PA Morning Report

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BUDGET
Defense News: USAF: We Didn’t Inflate C-27J Costs (1)
The Hill: The Air Force numbers game (4)
NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE
GSN: U.S. to Maintain Talks With Russia on Missile Shield Guarantees (6)
WIN TODAY’S FIGHT
AF Times: Air Force confirms Metzger kidnapped in 2006 (9)
CARING FOR AIRMEN
AF Times: Recruiting goals to remain steady this year (12)
MODERNIZATION
SatNews: USAF's SBIR Satellite Better Than Best Report (15)
ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
Defense News: USAF May Cut F-35 Sim Needs (17)
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Aviation Week: Chinese Air Force Modernizes On Dual Tracks (20)
OF INTEREST
Fayetteville Observer: Dead Soldier's Effects Still Turn Up 2 Years Later (22)

BUDGET

1. USAF: We Didn’t Inflate C-27J Costs
(Defense News, 19 Mar 12) … Marcus Weisgerber and Kate Brannen
The U.S. Air Force - stung by accusations that it’s inflating the cost of flying the C-27J cargo plane as an excuse to cancel the program - is playing damage control.

2. Casey touts Biden meeting to try to save Air Force Reserve base
(AP, 19 Mar 12) … Unattributed
PITTSBURGH - U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said he has met with Vice President Joe Biden to try to save a Pittsburgh-area Air Force Reserve base that military authorities have slated for closure, jeopardizing 1,451 jobs.

3. Scott Brown visits Westover Air Reserve Base, readies for Senate hearing Tuesday
(The Republican, 19 Mar 12) … Jim Kinney
CHICOPEE – U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown toured Westover Air Reserve Base Monday, one day before he plans to question Air Force brass on proposed cuts to Westover and other Air Force installations around the state including Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield.

4. The Air Force numbers game
(The Hill, 19 Mar 12) … Philip Ewing
The active, Guard and Reserve branches of the Air Force are in a food fight over which units and aircraft would go away in the Austerity Force proposed by this year’s budget submission. Who’s right? They all are.

5. Pentagon Budget Secures Major Strategic Win For Lockheed
(AOL Defense, 19 Mar 12) … Loren Thompson
If you are one of those people who believes the various conspiracy theories making the rounds about Lockheed Martin's excessive influence over government decisions, the Pentagon's fiscal 2013 budget request probably won't make you feel any better.

CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN THE NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE

6. U.S. to Maintain Talks With Russia on Missile Shield Guarantees
(Global Security Newswire, 19 Mar 12) … Unattributed
A senior U.S. diplomat on Thursday said the Obama administration would maintain talks with Russia on the potential provision of a pledge regarding the use of U.S. missile interceptors planned for deployment around Europe, ITAR-Tass reported.

7. Scientific Report on Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Due This Month
(Global Security Newswire, 19 Mar 12) … Unattributed
A long-awaited scientific report on technical matters related to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is to be released at the end of the month, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

PARTNER WITH JOINT AND COALITION TEAM TO WIN TODAY’S FIGHT

8. Coalition troops hope to improve Afghan pilots' literacy and, eventually, aviation skills
(Stars and Stripes, 19 Mar 12) … Heath Druzin
KABUL - After more than 30 years of war, the few qualified pilots in Afghanistan are largely graying veterans of the old Soviet-backed military who haven’t flown a MiG in decades.

9. Air Force confirms Metzger kidnapped in 2006
(Air Force Times, 19 Mar 12) … Jeff Schogol
The Air Force has confirmed that a major who went missing in Kyrgyzstan six years ago was kidnapped, debunking an online smear campaign that claimed she went AWOL.

10. Allen: U.S. to stay the course in Afghanistan
(AP, 19 Mar 12) … Lolita C. Baldor
WASHINGTON - The U.S. must stick to its strategy in Afghanistan, including the planned withdrawal calendar, over the next several months despite recent setbacks that have tested America’s relations with the Afghans, the top U.S. commander for the war is telling Congress.

DEVELOP AND CARE FOR AIRMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES

11. MRFF: AF Academy dean directing counterattack
(Air Force Times, 19 Mar 12) … Markeshia Ricks
The Air Force is giving “appropriate consideration” to allegations that the Air Force Academy’s dean of faculty ordered a campaign against a religious freedom watchdog group and then lied about it during a deposition, according to a letter obtained by Air Force Times.

12. Recruiting goals to remain steady this year
(Air Force Times, 19 Mar 12) … Markeshia Ricks
SAN ANTONIO - Despite expected significant reductions in budget and manpower for fiscal 2013, the Air Force’s recruiting mission remains on track - at least for now, according to the one-star who leads that mission.

13. Services exchange leadership culture
(Marine Corps Times, 19 Mar 12) … Markeshia Ricks
Squadron Officer School airmen at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., recently played host to 35 soldiers and Marines from the Army Captains Career Course about 81 miles down the road at Fort Benning, Ga., in what leaders from both courses hope will be a long-term relationship that will benefit both branches.

MODERNIZE OUR AIR, SPACE AND CYBERSPACE INVENTORIES, ORGS AND TRAINING

14. Pentagon invests heavily in new arsenal of cyberweapons
(The Hill, 19 Mar 12) … Carlo Munoz
The Pentagon is investing heavily in an arsenal of cyberweapons as a debate rages in Congress about how and when they should be used.

15. USAF's SBIR Satellite Better Than Best Report
(SatNews, 19 Mar 12) … Unattributed
The first Space Based Infrared Systems geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite, currently undergoing a rigorous operational certification process, is meeting or exceeding performance requirements, and on track to be delivered into operations.

16. Air Force to modify F-22 following fatal crash
(Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar 12) … W.J. Hennigan
LOS ANGELES -- The Air Force will modify the handle that engages the emergency oxygen system in its entire fleet of F-22 Raptor fighter jets after a report found that it played a role in a crash that killed one of its top aviators.

RECAPTURE ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE

17. USAF May Cut F-35 Sim Needs
(Defense News, 13 Mar 12) … Marcus Weisgerber
The Air Force is looking to slash the number of locations where it will base F-35 Joint Strike Fighter squadrons to bring down the jet’s estimated trillion-dollar sustainment costs.

GLOBAL AIR, SPACE, and CYBERSPACE ENVIRONMENT

18. Presentation of operating capabilities KC-767A airplane
(World Aeronautical Press Agency, 19 Mar 12) … Unattributed
A Boeing tanker KC-767A airplane, two Eurofighters of the 4th Wing, two AMX of the 32nd Wing and two Tornado of the 6th Wing have participated last Friday March 16, 2012 at the presentation of operating capacities of the new aircraft in service of the 14th Wing in Pratica di Mare with equipments for loads on airplane at ground and refuelling with an aircraft in flight into the "Operating area" above Ponza's island at an altitude of 18,000 ft.

19. Air Force blames split in radar dome on humidity
(China Post, 20 Mar 12) … Joseph Yeh
Humidity is to blame for causing splits in some protective radar domes (radomes) of U.S.-made missiles currently being used by Taiwan's F-16 fighter jets, the Air Force said yesterday.

20. Chinese Air Force Modernizes On Dual Tracks
(Aviation Week, 19 Mar 12) … Richard D. Fisher, Jr.
As China starts to put together a modern, integrated air force, which could reach 1,000 fighters by 2020, it is developing the components of a future force of stealthier combat aircraft, new bombers and unmanned, hypersonic and possibly space-based combat platforms. These could emerge as soon as the early 2020s.

21. N. Korea invites U.N. nuke monitors to return
(AP, 19 Mar 12) … Unattributed
VIENNA - North Korea has invited the International Atomic Energy Agency to return, three years after expelling its nuclear monitors, the agency said Monday. The U.S. said such a move would be welcome but remained critical of the North’s missile test plans.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

22. Dead Soldier's Effects Still Turn Up 2 Years Later
(Fayetteville Observer, 19 Mar 12) … Drew Brooks
One Army widow's nightmare just won't end. Brittany Frazier buried her husband in late 2009, only to learn two months later that not all of his remains were included.

23. Slighted Air Force General Loses Battle with Pentagon
(Courthouse News Service, Ryan Abbott
WASHINGTON - A retired brigadier general cannot retroactively take a promotion that suspended after Hezbollah bombed the Khobar Towers, an apartment complex occupied by U.S. Air Force personnel in Saudi Arabia, a federal judge ruled.

24. NASA Plans Flexible Wing Tests With X-56A
(Aviation Week, 19 Mar 12) … Graham Warwick
After Lockheed Martin completes flights of the flying-wing X-56A for the U.S. Air Force, NASA plans to use the experimental unmanned aircraft to develop active control systems for slender, flexible wings on future, highly efficient transport aircraft.

25. Lawyer: Bales recalls little of shooting spree
(AP, 19 Mar 12) … Gene Johnson and John Milburn
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - The lawyer for the Army staff sergeant accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians in a nighttime shooting rampage met his client for the first time Monday and said the solider has a sketchy memory of the night of the massacre.

HEADLINES

CNN at 0530
Feds, FBI probe Florida teen's death as 911 calls released
Opposition: Syrian forces renew attacks
For Romney, Illinois is another 'must-win' state

FOX News at 0530
Commander: Afghan Mission on Track
Obama Raises Eyebrows With New Executive Order
Feds, FBI to Investigate Shooting Death of Teen

NPR at 0530
Do Juvenile Killers Deserve Life Behind Bars?
Candidates Make Final Delegate Dash In Illinois
In Death Of Florida Teen, A National Story About Race

USA Today at 0530
Feds to investigate death of Trayvon Martin
Bombings across Iraq kill 44, wound nearly 200
Pakistani parliament demands end to U.S. drones

Washington Post at 0530
Bales was found liable in financial fraud
Federal agencies to open investigation into black teen’s death in Florida
House Republicans to propose major reshuffling of the nation’s tax code

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