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Michigan ANG Medics Take New Combat Casualty Care Course

Sunday, September 11th, 2022

SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. – Aerospace medical technicians with the 127th Medical Group, Michigan Air National Guard, took part in an innovative form of combat lifesaving training during August drill, practicing the battlefield care program replacing self-aid buddy care.

“The Air Force adopted this training to begin to give definitive care to patients early on following a trauma,” said Maj. Patrick Frank, 127th Medical Group medical administrative officer. “They found, through historical evidence, that the earlier patients receive trauma care, the higher their survivability rate will be.”

The tactical combat casualty care training teaches ways to reduce casualties in the field by improving the lifesaving skills of medical and non-medical military personnel.

The training Aug. 15-16 included classroom instruction and a field training exercise to practice applying immediate care on the battlefield. Modules for the 127th Medical Group brought experiences during recent conflicts to life to increase trauma survivability.

“The training scenario was that a bomb had gone off in a building, and it was determined to be a dirty bomb,” Frank said, referring to a conventional explosive containing radiological material. “The medical teams responded, suited up in [mission-oriented protective posture] gear, entered the building, assessed their patients, and were able to get them out and to a casualty collection point.”

To train service members from career fields outside the medical realm, TCCC is offered in three courses. The training at Selfridge was designed for aerospace medical technicians, pararescue and other uniformed medical providers who may deploy to support combat operations.

“We thought that this would be a great opportunity for [our medics] to be in their MOPP gear, go to the front line to get the patients out, and do the lifesaving skills that they need to do to in order to make sure that the patient is safe,” said 1st Lt. Heather Salgat, 127th Medical Group clinical nurse.

Other TCCC course offerings include “combat lifesaver,” designed for non-medical military members deployed to a combat situation, and the “all service member” course for any uniformed service member.

With the successful completion of the TCCC, participating members of the 127th Medical Group are ready to perform the trauma care techniques that can help save more lives.

“We have a lot of new individuals who just joined our unit, and them being involved in this training is exciting and better prepares them for the warfight,” Salgat said. “I am so proud of my team. Everybody jumped into it and did exactly what they needed to do.”

By SSgt Andrew Schumann, 127th Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Medical, Training | Comments Off on Michigan ANG Medics Take New Combat Casualty Care Course

How the New Special Warfare Branch at Air Force Recruiting Service is Making a Difference

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas —

Historically, recruiting Airmen for Special Warfare career fields has been as tough as the Airmen who fill its ranks. So when Air Force Recruiting Service entered fiscal 2022, it organized a team in its Operations division here to inspire, engage and recruit future SW Airmen.

That team, called the SW branch, is reporting some progress despite headwinds that have characterized one of the toughest recruiting years in Air Force history for all career fields.

The selection process and relatively small size of the Air Force Special Warfare community compared to other career fields make members an elite class of warriors. So AFSPECWAR is lesser known compared to its counterparts in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

“We needed to share the story of our community, its feats of heroism and no longer be ‘quiet professionals’,” said Lt. Col. Joe Lopez, SW branch chief. The former Army Ranger and current Air Force combat rescue officer by trade, designed the 2022 plan to recruit aspiring Airmen for AFSPECWAR from within the Air Force as well as non-prior service future Airmen.

Unlike most branches at the AFRS headquarters, SW branch members visited universities and military installations where they met with all demographics while local Air Force recruiters focused on traditional recruiting methods. Overall, SW branch is searching for people with grit and determination who have the aptitude, mentality and physicality to endure the requirements of entering the SW career fields.

Those career opportunities include Combat Rescue, Special Tactics, and Tactical Air Control Party officer career fields as well as Pararescue, Combat Control, Special Reconnaissance, and Tactical Air Control Party enlisted career fields. In addition, the branch also supports recruitment for enabler Air Force Specialty Codes such as Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, along with Explosive Ordnance Disposal enlisted career fields.

Specific to enlisted career fields, qualified applicants will enter the Special Warfare Operator Enlistment vectoring program designed in 2020 to streamline the enlistment process. This begins in the pre-accession phase where recruiting development teams identify potential SW candidates and begin the process to prepare them for the rigors of the Special Warfare training pipeline and later, their designated career field.

AFRS and the AFSPECWAR community aim to create a competitive model in the SWOE “Development Pool” where interested civilians strive to be sufficiently mentally and physically fit so they can be the next AFSPECWAR operators.

Part of the need and desire to move out more aggressively than before is because the Air Force has struggled to meet its goal for enlisted and officer ranks in AFSPECWAR.

“The intent of these outreach efforts is to establish rapport with interested applicants, give them insight on how to train smartly, and expose them with introductions to some of the physical challenges that they may experience while being screened and assessed so they’re better prepared mentally to overcome adversity during those trying times,” Lopez said. “All too often, we hear ‘I didn’t know the Air Force had this capability,’ so we are working to inspire, connect, develop and recruit future candidates into AFSPECWAR before they ship to Basic Military Training.”

Lopez’s team includes veteran recruiters who are familiar with the challenges of recruiting SW Airmen. “Recruiting special warfare Airmen for the Air Force is very difficult, because most civilians have only heard about Navy SEALs and Green Berets,” said Master Sgt. Kenneth Babb, SW branch superintendent and former SW recruiting flight chief. “Few have ever heard about this very small community of elite warriors inside the Air Force. We know that there are people out there who want to serve in the military as a ground combatant and we need them to know that there are opportunities for them in the Air Force.”

Circumstances dictated the need for a new, innovative approach and plan that synchronized the worldwide effort to recruit SW Airmen.

“This is the very reason AFRS stood SW branch up and we hit the ground running,” Lopez said. “In our first year alone, we engaged with almost 1,300 cadets in 42 different Air Force ROTC detachments to recruit potential special warfare officers,”

The SW branch also visited 10 different Air Force bases and met with more than 200 Airmen to conduct in-service recruiting for enlisted Airmen and officers.

Simultaneously, Lopez and his team supported initiatives to elevate public awareness and engage new enlistees. The SW branch helped AFSPECWAR obtain trademark approval for a new logo and was involved in the Air Force’s decision-making process to increase SW initial enlistment bonuses from $15,000 to $50,000.

“Our main goal is to streamline the process from recruiting America’s highly talented applicants to enter the Air Force and begin their journey, in the hopes of becoming an AFSPECWAR Airman,” Lopez said. “We truly believe that if we can improve AFSPECWAR’s brand awareness and promote the opportunities special warfare careers offer, then recruiting will be much easier.”

SW branch members said that, overall, AFSPECWAR’s most difficult challenge is recruiting SW Open Enlistment candidates. SW recruiters are spread throughout the U.S. where they need to bring in roughly 1,000 non-prior service recruits each year.

“I was blown away by the effort a recruiter puts into shipping a SWOE candidate,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Voss, a SERE specialist assigned to the SW branch. Before Voss was assigned to AFRS, he served as a flight chief for the SERE Specialist Orientation Course at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland’s Chapman Annex. He is the first SERE specialist assigned to AFRS.

“The Airmen of AFSPECWAR are absolutely critical when a conflict kicks off and we need to ensure that we have sufficient Airmen ready for the next conflict,” Voss said. “That all starts with recruiting.”

By Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs, Air Force Recruiting Service

Posted in AFSW, Air Force, Guest Post | 3 Comments »

AFSOC’s Mission Sustainment Teams Provide Innovative Leap in SOFORGEN

Tuesday, September 6th, 2022

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. —

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) continues to innovate the way Air Commandos train and execute joint special operations missions in this century’s complex and competitive battlespace.

Among these recent innovative changes include the further development of multi-functional Airmen and their integration into a new Special Operations Task Unit (SOTU), known as a Mission Sustainment Team (MST).

“As the Air Force continues to operationalize and codify its approaches to Agile Combat Employment (ACE), a key effort is establishing how we’ll bring together the complementary capabilities of our fighter, bomber, mobility, and special operations forces,” said Dr. Sandeep Mulgund, Senior Advisor to the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for operations. “Doing so will be key to creating, maintaining, and fighting from positions of advantage, which the CSAF has emphasized in recent remarks about ACE. By integrating MSTs into SOF capabilities, we’ll provide more options for our joint force and coalition commanders on how to generate and employ airpower.”

For nearly a year, the 1st Special Operations Wing, has developed its MST as a proof of concept to ensure multi-capable Airmen within AFSOC are able to meet the needs of combatant commanders against any potential adversary in the future. Its role will be to act as the connective tissue that bridges the Air Force’s ACE capability with current AFSOF capabilities in a joint environment.

“Our MST allows us to provide force support, civil engineering, communications, logistics, security forces, medical, airfield management and contracting capabilities,” said Col. Daniel Magruder, 1 SOW vice commander. “We now can take what are normally base support functions and operationalize them to support combat missions. Ultimately, without the total package of aviation, maintenance, and support provided by our multi-capable Airmen, the mission will not get done.”

In order to accomplish this capability, MSTs are designed to train 58 Air Commandos from 22 different Air Force AFSCs with seamlessly blending their operations and becoming proficient in several competencies in order to receive, prepare and redeploy aircraft expeditiously.

“It’s a huge asset to the MST for our Airmen to have the adaptability and confidence in varying skills to better meet the challenges of the changing threat environment and determine best practices for mission support within the ACE construct moving forward,” said Capt. Melissa Cecil, 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group Detachment 1 commander. “Our goal is to empower our Air Commandos to problem solve and think critically while also giving them the tools they need to operate and make decisions at dispersed locations. In some of these locations, they will be relied upon as the subject matter expert for all things mission support.”

Utilizing multi-capable Airmen was at the forefront of AFSOC leaders’ mind when they developed the MST.

“Our MSTs are empowered to adapt to assigned missions,” said Magruder. “As an Air Force, it is important to empower units at the lowest level to achieve their assigned missions.”

“Each of the military services are developing approaches to operations that recognize the need for agility and maneuver in the future threat environment,” added Mulgund. “They each have their unique focus areas and nuances, but common to all is this idea of being light on your feet to shift forces and effort where and when required. Joint approaches to agility will pull all these together to meet the needs of our combatant commanders worldwide. MSTs are part of that joint solution. Our Air Commandos now can enable and support austere operations by other special operations forces as well as allied forces when required.”

The 1 SOW’s MST recently tested their ability to help generate and integrate into air operations components during its recent participation in two exercises with drastically different theaters of operation.

“MSTs provide flexibility to the force because they can establish, sustain and retrograde forward operating locations for AFSOF mission generation,” said Magruder. “The team has been aggressively rehearsing this training in exercises like Agile Flag or INDOPACOM’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.”

As part of Air Combat Command’s Agile Flag, an exercise in a simulated rural deployed setting, the MST assisted in enabling scripted joint force air component ACE missions.

“Multi-capable Airmen is what gives the MST the capabilities it has,” said Capt. Patrick Sutton-Buscavage, 1 SOMSG Det 1 director of operations. “During Agile Flag we were able to rapidly support and sustain operations for Aircrew, maintenance and forward arming and refueling point (FARP) teams in two separate locations at the same time. Without multi-capable Airmen on our team, this doesn’t happen.”

Although Agile Flag is aimed at testing several different units’ mission generation, command and control, and base operating support-integrator elements, the MST’s inclusion provided an avenue to test the newly implemented special operations sustainment task unit in a realistic and controlled setting. It also allowed those who will be deploying in the newer, more predictable, deployment structure to develop the continuity of processes and team building needed to effectively operate in austere conditions or in support of a Theater Special Operations Command.

“The intent of MST is to align directly with the SOFORGEN cycle and integrate into a SOTU construct downrange,” Cecil said. “Although the MST is still in its infancy, we are working to build relationships and seek out further training and utilization opportunities to demonstrate how we can best be integrated across multiple areas of operation.”

In addition to Agile Flag, the MST also supported INDOPACOM’ recent RIMPAC exercise, which is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise. The MST’s involvement in the exercise directly influenced the ability for commanders to employ not just American special forces but also from India, Germany and the Republic of Korea.

“Large exercises, like RIMPAC, allow our team to showcase our force generation capabilities to the joint and international forces while also looking for ways to collaborate,” Magruder said. “The benefits of the MST concept is that it allows our commanders to employ multiple teams across a large AOR in order to form a more theater level power projection platform.”

“Whatever the challenge, we’ll need small multi-disciplinary teams like MSTs to support mission generation in a wide variety of operating environments,” Mulgund added.

The MST continues to prove that the development of multi-capable Airmen is pivotal to the future of how AFSOC generates forces.

“Multi-capable Airmen are the building blocks for developing small capable special operations teams required to adapt to any combat environment,” said Magruder. “Their incorporation into the MST is the first step in the wing’s campaign to improve the way we process and provide sustained logistical support against any potential adversaries.”

By TSgt Michael Charles, 1st Special Operations Wing

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, SOF | Comments Off on AFSOC’s Mission Sustainment Teams Provide Innovative Leap in SOFORGEN

Exercise Distant Horizon Validates Indo-Pacific Sustainment Functions

Tuesday, August 30th, 2022

PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) —

More than 140 sustainment and operations Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing established a temporary contingency location, or TCL, in less than 24 hours at Patrick Space Force Base to conduct the wing’s exercise Distant Horizon, Aug. 1-10, which validated the multi-capable sustainment abilities of a Personnel Recovery Task Force, or PRTF, in the jungle environments of the Indo-Pacific region.

Distant Horizon is an annual exercise that prepares the wing’s PRTFs for global, untethered access, war, contingency, humanitarian, and in extremis operations around the world. These readiness requirements support the wing’s mission to plan, lead and conduct military rescue operations and missions to deny competitors and adversaries exploitation of isolated personnel.

In less than one day, Airmen from every group in the wing were transported more than 4,700 miles to a remote island location that is part of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division training area. The PRTF loaded more than 130,000 pounds of aircraft, weapons, and equipment, and established a self-sustained encampment for a PRTF-Medium.

From the TCL, a group of sustainment, maintenance and operations Airmen established two separate initial contingency locations, or ICL, at geographically separated locations on another island where sites were established to support contingency activities. Using the wing’s organic intra-theater airlift, the team pushed advanced forces to four different geographically separated locations on multiple islands that covered more than 200-square-miles.

“When war occurs, the catalyst for battlespace success is our noncommissioned officers’ and company-grade officers’ ability to lead well in chaos,” said Col. John Dobbin, 920th Rescue Wing commander. “We conduct these exercises to test our wing leaders and maintain focus on the inevitables of war, which are: you will never have all the information, necessary resources, adequate manpower, nor enough money yet, fight you must.”

The PRTF structure distributes forces in light, medium and heavy configurations that can maneuver and sustain organically throughout all operating environments. In lockstep with the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment applications, the new PRTF structure utilizes multi-capable Airmen from across the wing to provide both offensive and defensive capabilities during personnel recovery, contingency location establishment and intra-theater airlift operations. The PRTF-Medium supported in this exercise is composed of four Guardian Angel teams, four HH-60G Pave Hawks, two HC-130J Combat King IIs, and a contingent of special mission personnel.

Three HC-130Js from the wing provided airlift into theater teaming with a C-5 Super Galaxy from the 512th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, and a C-17 Globemaster III from the 446th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The wing’s HC-130s and one HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter provided all the intra-theater airlift requirements between the ICL and TCL locations.

The lynchpin of the exercise was the sustainment team, made up of Airmen from the 920th Mission Support Group, where the logistics readiness squadron maneuvered 130 tons of cargo across multiple islands and four geographically separated locations while using organic airlift. They delivered more than 1,800 gallons of water and 500 gallons of fuel to sustain the TCL over eight days for more than 140 personnel. The force support squadron developed a new accountability system to track the position of all friendly forces and served 984 meals over six days from the Single Pallet Expeditionary Kitchen. The security forces squadron provided ICL and TCL defense to ensure all personnel and equipment were safeguarded 24/7 throughout the duration of the exercise. The communication squadron provided over-the-air reach back capability through multiple high- and low-tech systems where friendly forces mission-tracked forward operations while maintaining higher headquarters connectivity.

“These Airmen traveled 4,700 miles and found out what is required of them when they are pulled forward into a TCL or ICL in a combat environment,” said Maj. Traci Arnold, exercise and task force commander. “They stepped up to provide the four key elements for our forward deployed operations: food, ammo, fuel, and water. When we provide these for the PRTF, forward deployed operations don’t have to return to a rear location to resupply. They can continue the mission, which will save time and lives.”

There were three primary areas of training on the ground that included jungle survival, base defense tactics, and medical response to a traumatic event with additional training in the use of radios, repositioning the camp for a hasty exfiltration, and other group leadership challenges.

Medical personnel conducted training on Tactical Combat Casualty Care and patient movement and loading. They also trained on jungle survival techniques from survival, evasion, resistance, and escape, or SERE, specialists where they learned Indo-Pacific focused skills.

Airmen moved beyond their Air Force specialty codes while receiving specific training to support combat rescue operations. Security forces provided training on foot patrols, troop movements with contact to fire, reconnaissance, personnel detainment, search and interrogation, weapons handling, radio emission control discipline, and TCL security.

“We validated the capability to organically support our operational forces and to move cargo and personnel daily to and from an ICL. Each Airman is critical to the success of this mission and their AFSC does not matter. They are warfighters first,” Arnold said.

Story by Lt Col Ian Phillips

Photos SSgt Darius Sostre-Miroir

920th Rescue Wing

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Training | Comments Off on Exercise Distant Horizon Validates Indo-Pacific Sustainment Functions

Airman’s Innovation Saves Time, Money

Sunday, August 28th, 2022

RAF MILDENHALL, United Kingdom (AFNS) —

Thousands of hours are spent each year removing and installing a boom cover on a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft – hours that could be used elsewhere. One 100th Maintenance Squadron Airman has invented a new boom cover tool that has the potential to save the U.S. Air Force 40,000 man-hours and approximately $1 million per year.

“I noticed as soon as I got to Mildenhall that removing and installing the boom cover was tedious and time consuming,” said Airman 1st Class Jacob Helzer, 100th MXS hydraulics maintenance journeyman. “Removing the cover the conventional way involves calling the Aerospace Ground Equipment backshop for an aircraft stand and requires two Airmen and a substantial amount of time.”

The current conventional method hinders daily operations, whereas the innovative solution Helzer created is easier, takes less time and lessens the impact on the flow of operations.

“One of the maintenance crew chiefs reached out because he knew I enjoy 3D printing and design and believed I could come up with a solution for the boom cover,” Helzer said. “I then came up with a prototype for a tool that could make the process much smoother.”

Tech Sgt. Steven Jakubowski said Helzer is always looking for ways to innovate and constantly asking questions to gain further knowledge.

“He spent a lot of his free time, outside of work, designing the boom cover tool,” Jakubowski said.

Helzer, using his skill and knowledge with 3D printing, created a prototype called the “Boom Cover Tool.” The tool was manufactured with Helzer’s 3D printer and resembles a butterfly net on the end of a retractable pole with a hoop mechanism that tightens and loosens the net covering on the opposite end.

“Once I created the prototype, I brought it to my section and tested it out,” Helzer said. “A 30-minute job became a one-minute job with the Boom Cover Tool.”

The Boom Cover Tool greatly reduces the number of man-hours needed every time a cover needs to be removed or installed on an aircraft and the cover itself better protects the boom pod during adverse weather conditions.

Each Boom Cover Tool costs roughly $200 to produce.

“The projected savings were calculated by him and I while submitting for Spark Tank by using the 2021 comptroller document for wages,” Jakubowski said.

“I did the math and the projected savings for the Air Force if they utilized the Boom Cover Tool for the entirety of the refueling fleet would be approximately $1 million and potentially 40,000 man-hours annually,” Helzer added.

In order to meet this goal, Helzer has been collaborating with the MXS fabrication flight to produce the test prototypes for each aircraft here.

“Once we have everything streamlined, we can move into the beta testing phase, which is roughly six months, then move on to scaling up for the entire KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft fleet,” Helzer said.

Moving forward, Helzer plans on developing a batch of tools for the local KC-135 fleet to prove the design concept. Helzer would then like to contract the fabrication of a final, more durable prototype and share the Boom Cover Tool throughout the entire fleet and modify the design to be adopted for other variations of refueling aircraft.

“Helzer has been a go-getter from the moment he arrived on station and is always hungry to learn all aspect of his job, and his critical thinking skills are some of the bests I’ve ever seen,” Jakubowski said.

Helzer has always been motivated to improve himself and the way things are done at his job, and one example of this is the Boom Cover Tool.

“This is how change starts, by questioning the way we do things and coming up with a solution that will benefit Airmen at all levels,” Helzer said. “I created the Boom Cover Tool to make the lives of my Wingmen easier and inspire Airmen to devise and implement new ideas to help improve even the simplest tasks.”

By Airman 1st Class Alvaro Villagomez, 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, MRO | 13 Comments »

Unleashed: Grey Wolf Flies with All-Air Force Crew for First Time

Saturday, August 27th, 2022

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. —

Lt. Col. Mary Clark stepped out to the MH-139A Grey Wolf with confidence.

Confidence gained from taking part in and leading in the developmental efforts of the Air Force’s first acquisitioned helicopter. Those early labors from concept to reality culminated as she climbed into one of the pilot seats for the MH-139A’s first flight under Air Force ownership here Aug. 17.

“This milestone really represents the beginning of Air Force testing for the Grey Wolf,” said Clark, a former requirements officer with the Grey Wolf program, now at the 96th Operations Group. “We can now open up those test points for the military and push the envelope more to ensure we’re delivering that operational capability the units need out of the helicopter.”

The Grey Wolf achieved this milestone after earning its military flight release, Aug. 12. The new status allows Air Force-only aircrew to conduct testing on military capabilities of the MH-139A as the program moves forward. Prior to the military flight release, military and Boeing contractors shared the flight duties since the aircraft’s arrival here in December 2019.

During that two-and-a-half-year period, the military testing fell to the 413th Flight Test Squadron and the AFGSC Detachment 7, in which Clark was a former commander. The 413th FLTS is the Air Force’s only rotary-wing developmental test unit.

“We learned a lot over the last two years,” Clark said. “That experience allowed us to shape our test plans and ultimately save time. We already know some baseline foundational things we don’t have to re-establish in our own program.”

The aircraft’s first flight under its new call sign, Lycan, meaning werewolf, took place above and around Duke Field, an auxiliary field North of Eglin. The goal of that flight was to validate processes, checklists, maintenance, emergency procedures and aircrew communication and coordination.

Tech. Sgt. Alexander Graves, an AFGSC Det. 7 special missions aviator, was part of both MH-139 first flights with Boeing in early 2020 and now the all-Air Force flight. The Airman said he hadn’t reflected on his place in Grey Wolf history as the first enlisted to fly in and instruct on one of the Air Force’s newest aircraft.

“What an honor,” said Graves, a former C-130 loadmaster, who was chosen to be part of the Grey Wolf program. “I never thought in my career I’d be in a position to do something like this. It’s so rewarding to finally test the things we’ve been building up and to see that work we put in over the last two years pay off now.”

The goal for the next 15 months of testing on the four MH-139As here will be to validate the safety of the aircraft and define the limits and maneuvers that can be performed. The developmental testing here will make sure the MH-139A meets AFGSC requirements for operational missions and define baseline operational capabilities upon which to build tactics, techniques, and procedures.

The MH-139A will replace the Air Force fleet of UH-1N aircraft, increasing capabilities in speed, range, endurance, payload, and survivability. The Air Force will acquire up to 80 helicopters, training devices, and associated support equipment. The aircraft will provide vertical airlift and support to four major commands and other operating agencies.

From those humble beginnings in concept to feeling the MH-139A’s wheels leave the pavement, Clark said it was truly a magical moment.

“It’s just extremely satisfying to now own and fly something we worked so hard to get,” she said smiling. “Today the leash was off and we could finally run with the Grey Wolf.”

By Samuel King Jr.

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post | 2 Comments »

Air Force Experiments to Expedite Kill Chain, Improve Battle Management

Wednesday, August 24th, 2022

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) —

The 705th Combat Training Squadron recently hosted the second virtual Tactical Operations Center-Light experiment iteration in their Distributed Mission Operations Center at Kirtland Air Force Base.

“Twenty-first century large-scale warfare requires our forces to adapt quickly on the move,” said Col. Frank Klimas, 505th Command and Control Wing, Detachment 1 commander, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The TOC-L event was designed to continue U.S. Air Force development of future battle management concepts intended to expedite kill chains and improve distributed control.

Air battle managers and tactical air control party Airmen traveled to Kirtland AFB from across Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe to participate in the experiment.

A TOC-L is purposed lightweight, scalable battle management system that enables tactical C2 elements to relocate quickly, establish advanced datalinks, connect to a variety of sensors via a resilient communication structure, and successfully operate in a denied, degraded, or contested operational environment.

“TOC-L aims to adapt our current systems to new tactics needed for the high-end fight, and the DMOC provides a great environment to test those out,” Klimas said.

The event was the second experiment executed at the DMOC and focused on building and capturing tactics, techniques, and procedures, or TTPs, of the USAFE inspired Agile Control Integration Team while concentrating on integrating additional TOC-L mission sets.

“As the Air Force continues to evolve the TOC-L concept, it’s important to have a venue like the DMOC to bring different career fields together and stress test our ideas for different variations of a TOC-L crew,” said Maj. Carl Plonk, 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, TOC-L experiment director, Hurlburt Field, Florida. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the first two iterations, and we’re looking forward to integrating into Virtual Flag: Battle Management where we can apply added levels of complexity to see how our techniques hold up.”

Plonk continued, “It’s eye-opening to see how these two career fields innovate to overcome mission challenges with limited traditional resources. We’ve asked the team to think creatively with this experiment because quite frankly, this experiment and others like it are changing the way we will conduct battle management in the future.”

The event expanded TACP capabilities based C2 element integration, which included distributed partnering with Air Support Operations Squadrons across the country. Additionally, the experiment saw joint partner involvement with U.S. Marine Corps air controllers from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, providing operational assessment support to bolster concept development.

“Joint inclusion in this experiment further cements the Air Force’s desire to be dialed into theater integration needs from the start,” said Col. Adam Shelton, 505th Test and Training Group commander, Hurlburt Field, Florida. “Efforts like the Advanced Battle Management System are challenging our service paradigms on battle management to decouple personnel from sensors and our Marine Corps teammates with their approach to combined arms warfare are the best suited to inform these efforts.”

The team plans to integrate the concepts and lessons learned from recent experiments into Virtual Flag: Battle Management in August.

“Integrating Airmen from across these two command and control career fields to further develop these concepts is both exciting and necessary,” said Maj. Dustin Nedolast, 505th Command and Control Wing, Detachment 1, TOC-L experiment director, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. “Collaborative experimentation is key to continually building on the lessons learned throughout these iterations while staying focused on expediting a functional system for the joint force in the future.”

The 705th CTS reports to the 505th Combat Training Group, Nellis AFB, Nevada, and the 505th Command and Control Wing, headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

By Deb Henley, 505th Command and Control Wing Public Affairs, 505th Command and Control Wing

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post | 12 Comments »

CCAF Electronic Transcripts Now Available, Faster Delivery Time

Monday, August 22nd, 2022

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. —

Community College of the Air Force students can now order their transcripts electronically and have them processed within a week instead of what usually took up to 45 days.

CCAF has partnered with Parchment, a digital credentialing service, to deliver transcripts electronically.

To request their transcript, students register for an account with Parchment and add CCAF to their list of schools attended. They then order a copy of their transcript to send to the address of their choice: school, third party or home address. The transcript orders come into the CCAF Student Services section, where technicians will retrieve, verify and process the requests.

Parchment then processes the transcripts for delivery. Although CCAF does not charge a fee for providing student transcripts, Parchment does charge a small processing fee. The transcript request is usually processed within two to three days.

“We’re excited to offer this service to our students,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Pond, commandant, CCAF. “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to streamline our processes while increasing customer satisfaction. I believe our new automated transcripts process does just that.”

To be the “College of Choice” for enlisted members, and to assist them in paving a way to success, CCAF continues to seek better ways through technology to improve its services. The electronic transcript request and delivery service through Parchment is but one example of current and upcoming improvements to the student experience at CCAF.

By Benny Seawright, CCAF Media and Outreach

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Profession of Arms, Training | Comments Off on CCAF Electronic Transcripts Now Available, Faster Delivery Time