Military Consdering Scaling Back Drone Program

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. — The Pentagon for the first time is considering scaling back the massive buildup of drones it has overseen in the past few years, both to save money and to adapt to changing security threats and an increased focus on Asia as the Afghanistan war winds down.

Air Force leaders are saying the military may already have enough unmanned aircraft systems to wage the wars of the future. And the Pentagon's shift to Asia will require a new mix of drones and other aircraft because countries in that region are better able to detect unmanned versions and shoot them down.

If the Pentagon does slow the huge building and deployment program, which was ordered several years ago by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates, it won't affect the CIA drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere against terror suspects. Those strikes were brought center stage last week during the confirmation hearing for White House counterterror chief John Brennan, President Barack Obama's pick to lead the CIA.

Gen. Mike Hostage, commander of Air Combat Command, said senior leaders are analyzing the military's drone needs and discussions are beginning. But he said the current number patrolling the skies overseas may already be more than the service can afford to maintain.

Overall, Pentagon spending on unmanned aircraft has jumped from $284 million in 2000 to nearly $4 billion in the past fiscal year, while the number of drones owned by the Pentagon has rocketed from less than 200 in 2002 to at least 7,500 now. The bulk of those drones are small, shoulder-launched Ravens owned by the Army.

The discussions may trigger heated debate because drones have become so important to the military. They can provide 24-hour patrols over hotspots, gather intelligence by pulling in millions of terabytes of data and hours of video feeds, and they can also launch precisely targeted airstrikes without putting a U.S. pilot at risk.

The analysis began before Brennan's confirmation hearings, where he was questioned sharply about the CIA's use of drones to kill terror suspects, including American citizens overseas. The CIA gets its attack drones from the Air Force fleet, but any decision to stop building them would be unlikely to have any effect on that program.

The Air Force discussions are focused more on whether the military's drone fleet is the right size and composition for future conflicts.

There has been a seemingly insatiable appetite within the military for the unmanned hunter/killers, particularly among top combat commanders around the world who have been clamoring for the drones but have seen most resources go to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are trying to do the analysis and engage in the discussion to say at some point the downturn in operations and the upsurge in capabilities has got to meet," Hostage said.

Hostage, interviewed in his office at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., amid the intermittent roar of fighter jets overhead, said the military's new focus on the Asia-Pacific region will require a different mix of drones and other aircraft. Unlike in Afghanistan, where the U.S. can operate largely without fear of the drones being shot down, there are a number of countries in the Pacific that could face off against American aircraft – either manned or unmanned.

Right now, Predator and Reaper drones that pilots fly remotely from thousands of miles away are completing 59 24-hour combat air patrols a day, mostly in Afghanistan, Pakistan and areas around Yemen and the Africa coast. The standing order is for the Air Force to increase that number of air patrols to 65 a day by May 2014, although officials say that is an arbitrary number not based on an analysis of future combat requirements.

The staffing demands for that increase have put a strain on the Air Force, as they would require nearly 1,700 drone pilots and 1,200 sensor operators. Currently there are fewer than 1,400 pilots and about 950 sensor operators.

Lt. Gen. Larry D. James, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, said no recommendations for changes to the projected drone fleet have been sent yet to Pentagon leaders. A key part of the decision will involve what types of drones and other aircraft will be needed as the military focuses greater concentration on the Pacific.

While Predators and Reapers have logged more than 1 million hours of combat patrols in the skies over Afghanistan and Iraq, where insurgents don't have the ability to shoot them down, they would be likely to face challenges in the more contested airspace over the Pacific.

Countries with significant air power or the ability to shoot down aircraft are scattered across the region, including China, Russia and North Korea – as well as key U.S. allies such as Japan and Australia. America's pivot to the Pacific reflects a growing strategic concern over China's rise as a military power, amid simmering disputes over Taiwan and contested islands in the south and east China seas.

Hostage said the Predators and Reapers can be used in the Pacific region "but not in a highly contested environment. We may be able to use them on the fringes and on the edges and in small locales, but we're much more likely to lose them if somebody decides to challenge us for that space."

James said the Air Force is evaluating how much to continue to invest in drones like the Reapers that can be used for counterterrorism missions in more so-called permissive environments, versus how much investment should be shifted to other aircraft. The Air Force uses an array of aircraft, such as the U-2 spy plane, the high-altitude Global Hawk drone or satellites and systems that can gather intelligence from space.

David Deptula, a retired Air Force three-star general who was deputy chief of staff for intelligence, said the military needs to measure its drone requirements by the amount of data and intelligence needed by troops to accomplish their mission. The focus should not be on the number of drone patrols but on how well the information is being received and analyzed.

As technologies advance, he said, the Pentagon can reduce the number of drones in orbit, while still increasing the video, data and other information being transmitted.

"There are smarter ways to deliver the capabilities that are more cost effective" than just building more drones, he said.

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Air Force Sex Scandal Prompts House Committee Hearing On Sexual Assault In Military

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. House Armed Services Committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday into sexual assault in the military, prompted by outrage over a sex-with-recruits scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

The Washington hearing comes after nearly 60 current and former personnel, including two men, came forward with what the Air Force considered credible reports that they were sexually abused by their drill sergeants at the base in San Antonio.

Six drill sergeants have been convicted and six more Lackland Military Training Instructors are awaiting court martial in the case. The probe also recently expanded to a recruiting sergeant who was charged with sexually assaulting women who were discussing joining the Air Force.

More than 70 members of Congress signed a petition calling for an open hearing into the case and a similar public petition drew more than 10,000 signatures.

Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh and General Edward Rice, commander of the Air Education and Training Command are both expected to testify on Wednesday.

They are likely to address the completed Air Force internal investigation of Lackland, the Air Force's center for basic training, and the alleged incidents dating back to 2009. The Air Force has extended its inquiry back 10 years.

The House committee chairman, California Republican Howard "Buck" McKeon, told Reuters military commanders were expected to provide an environment of security and respect and "without question" had violated that trust.

"I expect them to tell this committee and the American people what went wrong and what they are doing to rebuild the good faith that the Lackland scandal has erased," he said.

Committee member Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, said the Air Force did not appear willing to get to the root of the problem.

"I intend to ask whether General (Margaret) Woodward, who conducted a formal review of the culture at Lackland without speaking to a single victim, amended her report and recommendations to include interviews with any of the young women who were raped, sexually assaulted, or sexually harassed by thirty military training instructors," Speier said.

Nancy Parrish, who leads an advocacy group for victims of sexual asault in the military called Protect Our Defenders, said there was an epidemic of sexual assault in the military and a culture that punishes the victim. She said it was time for President Barack Obama to act.

"We look to the Commander in Chief to make this a top priority in 2013," Parrish said, adding that she hoped the hearings would be a first step.

Paula Coughlin, a former Navy helicopter pilot who exposed the "Tailhook Scandal," in which female pilots were sexually assaulted and harassed during a Las Vegas convention in 1991, believes authority to investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases should be given to an independent civilian panel.

"It has to come out of the chain of command, because the chain of command has really become impotent," Coughlin said. "The chain of command is vested in protecting itself, and so often, the perpetrator of the assault is in the chain of command."

Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Addicott, a long time Judge Advocate General for the Army Special Forces, argued that the Air Force investigation headed by General Woodward had led to realistic solutions.

The Air Force has increased the number of female Military Training Instructors in basic training, and now requires two squadrons of recruits be trained by four instructors, at least one of whom is a woman.

He said that in many cases the demands of Congress for quick and full integration of women into all military branches had led to the current problem.

"The problem lies not just with the military, but with the people who want to engage in social engineering to create this utopian idea of what men and women should or shouldn't do," he said.

Parrish said a 2010 Pentagon report estimated that there were 19,000 military rapes and sexual assaults each year, but only 3,200 victims reported attacks and only 191 cases resulted in court martial convictions.

"It is yet to be determined whether these hearings will be another footnote in this tragic American story, or whether Congress will take on its responsibility of oversight to fix this problem," Parrish said. (Editing by David Bailey and David Brunnstrom)

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Kids' Inaugural Concert 2013: Obama Daughters Rock Out With Military Families' Children

The First Lady Michelle Obama and her children along with Jill Biden (first left of Michelle) and her family arrive for the children's concert at the Washington Convention Center to celebrate military families on January 19, 2013 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Usher sang "Yeah!" Katy Perry donned star and stripes for "Firework." And a ballroom full of lucky kids got to rock out with Sasha and Malia Obama at Saturday's Kids' Inaugural Concert, a star-studded event that honors America's military families.

"Now, inauguration is a pretty big deal," first lady Michelle Obama, who hosted the event along with Jill Biden, told the assembled families at the Washington Convention Center. "But I have to tell you that my very favorite part of this entire weekend is being right here with all of you." She paid tribute to the sacrifices that military families make, including their kids.

Pointing out that such kids often attend six to nine schools by the end of high school, always having to be "the new kid," she said being a military kid meant "growing up just a little faster, and working just a little harder than other kids." The concert was streamed live to several military bases around the country.

This was the second such concert for the Obama girls, and the choice of talent seemed to reflect the fact that they are four years older. While in 2009 they were entertained by Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, this time it was Usher and Perry, along with the groups Mindless Behavior and Far East Movement. Also performing were cast members from the Fox TV hit "Glee."

Usher, in black leather, kicked off the proceedings with his hit "Yeah!," followed by "Without You" and "OMG," earning a huge cheer from the crowd. In between acts, there were kid-friendly diversions like a dance-off, or a race among mascots of the Washington Nationals: oversized versions of presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.

Three members of the "Glee" cast were greeted warmly by the crowd: Naya Rivera, who plays Santana; Darren Criss, who plays Blaine; and Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes.

Nick Cannon emceed the evening, but it was Mrs. Obama, sporting her new bangs and wearing a white peplum shirt over black pants, who got to introduce the top attraction.

"It is now my pleasure to introduce the fabulous Katy Perry!" she said, and the singer emerged in what looked like a vintage swimsuit, covered patriotically with stars and stripes. She sang her hits "Teenage Dream," "Part of Me," "Wide Awake" and then "Firework," which was accompanied by a slide show of President Barack Obama: Obama in the Oval Office, Obama exiting Air Force One, Obama greeting LeBron James.

"I'm very proud to be here ... and to see the Obamas and the Bidens here for four more years," she said.

Perry was the favorite of concertgoer Dylan Garvin, 12, who came from Wilmington, Del. "I thought it was incredible," Dylan said of the concert. "It's a great way to celebrate."

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