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Show HILLTOP TIMES Hilltop 3 TIMES January 29, 2015 Expansion of Air Force bombing range won't hurt UTTR By MITCH SHAW Hilltop Times correspondent H ILL AIR FORCE BASE — The Air Force's approval of an enormous bombing range over the Northern Plains will reduce the number of sorties sent to the Utah Test and Training Range, but will have little impact beyond that, defense officials said earlier this month. The Air Force approved a proposal earlier this week to expand the Powder River Training Complex over the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. The plan will now be forwarded to the Federal Aviation Administration, and if the FAA approves the proposal, it would more than triple the training range's airspace, making it the largest over the continental United States — a title currently held by the UTTR. South Dakota U.S. Sen. John Thune said the expanded airspace would improve national security as B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota would use the airspace for training that resembles combat missions. Thune also said the Air Force estimates that the expanded training airspace could save Ellsworth $23 million a year in fuel costs by reducing the number of sorties now being sent to Utah and Nevada for exercises. The Air Force has provided no information on costs associated with the expansion, including potential damages. Hill Air Force Base spokesman Rich Essary said the approval of the new expansion would not affect any UTTR personnel or the overall scope of the mission currently being performed at the Utah range. With a footprint of 2,675 square miles of ground space and over 19,000 square miles of air space, the UTTR is home to an assortment of training and testing missions for the Air Force, Army, Marines and even international forces. Essary and the office of Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch say the Northern Plain range expansion won't affect a proposal to expand the UTTR. The Air Force is looking to expand the UTTR in eight select areas, which total about 700,000 acres in the rural areas of Box Elder, Juab and Tooele counties and sit just outside of the cur- SENIOR AIRMAN JUSTIN WRIGHT/U.S. Air Force A B-52 Stratofortress from the 2nd Bomb Wing participates in Vigilant Shield 15 Oct. 24, 2014, at 5 Wing Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. rent range boundary. The lands would ultimately be acquired by the Air Force and the Department of Defense. Proponents say the areas would work as buffer zones to guard against encroachment from communities through natural expansion and allow the DOD to better test the F-22 Raptor, which receives all of its maintenance at Hill Air Force Base, and the F-35 Lightning, which is scheduled to begin operation at Hill in September. The expansion would also allow for better testing for weapons systems like longrange strike bombers, and other hypersonic weapons. "The needs these two bases are fulfilling are complementary, but different," said Hatch's press secretary, Matt Whitlock. "This expansion should not have any effect on the UTTR expansion plan." Whitlock said the logic behind the Powder River expansion — improved national security capabilities, reduced Department of Defense costs, and accommodating new and future weapon systems — holds true for the UTTR expansion as well. Airmen challenged to lead and prevent sexual assault By 2ND LT. ESTHER WILLETT Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs WASHINGTON, D.C. — Visiting speakers discussed leaders' roles in preventing sexual assault at the Sexual Assault Prevention Summit Jan. 13 and 14 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Lt. Col. Kevin Basik and Dr. Heather McCauley spoke to 150 Airmen of varying ranks about how leaders can promote a professional culture that deters sexual violence and assault. Basik and McCauley were just two of a number of scheduled speakers at the five-day summit designed to stimulate discussion about sexual assault in the Air Force. "We're talking about shifting and shaping culture," said Basik, the senior Air Force advisor for professionalism. "We've got to get clear about what a professional is, and then develop a culture around it — a culture of dignity and respect. This is the journey all of us are on. We want to move the culture; we want to move individuals to focus on the right thing." According to McCauley, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine, lead- ers create cultural norms by determining outcome expectation, or the ramifications if an individual demonstrates negative behavior. They also set the cultural standard by modeling positive behavior. If the leader doesn't feel comfortable doing it, it's likely that others won't either. "Influential leaders are critical to shifting social norms," McCauley said. "We want to shift social norms including the idea that violence is acceptable and that we can't do anything about it, because we can." Leaders must develop the confidence, competence and judgment to be able Eyes See CHALLENGED I Page 14 Sexual violence seen as public health problem From 1 support of the Afghan government and the Afghan people. According to a Defense Department news release, U.S. forces will "work with our allies and partners as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission to continue training, advising and assisting Afghan security forces." Forces will continue counterterrorism missions against the remnants of Al-Qaeda to ensure that Afghanistan isn't used to stage attacks against the United States and allies. "It's counterterrorism and security," Simmons said. The DOD hasn't given any indication of how long the operations will last, or how long forces will continue to be dispatched to Afghanistan. As those new missions continue to ramp up, U.S. CENTCOM forces continue almost daily military airstrikes against the terrorist group called the Islamic State, or ISIS, in Syria and Iraq. Using drones and attack, bomber and fighter aircraft, U.S. and coalition forces are continually targeting ISIS fighting positions, tactical units and buildings, bunkers and weapons. Hill spokesman Micah Garbarino said no base units or personnel are involved in those attacks. Although Hill's Ogden Air Logistics Complex performs depot repair, modification and maintenance support for the F-22 Raptor, which has been used in the ISIS strikes, F-22 jets are not flying directly to Syria after repair or maintenance at Hill, nor are they being sent directly to Hill if they should need work after missions in Syria. Portions of an AFCENT news release were used in this story. to make the right call when it comes to sexual assault, Basik said. The absence of any one of those factors could hijack prevention efforts. A leader can have his heart in the right place, know what he is doing and still make the wrong call. In many instances, people know what the right decision is, but pressures show up in the gap between deciding and acting, keeping people from doing what they know is right, he said. Some of those pressures include concerns about time and expertise. By 2ND LT. ESTHER WILLETT, Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs W STAFF SGT. WHITNEY AMSTUTZ/U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Brandon Shinkle, 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, uses arm signals to communicate with U.S. Air Force Capt. Shayne Carroll, 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-16 pilot, prior to marshaling the F-16 Fighting Falcon onto a taxiway Jan. 9 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The F-16 is a multi-role fighter aircraft that provides air superiority, enabling freedom of movement for troops on the ground as well as close air support for troops engaged in combat. It provides a relatively low-cost, highperformance weapon system for the United States and allied nations. STAFF SGT. WHITNEY AMSTUTZ/U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Capt. Shayne Carroll, 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-16 pilot, climbs a ladder leading to the cockpit of an F-16 Fighting Falcon in preparation for a mission Jan. 9 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. ASHINGTON D.C. — Leaders in academia, government, and industry presented cutting-edge research related to sexual violence at the Sexual Assault Prevention Summit Jan. 13, 14, and 15 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Dr. Andra Tharp, Dr. Gilbert Botvin, and Dr. Dorothy Edwards spoke to 150 Airmen about sexual assault prevention models, as well as strategies to overcome prevention barriers and risk factors through life skills and effective bystander intervention and training. The speakers represent the many leaders and experts who presented current research and perspectives to participants during the five-day summit designed to engage Airmen of varying ranks and career fields in a conversation about sexual assault in the Air Force. "Sexual violence is a significant public health problem," said Tharp, a health scientist in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Violence Prevention. "It really does have a ripple effect through individual lives and through an entire community." According to Tharp, a public health approach to sexual assault prevention includes defining the problem, identifying risk and protective factors, and developing effective strategies to stop sexual violence before it starts. Sexual violence and related problem behaviors are the result of the complex interaction of risk factors, such as alcohol and drug use, poor decision making, peer pressure and media influence, said Botvin, a Ph.D. at Weill Cornell Medical College. "There is no single cause of violence," Tharp emphasized. "It's the confluence of risk factors that causes violence." Edwards, the executive director of Green Dot Etcetera said the See VIOLENCE I Page 14 |