Space Force

SAN DIEGO – The Embedded Mental Health (EMH) building held its inauguration ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, Oct. 3.

The EMH building is the new mental health facility for Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNSP) operational Sailors, with an overarching goal to give active duty personnel fast and quality access to mental health care, provide consultation to triads, and training for

medical personnel and crews.

Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, CNSP was the guest speaker at the ceremony. “Today marks an important milestone in opening the first Embedded Mental Health Center on the waterfront dedicated to supporting the Surface Force,” said Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. “Our most important asset is our Sailor. When we talk about readiness, it’s not just warfighting readiness; it’s also psychological readiness. This building demonstrates our commitment to the readiness of our Sailors to provide them with resources and tools to thrive and stay in the fight.”

The significance of having this program with easy accessibility and proximity to ships on the waterfront is that it contributes to Sailor readiness by increasing access to trained mental health specialists both at EMH, and when necessary, referrals to private practices clinics.

When CNSP waterfront Sailors arrive at EMH, they have opportunities to speak with specialists with cultural competence, who understand the unique challenges and aspects of the Surface Navy.

“We care for our own,” said Capt. Tara Smith, Force Mental Health Officer for CNSP. “Surface mental health teams know the challenges our Sailors face and apply their expertise to help Surface Warriors get better.”

The EMH building is currently open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST). Sailors have access to a variety of services and can access resources including individual mental health assessments, diagnoses, treatment, group classes and therapy, medication evaluations and management, safety assessments, training for shipboard medical teams for chaplains and crews, nonmedical counseling, and crisis response.

The EMH clinic team is planning for expanded support. They aim to implement extended care hours, expand clinic staff, and host a commanding officer and triad group that will provide a space for leaders to get their mental health questions addressed, share best practices to support the crews, peer support, and expert perspectives about mental health challenges.

The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.

For more news from CNSP, visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama – Vietnam War veteran was honored by his son and his country during an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., Sept. 10.

Sgt. 1st Class Manuel Romo, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command military equal opportunity adviser and program manager, escorted his father, retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Felipe A. Romo on the flight.

Honor Flights celebrate America’s veterans by inviting them to share in a day of honor at the memorials in the nation’s capital. The Honor Flight network currently serves veterans from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras. They also serve terminally ill veterans who served during any era.

“You get the welcome home you never received,” Felipe said. “I was mad at my country for the way I was treated after my return from Vietnam. I know there a lot of veterans suffering from PTSD who would benefit from the trip. I know I found closure.”

Felipe served in the Navy from 1960 to 1984. In Vietnam, he was assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force attached to the Army’s 9th Infantry Division.

“This trip was very important to honor the ones who didn’t make it back,” Felipe said. “For me it meant closure, but it was also about our fellow veterans being honored. It was very emotional, and I would highly recommend it to any veteran.”

During the trip, the Romos visited the U.S. Navy Museum, World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial.

At the U.S. Naval Museum, where the museum has actual turrets from a decommissioned ship, Felipe showed his son how he fired the cannons on the Battleship USS New Jersey.

“It was very emotional and educational,” Manuel said. “The Naval Museum had a cannon platform he used on the Iowa-class battleship USS New Jersey. It was the last ship he served on before he retired, and he was able to show me what he did on his crew position.”

Manuel said he is grateful to the organization for helping veterans visit the war memorials and as a Global War on Terror veteran, he knows the importance of honoring the sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price for America’s freedoms.

“My father rarely speaks of his time in Vietnam,” Manuel said. “During this trip he really opened up about his deployment and the friends he had lost during the war. It helped me put in perspective why veterans always came to my own deployment send offs and welcome home ceremonies. They did it to ensure no Soldier, sailor, airman or Marine ever goes through the experience of what they had to go through when they returned from war.”

For more information on Honor Flights, visit www.honorflight.org.

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii. – As a fixture in the Oahu community and an important historical site, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is a place that holds tremendous meaning to many people. It is the responsibility of those who live and work on the JBPHH to take care of and maintain the cleanliness of the installation – the organization “Love JBPHH” was organized with this in mind.

“‘Love JBPHH’ was assembled to take pride in the cleanliness and beautification of the historic joint base,” said JBPHH Culinary Specialist 1st Class Daniel Huerta. “The overall goal for this campaign is for all Sailors, Airmen, Guardians, and Civilians to come together, participate in a joint effort to clean and make our base and community better.”

The beautification campaign hosted its first cleanup event on September 23, with more than 250 individuals showing up to clean up trash on the Pearl Harbor side of the joint base. The volunteers focussed their efforts on debris throughout the main roads and parking lots, and amassed nearly three thousand pounds of trash.

“Base cleanups are important because they bring together different tenant commands within the base and service members from multiple branches to achieve the basic common goal of keeping the base clean and uphold its historic value,” said Huerta. “It also exhibits a sense of ownership of our base and housing communities to the Oahu Residents.”

In addition to ensuring the tidiness of the base, cleanups give people an opportunity to connect with one another and meet new people with a shared goal. For Karon Priebe, Pacific Air Forces Space Force key spouse, cleanups introduce her to new faces and creates a sense of togetherness.

“I get involved because I enjoy the camaraderie of these types of events; it’s a great way to meet new friends or bond with those in your unit,” said Priebe. “The beautification of the base is essential because it builds morale of all that set foot here.”

This mindset Priebe and others share about the upkeep and integrity of the installation is a mindset that extends beyond the gates of JBPHH. As mentioned, the base not only serves as an important historical landmark, but is also importantly situated geographically.

“In our short time in Hawaii we should strive to respect the land as it is a big part of Hawaiian culture,” Priebe said. “We are at the foot of the watershed and we should do everything we can to clean up the area we live and work in.”

“Love JBPHH” has planned for several additional cleanup events throughout the year, with the next scheduled for late November at the Makalapa Compound and on the Hickam side of the joint base in December.

WASHINGTON – Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington awarded a $21,734,000 firm-fixed-price contract to Grunley Construction Company Inc., Rockville, Md., for construction of the Joint Air Defense Operation Center (JADOC), Phase II, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C.

The work to be performed provides for construction services to complete the JADOC permanent facility. JADOC’s command and control centers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, relaying information about airspace and air defense around the National Capital Region. Established following 9/11, JADOC initially operated from multiple temporary locations. With this new facility, JADOC has consolidated functions into a permanent home and operates with state-of-the-art technologies.

Construction includes concrete slab-on-grade foundation with concrete spread footings under steel columns, structural steel frame, concrete masonry unit shear walls, and roofing system with sloping roof deck. Also includes pavements, all utilities, site improvements, passive force protection measures, security fencing, and diverse communication routing to eliminate single points of failure and ensure constant connectivity. Special construction requirements include controlled space in accordance with intelligence community standards and use of special exterior finishes to meet Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling’s architectural design requirements. The contract contains two unexercised options, which if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to $22,874,308.62.

The contract was awarded Sept. 28, 2022. All work will be performed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington D.C., and is expected to be completed by October 2023.

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – The Army’s senior air defender and commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command talked air and missile defense during the 2022 Air Defense Artillery Symposium.

Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler, USASMDC commanding general, addressed the symposium at the U.S. Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Sept. 27, where this year’s theme is “ADA for Army 2030 – Enabling the Maneuver Commander.” The theme originates from Air Defense’s significant growth and modernization efforts to provide additional capability and capacity to the operational force.

“Everything we have to talk about has to start with a threat,” Karbler said. “Every theater where we have air and missile defense forces – deployed, forward-stationed or even here in the homeland – we face significant threats. From quad-copters to (intercontinental ballistic missiles); from low, slow unmanned aircraft systems to hypersonic missiles; from targeting individual combat vehicles to targeting strategic geopolitical assets or major U.S. population centers, we see the normalizing of the adversary’s use in testing ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles, rotary-wing, fixed-wing and UASs.”

Karbler said it is imperative to understand when and how adversaries will deploy their capabilities and how they will use them.

“We have to know the details. We have to know what is the target, what are they deploying them against, what is the order of battle and what are the quantities?” Karbler said.

Karbler said America’s ADA forces have experienced operations tempo challenges while remaining resilient.

“There is an element of passive defense that never gets discussed, and that is, frankly, the resiliency of people,” Karbler said. “The OPTEMPO challenge we are facing is not going away. We can’t modernize if today’s (private first class) isn’t tomorrow’s (platoon sergeant), and we can’t modernize if today’s (lieutenant) isn’t tomorrow’s (lieutenant colonel). We have to be able to recruit and retain our air defenders in order to meet the needs of the Army of 2030.

“Recognize and share the growth path that ADA is on,” he added. “Recognize and appreciate the multitude of future opportunities across a broad spectrum of ADA missions, positions and assignments you have in front of you. Then help us retain a healthy, growing and vibrant air and missile defense force.”

Karbler said that shaping and sharing of allied involvement in air defense capabilities is an area he has been tackling for a long time.

“The Missile Defense Review talks about the importance of sharing data with our allies. We can’t fight alone and we understand the necessity of integrating with our allies,” Karbler said. “From personal experience, sometimes I think the closer you get to the fight, integration happens more readily, quickly because they understand the threat is right here in our backyard and we need to stay coordinated.”

He also discussed the health of the force and the demand for air defense forces from combatant commands. Karbler said Army senior leaders value ADA Soldiers and recognize the sacrifices Soldiers and families make to retain readiness while still maintaining OPTEMPO.

“I am not going to be an OPTEMPO apologist,” Karbler said. “We have Soldiers in harm’s way and the adversary is shooting at them, and we have to keep them protected. That is why the charge is ‘how can we leverage technology and how can we be innovative in providing adequate coverage in our defense designs while still reducing the OPTEMPO?’”

Karbler said air defenders should be proud they are called on as the sole provider for protection on deployed forces.

“As leaders we should share that with our Soldiers. We should never take it for granted that they continue to respond to the call,” Karbler said. .We owe them some level of predictability and we owe them the understanding that what they are doing is important and appreciated. From the secretary of defense on down to Army senior leaders and senior leaders within the Department of Defense, It is not lost on them about what the air defense force is doing.”

Aerospace manufacturer Boeing has begun using 3D printing to ramp up its production of a Wideband Global SATCOM or ‘WGS’ satellite for the US Space Force. 

Working as part of a $605 million contract, Boeing is in the process of building the US Space Force’s next-gen WGS-11+, a system with much greater mission support and anti-jamming capabilities than its predecessors. By introducing 3D printing into the comms satellite’s production workflow, the firm anticipates being able to drastically reduce the device’s lead time, from up to ten years down to just five. 

“We’re moving at record-breaking speed to deliver the unmatched resilience, efficiency, and throughput WGS-11+ offers our warfighters,” said Col. Matt Spencer, Space Systems Command Geosynchronous Earth Orbit and Polar Division Senior Materiel Leader. “Boeing’s ability to rapidly in­­­­­tegrate the latest commercial technology into our infrastructure gives us a competitive edge on the battlefield.”

3D printing flight-ready parts 

As a multinational manufacturer with aircraft to build and maintain across a vast portfolio, Boeing is continually seeking out more efficient ways of achieving this. One of the barriers to deploying 3D printing in this area is the high level of regulatory clearance needed for the deployment of parts in end-use applications, but the firm has become increasingly adept at overcoming this with industry partners. 

Working with EOS, for instance, the company has previously helped develop an aerospace-grade PEKK, designed specifically to meet the UV and flame retardancy standards set out in Federal Aviation Regulations, and more recently it has qualified Stratasys’ Antero 800NA filament as being flight-ready, as well as investigating the potential of sustainable titanium 3D printing powders alongside Titomic. 

Boeing is also known to apply additive manufacturing within several areas of its own production workflow, including the build of its 777X jet, which is powered by GE9X engines with over 300 3D printed parts. Similarly, in collaboration with the US Air Force Research Laboratory and Thermwood, it’s said to have 3D printed aerospace autoclave tools capable of cost-effectively adapting to iteration. 

When it comes to the manufacture of LEO devices, meanwhile, Boeing unveiled its plan to 3D print satellites back in 2017, and it has since launched the SES-15 system with over 50 additive manufactured components, and used the technology to produce everything from metal antennas to modular parts designed to expedite spacecraft production. 

Improving US defense coordination  

Since being contracted to do so in 2019, Boeing has been working flat-out to develop the US Space Force’s latest WGS system, the eleventh in a constellation designed to connect US, Canadian and Australian forces. Built to replace the older Defence Satellite Communications System setup, which is still used for military coordination, WGS devices are generally said to enable a much higher throughput. 

Now, as part of its program, Boeing says it has managed to integrate some of the advances made via its 702X satellite R&D, to take these benefits to the next level. Built around the same phased array technology, the WGS-11+ is set to be capable of generating hundreds of electronically-steered beams at the same time, providing users with more than twice the mission capacity of existing WGS satellites. 

What’s more, just like the 720X, each individual beam can be shaped and therefore tailored to the needs of a specific operation, meaning that US Space Force adopters stand to gain from improved mission flexibility and responsiveness, while the WGS-11+ can also use dual polarization to narrow beam widths as a means of protecting against interference. 

To bring this vision for a revised satellite to life, Boeing met with the US Space Force late last year, at which point they completed a critical design review before entering its production phase. It was at this point that Boeing committed to using advanced manufacturing methods such as 3D printing in the system’s build, in a way that could yield significant cost and lead time benefits, while boosting its performance. 

In fact, by serially additive manufacturing WGS-11+ parts in their thousands, in a move that’s reported to be a ten-fold increase on its previous satellites, the firm anticipates being able to reduce what’s usually a 7-10 year waiting time for large spacecraft down to just 5 years, and the finished system has now been penciled in for delivery in 2024. 

“We’re printing more than a thousand parts for WGS-11+, giving us the capability to introduce customization in a way that improves system performance, without requiring extensive integration times or customized tooling,” adds Troy Dawson, Boeing’s VP of Government Satellite Systems. “We understand how important speed is to the mission. That production speed translates to effectiveness against threats.”

“As we continue to invest in our technology and processes, we know that a similarly capable satellite could be delivered even faster.”

3D printing signal-boosting satellites 

Of course, Boeing is far from the only aerospace manufacturer that has turned to 3D printing in a bid to improve the lead times and end-performance of its satellites. Early in 2021, Airbus revealed that it had managed to integrate over 500 RF parts into Eutelsat’s Hotbird satellites such as switch assembly networks and multi-waveguide blocks, in a way that was said to improve their broadcasting capabilities.  

Later in the year, Fleet Space also unveiled plans to launch its fully-3D printed ‘Alpha’ satellites in 2022. Built around the company’s advanced beamforming technology, which functions via an additive manufactured metal antenna array, the systems feature digital signal processing capabilities, designed to unlock greater user connectivity. 

In terms of series production applications, Thales Alenia Space revealed that it was mass-manufacturing parts of its Spacebus NEO platform as long ago as 2019. The device was first fitted to the commercial Eutelsat KONNECT satellite, a craft built to deliver a faster broadband connection to areas of Western Europe and Africa. 

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Featured image shows a render of what the WGS-11+ is expected to look like. Image via Boeing.