Command Senior Enlisted Leader Assignment

 Sept. 1, 2020

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The Office of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OSEAC) announced today the following assignment:

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Daniel C. Simpson, currently assigned as the command chief master sergeant for Eighteenth Air Force (Air Mobility Command), Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, has been selected to assume responsibility from Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Vincent C. Santiago as the command senior enlisted leader for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Arlington, Virginia.

Diversity, Inclusion Board Seeks Input From All DOD Personnel

 Sept. 1, 2020 | BY DAVID VERGUN , DOD News

The Department of Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion will report to the Secretary of Defense by Dec. 15 on ways to improve diversity and inclusion leading to broader opportunities for all department personnel, and they are looking for input from all Defense Department personnel.

The board will focus on actions to enhance diversity and inclusion and drive a cultural shift to create lasting change in the Defense Department, from recruiting, career track selection and retention; to accessions, assignments, schools and promotions; to military justice and everything in between and beyond.

All Defense Department personnel are encouraged to crowdsource feedback on ideas for improving diversity and inclusion via www.milSuite.mil. The closing date for input is Oct. 16.

"Hearing from our service members is critical in helping the Department of Defense make lasting changes to our military culture," Air Force Brig. Gen. Troy E. Dunn, the board's senior military member, said. "All members of the Department of Defense are invited to join this important conversation. Since solutions will not come from the Pentagon alone, we offer the milSuite link to seek your feedback through open and honest dialogue on diversity and inclusion."

There are four focal points of actions the board is taking:

1

Evaluating all military policies, programs and processes;

2

Surveying best practices of industry, academia and other non-DOD organizations;

3

Reviewing the scientific literature, past studies and reports, including recommendations on actions the department can take to improve diversity and inclusion; and

4

Generating actionable items and policies to improve diversity and inclusion.

There are six recommendations the board will provide to the Secretary of Defense:

1

Strengthening both community engagement and the narrative about military service opportunities during recruiting to attract more diverse candidates;

2

Retaining minorities beyond initial service commitment and into leadership ranks;

3

Addressing barriers confronted by minorities in the workplace;

4

Improving advancement opportunities, promotion boards, command selection, professional military education and assignments;

5

Addressing command and organizational climate issues that may negatively impact the retention of minorities; and

6

Promoting inclusion of minorities in military culture and strengthening aspects of individual and cultural identities such as hair and shaving standards and dress.

The success of the board will be determined by improvements to policies, programs and processes that achieve broader diversity and inclusion.

The Secretary of the Air Force serves as board chair, supported by the senior enlisted advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Hurricane Cleanup

 

Members of the Louisiana National Guard clear roads in Lake Charles, La., Aug. 27, 2020, after Hurricane Laura made landfall in the southwestern part of the state.

Guard Performs COVID-19 Tests for Mission Critical Personnel

Sept. 1, 2020 | BY Air Force Lt. Col. Jim St. Clair

Due to an innovative partnership with Lexington Medical Center, airmen with the 169th Fighter Wing, South Carolina Air National Guard, are being rapidly tested for COVID-19 to ensure critical missions can continue uninterrupted.

"It started with an idea. Just sitting down one day and saying 'Hey, why can't we do this?'" said Air Force Master Sgt. James Bosley.

Thanks to Bosley's civilian expertise, he was able to facilitate getting personnel returning from deployment tested and personnel assigned to the Aerospace Control Alert trained unit at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, tested.

Bosley works as a microbiology and molecular supervisor for Lexington Medical Center in Lexington, South Carolina, during the week. On drill weekends, he is the 169th Fighter Wing Drug Demand Reduction program manager with the 169th Medical Group.

When Air Force Col. Akshai Gandhi, 169th Fighter Wing commander, wanted to start testing mission critical personnel on base, 169th Fighter Wing Public Health reached out to Bosley because of his connections with a company that manufactures rapid COVID-19 tests.

"I realized that I could be doing this testing," Bosley said. "I could do it at my hospital. I went to my administration [at Lexington Medical Center] and said 'Here's the deal, we need to do COVID testing for our patients, but we also need to do it for the military.'"

Right now only returning deployers and Aerospace Control Alert assigned airmen are being tested weekly.

Bosley performs testing twice a week along with Army and Air National Guard medical personnel who assist with sample collections. The medical personnel are provided by Air Force Col. (Dr.) Philip Latham's, SCANG state air surgeon, Medical Strike Team. The Medical Strike Team is an Army and Air National Guard medical collaboration that links Army National Guard medics with Air National Guard aerospace medical technicians. The Medical Strike Team has been performing COVID-19 testing across South Carolina at community testing sites, correctional facilities and other locations since May.

Bosley has the testing procedure down to a science.

"I show up, and the people who will be tested are waiting for me," Bosley said. "I [put on] the proper PPE, put the gloves on and then do the nasopharyngeal swab. Then I have a tube of vial transport media, in Hank’s solution that I break the swab into. [Hank's] is a media that supports the growth of viruses and keeps them healthy until I get back to work."

It only takes two hours to get the results back. Bosley said the testing might be ramped up later to include other critical personnel on base.

(Air Force Lt. Col. Jim St. Clair is assigned to the South Carolina National Guard)

COVID-19 Patients Can Give Back

 Sept. 1, 2020 | BY AIR FORCE AIRMAN 1ST CLASS MELODY BORDEAUX

With the flu season fast approaching and no approved vaccine developed for COVID-19, supplies of life-saving measures such as blood and plasma are being put under strain.

To help hold back the tide, the Defense Department has established a goal of obtaining 10,000 units of donated COVID-19 convalescent plasma, or CCP, by Sept. 30, 2020, to combat the potential rise in cases.

A patient that has recovered from COVID-19 can donate within two to three weeks after recovery. Within this time frame, recovered patients have a concentrated group of antibodies that can help critically ill patients not producing enough antibodies on their own. Donating CCP allows doctors to treat other infections caused by the virus, such as pneumonia, while the antibodies strengthen the patient's immune system and fight against COVID-19.

All service members and DOD civilians that meet these conditions can help donate to the Armed Services Blood Bank Center. Each donation could save as many as three lives.

''Do for somebody what they can't do for themselves,'' said Air Force Staff Sgt. Kiersten Zardee, Armed Services Blood Bank Center noncommissioned officer in charge of aphaeresis operations. ''Giving antibodies saves lives.''

Even if a donor can't give plasma, they can still donate blood and support the everyday mission to provide blood products directly to military beneficiaries worldwide.

''Blood donated on military installations directly supports military beneficiaries and warfighters,'' said Air Force Maj. Sherry McWaters, director of the Armed Services Blood Bank Center. ''We really are asking [donors] to choose us right now, to come on to the base, because we are limited to only doing collections on federal property.''

While the prospect of donating plasma may seem daunting, especially in the uncertain world we now find ourselves in, the team at the Armed Services Blood Bank Center is happy to guide potential donors through the process.

''It's a scary time, there are a lot of things that we don't know, people have a lot of unanswered questions, but if you are nervous to donate just give us a call,'' reassured Air Force Lt. Col. Jeff Wisneski, commander of the 59th Medical Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron. ''We'll answer questions that you have so that you're not scared and that you're not nervous because at the end of the day we will find an answer.''

Once a patient comes in for a screening they will receive a $25 incentive and staff will determine if the recovered patient has the right amount of antibodies to donate. This incentive is only available until Sept. 30, 2020.

Even if a patient does not qualify to donate CCP, they will still receive the gift card and can still donate blood to support mission readiness, military beneficiaries and military treatment facilities around the world.

The process to donate CCP takes about 45 minutes to an hour, and they provide patients with snacks, a movie, seat warmer, pillow and blankets to relax.

When a patient donates, the automated blood collection machine separates the plasma from the blood cells and then returns the red blood cells rich in oxygen  to the patient, significantly reducing fatigue while still providing the most plasma, and antibodies, possible.

Many people have been affected by COVID-19 either personally or through the experience of their loved ones. Those who recover have the opportunity to help save someone else's life.

''Our donor center values the success of this CCP mission,'' McWaters said. ''We truly appreciate everyone who has and who will schedule an appointment to help our nation overcome this pandemic.''

(Air Force Airman 1st Class Melody Bordeaux is assigned to the 59th Medical Wing).

DOD Releases 2020 Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China

 Sept. 1, 2020

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The Department of Defense announces the release of its annual report on "Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China." The congressionally mandated report serves as an authoritative assessment on military and security developments involving the PRC. 

This year's report highlights the links between China's national strategy and developments within China's armed forces.

Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the strategy calls for "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049, including the transformation of the People's Liberation Army into a "world-class” military.

The report comes at a time when the world is witnessing the aggressive assertion of that strategy in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, where China continues to undermine the international rules-based order to advance their own interests. 

This report accounts for the PRC's national strategy and the drivers of China’s security behavior and military strategy, covers key developments in China's military modernization and reform, and provides new insights into China's strategic ambitions in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

The report also discusses China's views of strategic competition, the broader purposes of its Military-Civil Fusion Development Strategy, and its ambitions for the PLA as a political entity of the party.

The National Defense Strategy identifies the Indo-Pacific region as the department's priority theater. As Secretary Mark Esper noted during his recent remarks at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the department continues to take steps to address the strategic challenges posed by the PRC as we implement the NDS, including the modernization of our forces, strengthening our alliances and partnerships, and promoting interconnected security partnerships to advance our shared interests.

The report comes as the Secretary of Defense is wrapping up his trip to Hawaii, Palau and Guam, where he has met with senior leaders from across the region to address these very issues, and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

The report can be found here.

Transcript: Defense Secretary Addresses Free and Open Indo-Pacific at APCSS

Stealthy Steps

 

Army infantrymen conduct training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 26, 2020, as part of an 18-day advanced leadership course.

Farewell Ceremony

 

Air Force medical providers and support staff assigned to COVID Theater Hospital-1 arrive for a farewell ceremony hosted by the staff of Eisenhower Hospital, Rancho Mirage, Calif., Aug. 28, 2020. The airmen have been supporting COVID-19 response efforts at Eisenhower Hospital since mid-July.

Sports Heroes Who Served: College Star Brought High-Achieving Ability as Army Aviator

 Sept. 1, 2020 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

Sports Heroes Who Served is a series that highlights the accomplishments of athletes who served in the U.S. military.

When Hobey Baker entered Princeton University in 1910, he joined the school's hockey, football and baseball teams. For a while he played outfield on the baseball team but he was told by school officials that he could play only two sports at one time, so he dropped baseball. It proved to be the right choice.

As a freshman in one of his first football games with the Tigers, he helped defeat Ivy League rival Yale when he faked a drop-kick field goal and ran for a touchdown.

In 1911, Baker's second year, Princeton finished their ten-game season with eight wins, no losses and two ties. During a re-match against Yale, on Nov. 18, Baker set a school record that still stands: 13 punt returns for 63 yards. That same year, Baker scored 92 points, a school record that stood until 1974.

In 1912, Princeton also had a winning football season of seven wins, one loss, one tie.

In 1913, his final season, Baker was named captain of the football team. He finished his senior year in 1914 with a winning record of five wins, two losses and one tie. 

In hockey, the Princeton Tigers finished the 1911-12 season eight wins and two losses, and in Baker's final hockey season that concluded in 1914, Princeton won the national championship with a ten-and-three record. 

Baker was noted for his good sportsmanship. After each hockey game, it was said he shook hands with each of the opposing team's players.

In 1916, two years after graduation, Baker joined an aviation unit in New York City that was tasked with training civilians who were interested in passing the reserve military aviator flying test and receiving commissions in the Army's aviation section of the Signal Corps. Baker, an aviator, enjoyed flying even more than playing sports.

On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I. That summer, Baker was part of a group of soldiers who were among the first to arrive in Europe. After training in the United Kingdom, he traveled to France where his achievements as a pilot were as illustrious as his collegiate sports record.

In April 1918, Baker joined the 103rd Aero Squadron in France. He downed his first German aircraft the following month and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre medal for valor.

That summer he joined the 13th Aero Squadron. He downed another aircraft and was given command of the 141st Aero Squadron's 26 pilots and 180 enlisted service members.

In October 1918, just four years after graduating from Princeton, Baker was promoted to captain. He shot down two more aircraft on Oct. 28 and Nov. 5.

The war ended Nov. 11, 1918.

On Dec. 21, 1918, Baker took his final flight from the 141st, based in Toul, France. His aircraft reportedly had mechanical difficulties and crashed, killing Baker.

Baker was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. He is the only person ever to be inducted into both.

The Hobey Baker Award was established in 1981 and is awarded annually to the best player in National Collegiate Athletic Association hockey.

More Stories of Sports Heroes Who Served

Force Formation

 

The U.S. Air Force and the Qatari air forces fly in formation over Doha, Qatar, Aug. 24, 2020.

Fighting Flames

 

Marines conduct live-fire training at Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni Japan, July 8, 20