ALS Vol. 2 2016

CORRECT ANSWER: aRATIONALES: a. CORRECT: Chief Amber’s comments explain nuclear safety, which according to the Nuclear Enterprise lesson, is the application of engineering and management principles, criteria, and techniques to protect nuclear weapons against the risks and threats inherent in their environments within the constraints of operational effectiveness, time, and cost throughout all phases of their life cycle. The DoD Nuclear Weapon System Safety Program consists of key elements for program guidance, system evaluation, safety assurance, and for the conduct of safe nuclear weapon system operations. According to the DoD Nuclear Weapon System Safety Standards, four qualitative standards are used in the evaluation of the safety of a nuclear weapon system, beginning as early as possible during development and continuing throughout a weapon system’s life cycle. b. INCORRECT: According to the Nuclear Enterprise chapter, nuclear security is the total spectrum of procedures, facilities, equipment, and personnel employed to provide the protection against loss of custody, theft, or diversion of a nuclear weapon system, the protection against unauthorized access, and the protection against unauthorized actions, vandalism, sabotage, and malevolent damage. Security involves both active and passive protective measures laid out by the DoD and executed by the individual Services. Chief Amber’s comments do not touch on any of these. See rationale for the correct response for additional information. c. INCORRECT: According to the Nuclear Enterprise chapter, reliability has two key components, nuclear weapon system reliability, and individual reliability. Nuclear weapon system reliability is maintained through an exhaustive testing, inspection, and maintenance program to guarantee the weapons will work if ever called upon by our nation’s leaders. Individual reliability encompasses the Personnel Reliability Program and the two-person concept. Chief Amber’s comments do not touch on either of these. See rationale for the correct response for additional information.

CORRECT ANSWER: dRATIONALES a. INCORRECT: Although the scenario addresses accountability, it does not address reliability, which according to the Nuclear Enterprise chapter, has two key components: nuclear weapon system reliability and individual reliability. Nuclear weapon system reliability is maintained through an exhaustive testing, inspection, and maintenance program to guarantee the weapons will work if ever called upon by our nation’s leaders. Individual reliability encompasses the Personnel Reliability Program and the two-person concept. See rationale for correct response for additional information. b. INCORRECT: Although the scenario addresses accountability, it does not address reliability. See rationale for ‘a’ and for correct response for additional information. c. INCORRECT: The only possible outcome of accountability and compliance is a positive, not negative impact on mission effectiveness. See rationale for correct response for additional information. d. CORRECT: According to the Nuclear Enterprise chapter, accountability is the quality or state of being accountable; especially an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions. Compliance is the act or process of complying with a desire, demand, proposal, or regimen/coercion. It is also conformity in fulfilling official requirements. If SSgt Vargas acts on his comments, he will be holding people accountable (…liable) by ensuring they comply/fulfill their official duties. The only possible outcome of accountability and compliance is a positive impact on mission effectiveness.

CORRECT ANSWER: bRATIONALES: a. INCORRECT: The speaker’s comments do not explain schema, which, according to the Introduction to Culture chapter, is a cognitive "shortcut" that helps us organize and interpret the vast amount of information that exists in our environment. See rationale for correct response for additional information. b. CORRECT: The speaker’s comments best explain micro-culture, which, according to the Introduction to Culture chapter, is also called a subculture and is a group of people living within a larger society who share cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors that are different from the macro-culture or the rest of society. In addition, people can be members of more than one micro-culture. c. INCORRECT: The speaker’s comments do not explain macro-culture, which, according to the Introduction to Culture chapter, are the most powerful of cultures where a large numbers of people belong to a particular society, whether the society is a region or an entire country. See rationale for correct response for additional information.

CORRECT ANSWER: bRATIONALES: a. INCORRECT: SSgt Ivey’s actions do not illustrate the three cross cultural competence skills, which according to the Introduction to Culture chapter, include Communicate (to avoid misunderstandings), Negotiate (to overcome differences and resolve conflicts), and Relate (with individuals from other cultures to work effectively). See rationale for correct response for additional information. b. CORRECT: SSgt Ivey’s actions illustrate all four steps of the OODA Loop. According to the Introduction to Culture chapter, during the Observe step, we begin collecting data (begins learning about the Air Force mission, the country, and the local culture) like the type of landscape, the sort of people around you, activities going on around you, and reviewing any consequences you experienced from previous actions. During the Orient step we compare what we see to our worldview (compares what she sees to her own past experiences, traditions, and beliefs) and to what is familiar to us like our own culture, past experiences, traditions, values, and beliefs. During the Decide step, we consider all the courses of action (carefully considering her options) and then during the Act step we select a course of action (determined her best option was to gather more information) and then reflect on the outcome and the response of our actions (looking back, she realized it helped her…) c. INCORRECT: SSgt Ivey’s actions do not illustrate ethnocentrism, which, according to the Introduction to Culture chapter, is the tendency of viewing one’s own culture as superior to all other cultures. See rationale for correct response for additional information.

CORRECT ANSWER: aRATIONALES: a. CORRECT: According to the Joint Organization chapter, Air Combat Command (ACC) organizes, trains, equips and deploys combat ready forces to support combatant commanders around the globe. b. INCORRECT: According to the Joint Organization chapter, Air Force Reserve Command provides the Air Force about 20 percent of its capability with only about 4 percent of the total Air Force budget, while spanning a wide variety of missions. It conducts fixed-wing aerial spray missions, flies hurricane hunter missions for the National Weather Service, and is administratively responsible for the Air Force’s individual mobilization augmentee program. c. INCORRECT: According to the Joint Organization chapter, Air Force Special Operations Command is responsible to US Special Operations Command for the readiness of Air Force special operations forces to conduct the war on terrorism and to disrupt, defeat and destroy terrorist networks that threaten the United States, its citizens and interests worldwide.

CORRECT ANSWER: bRATIONALES: a. INCORRECT: According to the Joint Organization chapter, USSOCOM charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. b. CORRECT: According to the Joint Organization chapter, USCENTCOM promotes cooperation among nations, responds to crises, and deters or defeats state and nonstate aggression, and supports development and, when necessary, reconstruction in order to establish the conditions for regional security, stability, and prosperity. c. INCORRECT: According to the Joint Organization chapter, USSOUTHCOM is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, the Caribbean (except US commonwealths, territories, and possessions), Cuba; as well as for the force protection of US military resources at these locations.

CORRECT ANSWER: aRATIONALES: a. CORRECT: SSgt Potter’s comments best explain three of the twelve Air Force Core Functions, which according to the Joint Warfighter chapter includes 1) control the airspace (Air Superiority), 2) provide transport for and deliver forces (Airlift), and 3) protect and sustain any and all troops on the battlefield (Agile Combat Support) so that operations can be successful. b. INCORRECT: Although the scenario hints at working in a joint environment, nothing in this scenario specifically explains Principles of Joint Operations, which according to the Joint Warfighter chapter include twelve principles that are a combination of the Principles of Joint Operations (Restraint, Perseverance, Legitimacy, Unity of Effort) and the Principles of War (Unity of Command, Objective, Offensive, Mass, Maneuver, Economy of Force, Security, Surprise, Simplicity). See rationale for correct response for additional information. c. INCORRECT: Although the scenario hints war, SSgt Potter does not specifically explain the Range of Military Operations, which according to the Joint Warfighter chapter is when military operations slide along an imprecise scale of violence and scale of military involvement. See rationale for correct response for additional information.

CORRECT ANSWER: bRATIONALES: a. INCORRECT: Although this scenario hints at an operation, it is not a major operation or campaign, which according to the Joint Warfighter chapter is an extended, large-scale operation that usually involves combat. A major operation can be conducted independently or can serve as an important component of a campaign. See rationale for correct response for additional information. b. CORRECT: This scenario illustrates crisis response and limited contingency operations, which according to the Joint Warfighter chapter are small-scale, limited duration operations, such as strikes, raids, and peace enforcement, which might include combat depending on the circumstances. d. INCORRECT: Although this scenario hints at military engagement (gaining experience with local law enforcement), there is no evidence of the concept of military engagement, security cooperation, and deterrence, which according to the Joint Warfighter chapter is described as ongoing routine activities that establish, shape, maintain, and refine relations with other nations, international organizations (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO) and domestic civil authorities.) See rationale for correct response for additional information.