airman Eric Kerr reports on how some retired Air Force people are teaching Junior ROTC students good citizenship. Staff Sgt. Michael Noel has a report on a civilian employee at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., who rides the range, tending cattle and keeping the grasslands alive and well. Finally, Senior Airman Marty Rush attends the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and reports on the volunteers from F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo., who serve as medics for those who do battle with the bulls -- and lose. *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! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
