Navy, Marine Corps Officials Warn of Sequestration’s Impact

By Nick Simeone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2015 – The Navy and Marine Corps will be challenged to carry out their parts of the national defense strategy if billions of dollars in sequester-related budget cuts take effect Oct. 1, senior service officials told legislators on Capitol Hill today.

In prepared testimony, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert told the Senate Armed Services Committee the service is still recovering from a $9 billion shortfall triggered in 2013 by the mandatory across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration. Further reductions, he added, would put U.S. sailors’ and Marines’ lives at increased risk, and negatively impact military readiness and national security.

“Unless naval forces are properly sized, modernized at the right pace, ready to deploy with adequate training and equipment, and able to respond with the capacity and speed required by combatant commanders, they will not be able to carry out the defense strategy,” Greenert testified, pointing out critical shortfalls in everything from ship deployments to munitions to the resiliency of sailors.

Greenert, who testified along with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, outlined many of the same points made during a hearing last week before the House Armed Services Committee. “In real terms, this means longer timelines to achieve victory, more military and civilian lives lost, and potentially less credibility to deter adversaries and assure allies,” Greenert said.

Possible Deep Budget Cuts

Under limits imposed on government spending as part of the 2011 Budget Control Act, known as sequestration, the military is set to face another round of deep cuts when the new fiscal year begins Oct.1.

Dunford testified that sequestration-related cuts would impact readiness by leaving fewer forces able to respond to contingencies, where he said demand remains high. The commandant said the Marine Corps is already falling short on investments in modernization and that over half of nondeployed units report unacceptable levels of readiness.

“As the nation’s first responders, the Marine Corps’ home stationed units are expected to be in the same high state of readiness as deployed units,” said Dunford, adding that the Marine Corps is currently working on a detailed plan to enhance its overall readiness.

Mabus said the Marine Corps will hold for a year at an end strength of 184,000, while officials assess the impact of what has been an ongoing drawdown.

But despite budget austerity and an unpredictable security environment, in the end, Dunford said, “we will do what Marines have always done -- innovate for the future, adapt to overcome and always win.”

Russian Aggression Threatens European Security, Officials Say

By Claudette Roulo

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2015 – Russia is actively supporting violence in Ukraine, sending weapons and equipment to separatist forces and violating the “immediate and comprehensive cease-fire” called for in the Minsk agreement, officials told Congress today.

The cease-fire is holding in some areas of eastern Ukraine, and recovery and rebuilding efforts have begun, Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Brian P. McKeon told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In a joint written statement with Navy Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe, the director of plans and policy for the Joint Staff, McKeon noted that this lull may be a stalling tactic as a precursor to more violence.

Across the region, the picture is very mixed, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland said.

“Just yesterday, shelling continued in Shyrokyne -- a key village on the way to Mariupol -- and outside Donetsk on the weekend,” she said. “And just in the last few days, we can confirm new transfers of Russian tanks, armored vehicles, heavy artillery and rocket equipment over the border to the separatists in eastern Ukraine.”

In the joint statement, McKeon and Pandolfe called on Russia to stop “moving the goalposts,” to uphold the cease-fire and to allow Ukraine the freedom to choose its own path.

Multi-pronged Response

The United States has vigorously pursued a multi-pronged approach in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, McKeon said.

“We have raised the costs to Russia for its actions, re-assured allies of our unwavering support to their security, and provided tangible support to Ukraine to help it through the crisis,” he said.

The Defense Department halted its cooperation with Russia, McKeon said. “The administration has also prohibited exports of sensitive technologies that could be used in Russia’s military modernization and has imposed blocking sanctions on 18 Russian defense technology firms,” he added.

Expanded Reassurance Mission

The U.S. has maintained a military presence in the region as part of visible and concrete measures aimed at reassuring European allies and partners and deterring further Russian aggression, he said.

In addition, McKeon said, “We tripled the number of U.S. aircraft taking part in [NATO’s] Baltic Air Policing rotation, provided refueling aircraft for NATO Airborne Warning and Control System missions, deployed U.S. Navy ships to the Black and Baltic Seas 14 times, and increased training flights in Poland.”

These efforts will step up over the coming year, he noted.

In their joint statement, McKeon and Pandolfe said the ramped-up effort includes prepositioning a second battalion-sized set of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Europe, additional bilateral and multilateral exercises, infrastructure improvements at eight airfields and a squadron of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft will deploy to Europe for about six months.

In addition, they wrote, capacity-building efforts with close partners such as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine will enhance their ability to work alongside U.S. and NATO forces and provide for their own defense.

Fulfilling Collective Defense Obligations

NATO has taken similar steps to reassure allies and deter Russia, McKeon said. “These measures are defensive, proportionate, and fully in line with the obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty to provide for collective defense of the alliance,” he added.

Improvements to NATO’s Readiness Action Plan will “ensure it is ready to respond swiftly and firmly to new security challenges,” McKeon said.

The newly created Very High Readiness Joint Task Force will be able to deploy at very short notice, he said.

“The task force consists of a land component of around 5,000 troops with an appropriate mix of air, maritime and special operations forces units,” McKeon said. “It aims to strengthen the alliance’s collective defense and ensure that NATO has the right forces in the right place at the right time.”

Economic, Security Crises

The U.S. is providing support as Ukraine -- a strong partner to the United States and NATO since its independence –- addresses simultaneous security and economic crises, he said.

“Unfortunately, the corruption of the Yanukovych regime starved Ukraine’s armed forces of resources,” McKeon said. “But the neglect of the armed forces by the regime did not strip the military of its professionalism or its determination to fight.”

The U.S. has committed $118 million in material and training assistance to Ukraine’s military, National Guard and border guard service, he said. Over the coming year it will send at least another $120 million, including $45 million for State Department security assistance programs, McKeon said.

“Our assistance has been consistent with identified Ukrainian needs and priorities, and is vetted by our country team in Kyiv and by a flag-level U.S.-Ukraine Joint Commission that continues to assess how to maximize the effect and impact of our security assistance,” he told the committee.

No Military Solution in Ukraine

The department does not believe there is a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine and is working actively to support diplomatic efforts, McKeon said. However, he added, “we are looking at all our options, including the possibility of lethal defensive weapons.”

Russian aggression in Ukraine is a threat to a free, whole and peaceful Europe, he said.

“The United States will continue to work closely with our Ukrainian and European partners to counter these actions and to provide reassurance and support to our partners and NATO allies,” McKeon said.

Seymour Johnson AFB: The source of F-15 airpower - Part 2

by Airman Shawna L. Keyes
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

3/10/2015 - SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C.  -- [Editor's note: This feature is the second of a three-part series focusing on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's ability to train both the Airmen who fly and the Airmen who maintain the F-15, thereby sourcing the Air Force's F-15 airpower.]

The 4th Fighter Wing hosts more than half of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter squadrons in the Air Force and is home to two training squadrons which Strike Eagle pilots and weapons systems officers must attend before becoming operational.

Much like Strike Eagle maintainers, if an Airman wants to be a part of, and add to the legacy of the Strike Eagle, they must come to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, to train.

The base hosts the 333rd "Lancers" and 334th "Eagles" Fighter Squadrons, the source of F-15E Strike Eagle airpower. The pilots and WSOs attached to the squadrons attend the Basic Course - more commonly known as "B-Course" which is approximately eight and a half months long.

The 333rd and 334th FSs hold two courses a year, respectively. With an average of 20 students per course, more than 80 prospective Strike Eagle aircrew pass through Seymour Johnson AFB's gates every year.

Students study basic fighter maneuvers, where they learn air combat maneuvers and air-to-air tactical intercepts. Aircrew also learn to detect, target and engage long range targets.

"There are a lot of things that the F-15Es can do and a lot of things we have to provide to combatant commanders all around the world," said 1st Lt. Matthew Sowder, 334th FS student WSO. "We have to be proficient in any one of those tasks so that when we're called for any given mission, we're prepared with the best of our abilities."

Additionally, students study air-to-ground academics and simulations with the 4th Training Squadron before returning to their respective training squadrons.

Instructors come in from one of six operational squadrons located at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, or Seymour Johnson's own 335th "Chiefs" and 336th "Rockets" FSs. A three-to-one student to instructor ratio is used in the classroom and a one-to-one ratio is utilized during flying missions.

"The one-to-one ratio for a training mission is important because it allows the student pilot and student WSO to receive hands-on training in the aircraft," Divittorio said. "Real-time training during the brief and debrief allows the instructor pilot and instructor WSO to teach crew position to their students, as well as the crew coordination that is required."

The course culminates in day and night surface attack tactic sorties often accompanied by other types of aircraft to increase learning.

Divittorio said anytime the training squadrons can allow the students to fly and fight against other aircraft different from the F-15E it allows them to see the strengths and weaknesses that adversary aircraft could possibly bring to the fight while down range.

Divittorio added that the unique location of Seymour Johnson AFB allows for air combat training over different landscapes and utilizing assets such as the F/A-18 Hornet from Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, the F-22 Raptor and T-38 Talon at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and the F-16CM Fighting Falcon at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

"Seymour Johnson (AFB) provides a unique opportunity for F-15E training in that we have the phenomenal maritime airspace off the east coast," said Lt. Col. Ernesto Divittorio, 334th FS director of operations. "We have both flat land and mountainous terrain as we get out to western North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, that the students get to learn off of."

Recent B Course grad 1st Lt. Desmond Ross, 336th FS WSO, said being able to go head-to-head with different types of aircraft allowed him and the other students to learn how their radar and weapons react to different types of aircraft.

"The training in B Course is very extensive, we learn everything that the Strike Eagle can do in air-to-air and air-to-ground engagement," said Ross. "Some aircraft are smaller and faster than the Strike Eagle. So we have to work through those problems as they arise. It's something that we can't plan for when we use the same type of aircraft in our training; which is why training with other aircraft is so critical."

Ross said everything he learned in B Course has prepared him to learn more in an operational squadron and allowed him to continue honing his skills and become a better aviator.

Once training is complete, a graduation ceremony is held where students receive their first assignments to either Mount Home AFB, RAF Lakenheath or to remain at Seymour Johnson AFB.

"It's incredibly motivational to see the Rockets and the Chiefs taking off," Sowder said. "That's our future. The guys in the operational squadrons are who we aspire to be and soon enough we'll be among their ranks."

AMC communications director wins national awards

by Jodi Ames
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

3/10/2015 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Integrity first. Service before self. Excellence in all we do. Every Airman recognizes these tenets, but sometimes there are individuals who truly personify the core values each of us are charged to uphold. Colonel Rob Lyman is one of those Airmen.

On February 4, 2015, Federal Computer Week announced their 2015 Federal 100 Awards. Lyman, Air Mobility Command's director of communications and chief information officer, is among this year's winners.

Each year, FCW recognizes the top 100 leaders from across the federal information technology community who had the greatest impact.

According to FCW, "These individuals have gone above and beyond their daily responsibilities and have made a difference in the way technology has transformed their agency or accelerated their agency's mission."

Lyman credits three key accomplishments within AMC that led to the organization's success and his subsequent nomination for the Federal 100 award.

The first of those accomplishments involved a partnership among organizations from across the Department of Defense and the communications industry. They formulated a get-well plan intended to bolster the reliability and capabilities of communications platforms for senior leaders, including the president, vice president and secretary of defense. This collaboration, combined with the innovative efforts of Lyman and his team, yielded high-level support that directly contributed to the funding and execution of a $254 million plan to enable effective communications for senior leaders.

Air Mobility Command's communications directorate also recently joined with the Defense Information Systems Agency to enable and advance wireless update capabilities for iPads that are frequently used as electronic flight bags for aircrew members. Speaking of the improved capability, Lyman said, "The command reaps a whole lot of benefit from that - from the ability to immediately update publications that are on the device, to also saving in fuel costs by not having to lug a bunch of technical orders around on the aircraft." According to the nomination for the award, this technology will eliminate the need to carry hard-copy publications, which will save the Air Force an estimated $6.5 million each year in fuel and printing costs.

Finally, Lyman attributes his win to AMC's cybersecurity mission and the team of people around him.

"Cybersecurity is a team sport and a tough, tough game. So we've put a lot of focus on that - not just how we defend our networks and the critical data associated with our mobility Air Force command and control systems, but also on the processes we use as a command." He continued, "What are our processes when a cyber incident happens? How do we mature those processes and how do we exercise them? We've done a lot of work in the last year associated with that. We've made great strides," he said,

FCW was not the only organization to recognize Lyman's leadership and expertise in 2014. He was also selected as an honoree for Computerworld's 2015 Premier 100 IT Leaders. The full list was recently featured in a special issue of Computerworld's Digital Magazine. His full profile can also be seen in Computerworld's Class of 2015 Yearbook.

Perhaps Lyman's most remarkable trait is the amount of praise he has for his colleagues and fellow Airmen. When asked about his reaction to being selected as one of FCW's top 100 leaders in the federal IT community, he said he was surprised and humbled.

"It really has very little to do with me and a whole lot to do with the great work this organization does." He added, "Personally, it's very humbling because I'm a representative. Anytime you're a senior leader in any organization, you become a representative for those you lead. Professionally, I think it's a great recognition of the strides this organization's made and it's a great recognition of the energy behind this mission set within AMC. This adds credibility to the great work these folks are doing. They've been tested, they've been measured, and the work they do is outstanding."

Certainly, teamwork has been a hallmark theme throughout Lyman's career. Many experiences have molded his career.

"I've been lifted up by giants - in this assignment and in past assignments. I look at the history that brought me to this job and there are a number of experiences that I rely on to focus on what I think is important," he said.

In that same spirit, he offered some candid advice for Airmen and IT professionals striving to excel in the communications field.

"Bloom where you're planted. This is a team sport and sometimes people focus too much on the glamorous jobs, the glamorous units or the glamorous assignments. There's a lot of blocking and tackling that has to happen in order to make the mission successful; if you're excelling where you're planted, someone will notice the rose and pluck you out for that next opportunity."

Operational focus also plays a huge role in the IT business.

According to Lyman, "Our business is national security. The Air Force's mission is to fly, fight and win. If you focus on the ability to fly, fight and win in whatever your unit is, you'll be better for it."

The 2015 Federal 100 awards will be presented at the 26th annual awards gala on March 26, 2015 in Washington D.C. Profiles for this year's winners will be published later this month in FCW and on the FCW website. Computerworld's newest Premier 100 honorees will be recognized at the AGENDA15 leadership conference and gala on April 1, 2015 in Amelia Island, Florida.

Col. Rob Lyman is a native of Frederick, Maryland. Prior to entering the United States Air Force in 1993, he graduated as a distinguished graduate from the ROTC program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He received a master's degree in organizational management from George Washington University and also earned a graduate certificate in legislative studies from the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University. Lyman is an alumnus of the White House Fellows Program, and was recently selected for an assignment as 628th Air Base Wing commander at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina.

Winnefeld: DMZ Provides Reminder Why Military Defends Freedoms

By Lisa Ferdinando

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

PANMUNJOM, Korea, March 9, 2015 – The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited Korea's demilitarized zone yesterday, where soldiers from North Korea and South Korea have stared each other down for more than six decades after an armistice ended hostilities of the Korean War.

Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr. said the tour is a powerful reminder of just why American service men and women give so much to defend the freedom of the nation.

Winnefeld is leading a USO delegation of celebrities who are circumnavigating the globe in just over a week to bring cheer to deployed troops. After visiting in Europe and making their way through Bahrain, Afghanistan and the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, South Korea was their last foreign call before heading for their final show in Hawaii.

He said he took the celebrities to the DMZ so they could gain a deeper understanding of the freedoms that the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and allied nations are fighting to defend -- and for the service and sacrifice of those who fought and died defending freedom in the Korean War.

The role of celebrities as goodwill ambassadors also is to greet the troops who are deployed so far from home, the admiral said.

Earlier in the day, at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Air Force Col. Brook Leonard, the 51st Fighter Wing commander, succinctly described the U.S. role in the region:

"Our grandparents fought and died together for freedom, and we continue to guard that freedom," he said.

North Korea Watches Delegation

Army Col. James Minnich, the secretary of the United Nations Command, Military Armistice Commission, briefed Winnefeld and the group and took them through the fortified DMZ area.

UNCMAC supervises the armistice agreement, which was signed in 1953 and created the DMZ that serves as a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea.

"It is in U.S. best interests that things continue to progress over here, Minnich said. “Our presence here and our alliance ensure that stability."

When Winnefeld and the celebrities reached the inside portion of the Joint Security Area conference row, North Korean soldiers rushed to the windows on the North Korean side and furiously snapped photos of occupants inside.

The North Koreans will try to identify who was visiting the area, Minnich explained.

Winnefeld's guests included Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, Colts tight end Dwayne Allen, Pittsburgh Steelers guard David DeCastro, actor Dennis Haysbert, Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev, “American Idol” season 11 winner Phillip Phillips, and former “American Idol” contestants Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo, now a married couple.

The celebrities had lunch with U.S. and South Korean soldiers at the Joint Security Area to boost morale and bring a slice of home to the American troops.

The service and sacrifice of those who fought in the Korean War is a reminder of the price of freedom, Winnefeld said, proudly noting how his father was among those who fought in the conflict.

"My father served in the Navy in the Korean War and actually directed naval gunfire and his boat was hit, so he's seen this conflict right up front," Winnefeld said.

Luck's grandfather was a Marine Corps engineer in the Korean War.

"He used to tell stories about how he was deployed a couple months before the cease-fire started," he said.

The NFL star said he grew up with stories from his grandfather about how he helped to build the first 15 miles of the DMZ, and saw prisoner exchanges and the minefields being set up.

In advance of this trip, Luck said, he and his grandfather spoke multiple times and went over maps and photographs of the area.

"It's a bit surreal to be here," he said, noting that he looks forward to discussing the visit with his grandfather.

"I need to have a very extensive, lengthy, detailed report ready for him, … or else," Luck said with a chuckle.

Service Members Stand Ready

A little more than 28,000 U.S. service members are in South Korea. About 92 percent of those service members are on a one-year tour without their families, Leonard said.

"There is sacrifice to do that, but that sacrifice over the last 60-plus years since the armistice was signed has resulted in incredible prosperity in South Korea," he said.

The United States and its South Korean partners have done "an amazing amount of nation building," Leonard said.

The hope over time, he added, is that North Korea and South Korea will come together as one state or in other ways.

"It could be two separate states, but no longer at 'pause' but actually interacting," he said. "Who knows how that will play out? But it is our hope that it plays out in a very peaceful way."

Visitors to the DMZ will see the stark contrast between the sides, he said. A photograph from space shows South Korea vibrant and lit up at night, while North Korea is dark -- in a literal and figurative sense, Leonard said.

"It's pretty incredible to see how literally the relationship, the war, basically got put on pause, and so we say we are at 'pause' and not at peace," he said.

"We are here for basically the specific reason is to guard the freedom of 51 million people," he added. "We prioritize readiness to make sure we are ready to fight tonight."

The U.S. armed forces have been serving in Korea since the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. The armistice was signed July 27, 1953.

"They signed an armistice, and we continue to reinforce that armistice every day -- every day -- by making sure that we're as ready as possible as we can be," Leonard said.