Roger That: Senator blasts Air Force for spending $40,000 on model of air base

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday blasted the Air Force for spending $40,000 on an 11-foot model of the Fairchild Air Force Base, according to The Hill.

The model was built to preserve the base’s history before some of its buildings get torn down, but Paul faulted it as a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Paul in his latest “Waste Report” series called the expenditure “troubling,” and highlighted the irony of tearing down 16 underutilized buildings at the Washington state base only to spend $40,000 on a model of the base.

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The Air Force earlier this month reached full operational capability in its Air Force Intranet Control (AFINC) Weapon System, which service officials say is the first cyberspace weapons system to reach full operational capability, the trade publication C4ISR & Networks.

AFINC becoming fully operational means that the system “is fully capable to serve as the top-level defensive boundary and entry point for all network traffic into AFINC,” according to an Air Force release. The system comprises 16 gateway suites whittled down from more than 100 regionally managed network entry points that were consolidated or replaced.

The system also consists of 15 nodes for the Defense Department’s classified SIPRNet network, more than 200 service delivery points and two integrated management suites. It’s all centrally operated by the 26th Network Operations Squadron (NOS), based at Gunter Annex in Montgomery, Ala.

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A threefold increase in helicopter crash deaths last year is raising questions about whether budget cuts are endangering troops by forcing deep cuts in maintenance and training, Stars and Stripes is reporting.

Twelve helicopter crashes in 2015 killed 30 servicemembers — three times as many deaths as in 2014. Twelve more died Jan. 14 when two U.S. Marine CH-53 Super Stallions collided off the coast of Oahu in Hawaii during a night training flight.

Marine commanders including Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy Marine commandant for aviation, and Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, are looking at why so many helicopters are crashing, according to a senior defense official familiar with the discussions.

Almost all the deaths, including those on Jan. 14, occurred during home-station training missions.

Nondeployed units at their homes stations have dealt with reduced flight training opportunities for years. The continued high pace of wartime operations meant units deploying to conflict areas got priority for training.

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U.S. special operations forces are exceptionally tight-lipped about their duty assignments. But they are becoming increasingly forthright about their interest in innovative technology, according to National Defense magazine.

Taking a page from the Silicon Valley business playbook, the U.S. Special Operations Command has opened up its own technology incubator in Ybor City, a historic Tampa, Florida, neighborhood not far from SOCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base.

SofWerX is a 10,000 square-foot open floor building with the look and feel of a tech startup. The name is a melding of SOF and a stylized spelling of "Works." SOCOM decided it needed to do something in response to growing concerns that the military has been a technology laggard and needs to create new channels to communicate with the faster-moving private sector.

“We’re flipping the engagement with industry,” said James F. Geurts, acquisition executive for U.S. Special Operations Command. He oversees a staff of 600 researchers, procurement and contracting officers.

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This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Roger That: Senator blasts Air Force for spending $40,000 on model of air base."