Page 12 - Aerotech News and Review – March 2024

MEMORIAL, from 5
taken, according to official histories.
Andrews’ grandson, Quinton recalled, “I was
looking for something in one of his drawers and picked up something heavy. I said, ‘Grandpa, what’s this?’” Andrews responded, “’Oh, that, it’s a Purple Heart.’ He said it like it was car keys.”
Andrews would tell friends and veterans, “I was not a hero. But I got to serve with heroes. I got to come home because of the ones who could not come home.”
At the farewell, between the toasts, Tony Tortolano, a Marine veteran and family friend, shared about the elder veteran’s dry humor. An- drews, who considered Tortolano a close friend, called the Baby Boom generation Marine “Sgt. Cold War” because of his service era.
“He’d say, ‘I feel a chill in the room,’” Torto- lano recalled. “It must be ‘Sgt. Cold War walked in.’”
In November, Andrews was honored at the Vet- erans Military Ball, with about six weeks to live. “We had a beautiful birthday on Thanksgiv- ing. He turned 98 and had cake.” Quinton added, “Seven days before he left us, he said, ‘I’m ready
to go.’”
Speaking to members of veteran organizations
across the Connecticut-size region of the Ante- lope Valley, Quinton said, “He wanted everybody to have a part, to raise a glass, and just enjoy themselves.”
The veteran’s son, Larry Andrews, told the gathering that “They are not called ‘The Great-
WARRANT, from 7
Force is to enhance readiness by implementing standards that reflect operations under contested conditions rather than those of a benign environ- ment.
“The legacy force that we had, our roots ... were built around efficiency, built around a benign envi- ronment,” he said. “So, the standards for readiness that we kind of held our forces to was different. It wasn’t built for the domains that we’re facing, a contested domain.”
Now, Saltzman said, the Space Force must re- write its standards for readiness centered around a contested domain, rather than an uncontested domain.
That, he said, means in part having the right mix of officers, enlisted personnel and civilians in Space Force units. It also means training must be aimed at more than just procedural competency.
“As soon as you put a red force in the mix, as soon as you put a threat in the mix, it radically changes your training,” he said. “You have to have advanced training, you have to have tactics train- ing, you have to understand how you work togeth- er, in-comms, out of comms, with other units, in order to continue to achieve the kinds of effects in a contested domain when an adversary, a capable adversary, is doing everything they can to stop you from being successful.”
Space Force, he said, will build a training in- frastructure and a test infrastructure to validate its tactics so operators will know more than just how to operate equipment — but will be successful against an adversary.
Kristyn Jones, who is currently performing the duties of the undersecretary of the Air Force, also pointed to changes at Department of the Air Force level. There, she said, among those changes, the department expects to create an Air Force Inte- grated Capabilities Office to lead capability de- velopment and resource prioritization. The office is expected to drive Department of the Air Force modernization investments.
“We’ll be looking at capabilities across our ser- vices, not in stovepipes,” she said. “We’re enabling end-to-end creation of effects. This organization will help us to prioritize our investments and will be responsible for working with us to determine the next iteration of operational imperatives.”
12
est Generation’ for nothing ... they saved the free world.”
Members of Marine Corps League Detachment 930 performed the “folded flag ceremony,” and the organization’s Commandant, Alredo Pani- agua, presented the colors to Andrews’ daughter, Jeannie.
The World War II Marine’s son, Larry, told the gathering his father was self-educated. After obtaining his general education certificate after the war, he went on to be a life-long learner who donated a significant collection about the life of author Jack London to Sonoma State University.
Andrews was born Nov. 23, 1925, and grew up in the Chavez Ravine area of Los Angeles, de- cades before the Dodgers migrated from Brook- lyn and razed the neighborhood to erect Dodger Stadium.
By his own account, growing up with a succes- sion of “uncles,” he was offered reform school, or to join the military. He joined the Marines, with his mother signing papers for him at the age of 17, about one year after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
Andrews is survived by his son, Larry An- drews, and two daughters, Jeannie Quinton and Christine Johnson. He had nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and nine great-great- grandchildren.
SPACE, from 8
A Table of H
Palmer Andrews with photos and mementoes of his service.
Photo Dennis Anderson orld W ar I I Marine
onor was set up at Bravery Brewing Company for the memorial for W
Chief of Space O perations G en. Chance Saltzm an meets with Air University faculty to discuss G reat Power Competition during his visit to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Jan. 23 , 2024. Saltzm an also presented the three key 􏰀pace Force lines of effort to field co􏰁bat-ready forces, a􏰁plify the
G
Chief of Space O
Deputy Commander, Detachment 2, 13 th Delta O perations Squadron, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Jan. 23 , 2024. Saltzm an also spoke with Air University students and instructors during his visit to Maxwell.
Aerotech News and Review
uardian Spirit, and partner with allies and industry to win.
U.S. Air Force photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox
“We are going to reoptimize because this leader- ship team is telling you ... we’re willing to change fundamentally everything about our services so that we can get after the pacing threat, the PRC and the challenges they face,” Saltzman said, us- ing shorthand for the People’s Republic of China.
For the Space Force itself, Saltzman said change is necessary even though the service is only four years old.
“We have to transform this service if it’s go- ing to provide the kinds of capabilities, to include space superiority, that the joint force needs to meet its objectives. That’s the transformational charge that’s at hand,” he said.
Like the others, Saltzman put a high priority on readiness. In that regard, one of the decisions calls for implementing Space Force readiness standards that reflect operations under contested conditions rather than those of a benign environ- ment. Readiness must be defined by the ability to deter and defeat rival powers rather than its capacity to provide services to others. Guardians will build and conduct a series of nested exercises that increase in scope and complexity to fit within a broader department-level framework, and they will use assessment results to shape force design and development.
The proposal also calls for formalizing combat squadrons as the Space Force’s Unit of Action, completing activations of the remainder of Space Force service components to combatant com- mands, and accelerating the implementation of the Space Force Generation Model. To be prepared for GPC, the service must fully integrate into the Joint Force — properly trained, equipped, and ready to accept mission command for assigned objectives.
Saltzman wrapped up the panel the same way Kendall began.
“We’re out of time. We have to be ready. We have to be ready tonight and tomorrow has to be more ready than today, and we have to keep looking at enduring advantages into the future. ... This is the opportunity of a lifetime, to shape these forces against a threat that is going to challenge our country the most,” he said.
perations G
en. Chance Saltzm an coins U.S. Space Force Capt. Rolfy Caceres,
U.S. Air Force photo by Melanie Rodgers Cox
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March 1, 2024