COMMANDER’S CORNER: SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE NEW YEAR - PAGE 2 Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Vol. 62 No. 4
Government re-opens, Peterson AFB returns to normal operations Air Force Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff David Goldfein was released to Airmen Jan. 20 to address the shutdown.
By Audrey Jensen 21st Space Wing
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — All operations on Peterson Air Force Base returned to normal Tuesday, Jan. 23 after President Donald J. Trump signed continuing resolution H.R. 195 Monday night, the third day of the government shutdown. The continuing resolution will fund the government through Feb. 8, which is when Congress is expected to vote on another appropriation bill. During the government shutdown, all non-excepted civilian personnel were furloughed. A letter from Secretary of the
WASHINGTON (AFNS) — To the Airmen of the United States Air Force: As you are no doubt aware, funding for the federal government expired at midnight. The administration is urging Congress to enact a short term continuing resolution to fund the federal government to allow Congress more time to finalize the budget for the remainder of this year. In the meantime, we have no choice but to comply with the law and conduct only those operations that are authorized for national security, health and safety. Military personnel on active duty, including reservists on
federal service, will continue to report for duty. Separate guidance will be provided to the Chief of the Air Force Reserve and Director of the Air National Guard pertaining to traditional Reservists and drill status Guardsmen. Unfortunately, the shutdown requires we furlough all non-excepted civilian personnel until we receive an appropriation. This requirement is no reflection on how important you are to our team. We simply have no choice under the law. If you are not involved in excepted activities, you should still report as normal on your first scheduled workday after the shutdown. You will have paid time to conduct an orderly shutdown. For more articles about the Jan. 19-22 government shutdown, see pages seven and eight.
(Courtesy photo)
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Government funding expired Jan. 19 and the government shutdown as all non-excepted civilian personnel were furloughed through Jan. 22. President Donald J. Trump signed a continuing resolution Monday, Jan. 22 to provide funding through Feb. 8.
National defense strategy a ‘Good fit for our times,’ Mattis says By Jim Garamone Department of Defense News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON , D.C. — The new National Defense Strategy is a good fit for the times, emphasizing the return of great power rivalry, yet still addressing other threats that abound in the world today, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said today. The secretary unveiled the strategy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and stressed that the strategy is not merely a defense strategy, but an American strategy. The school is a division of the Johns Hopkins University based in Washington.
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The strategy -- the first new strategy in a decade -- is based on the National Security Strategy President Donald J. Trump announced in December.
New Strategy Reclaims ‘An Era of Strategic Purpose’
“Today, America's military reclaims an era of strategic purpose and we're alert to the realities of a changing world and attentive to the need to protect our values and the countries that stand with us,” the secretary said. “America's military protects our way of life and I want to point out it also protects a realm of ideas. It's not just about protecting geography. This is a defense strategy that will guide our efforts in all realms.” Threats have changed since the last strategy. There is increasing global volatility and
uncertainty with challenges from Russia and China coming to the fore. “Though we will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we are engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of U.S. national security,” the secretary said. The strategy will provide the American people the military required “to protect our way of life, stand with our allies and live up to our responsibility to pass intact to the next generation those freedoms that all of us enjoy here today,” Mattis said. The strategy expands the U.S. military’s competitive space, prioritizes preparedness for war, provides clear direction for significant change at the speed of relevance and builds a more lethal force to compete strategically.
Tough Choices
In forming the strategy, officials had to make tough choices, “and we made them based upon a fundamental precept, namely that America can afford survival,” Mattis said. “We face growing threats from revisionist powers as different as China and Russia are from each other, nations that do seek to create a world consistent with their authoritarian models, pursuing veto authority over other nations' economic, diplomatic and security decisions,” he said. The threat from rogue regimes like North Korea and Iran persist. And even though ISIS’s physical caliphate is no more, the See Defense page 4
Air Force announces new innovation workshops
Budget uncertainty puts DoD in ‘Difficult situation’
DoD Seeks to Connect With America
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