HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) —

For almost a decade, U.S. defense officials have deemed the return of great-power competition to be the most significant challenge to U.S. national security. As a result, the Department of Defense’s leadership is taking bigger and bolder steps to maintain the U.S. military and technological edge over pacing challenges such as China and Russia. With this effort, the ability of the U.S. to deter coercion, aggression, and even war in the coming decades is at stake. To bolster the U.S. Air Force’s ability to meet those challenges, the 705th Training Squadron executed Air Combat Command’s first Lead Wing Command and Control Course at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Aug. 23-26.

Participants included leaders from the A-staff of all five designated ACC lead wings: Moody Air Force Base, Georgia; Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona; and Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Additionally, representatives from Headquarters Air Force, 15th Air Force, and the 505th Command and Control Wing attended.

The LWC2C is ACC’s groundbreaking lead wing leadership training course for distributed operations in support of Agile Combat Employment. ACE is a proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase the survivability of forces while generating combat power through a deterrence continuum. When applied correctly, ACE complicates an adversary’s targeting process, creates political and operational dilemmas and creates flexibility for friendly forces.

“The overall current and future operating principle for the Air Force is based on places, not large, fixed bases. As a result, the Air Force will increasingly rely on smaller, more agile force packages and expeditionary air units with the ability to move between austere, temporary bases to complicate peer adversaries’ planning,” said Lt. Col. Marcus Bryan, 705th TRS commander. “The shift was largely driven by China and Russia’s more assertive behavior and new capabilities designed to disrupt and destroy U.S. command and control networks and thwart U.S. power projection.”

The course is designed to prepare a lead wing A-staff for operations in support of an air component commander in any theater. This new course captures the challenges of executing C2 in a denied, degraded, or contested environment while conducting effective ACE operations. The LWC2C is designed for immediate student immersion into joint and Air Force doctrine using Kingfish ACE game boards. Col. Troy Pierce, HAF Directorate of Plans and Programs, designed the original board game entitled Kingfish ACE to first introduce Airmen Air Force-wide to the concept and challenges of ACE.

“The innovative approach our team took with LWC2C is a huge step in breaking the military training paradigm with regards to how the military approaches academics and training. We are focusing on introducing lead wing A-staffs to the complexity of distributed C2 of ACE through a more hands-on approach rather than the traditional ‘death by PowerPoint’ approach,” said Lt. Col. Benjamin Lee, 705th TRS director of operations. “Our training doesn’t stop with this course, the 505th CCW will be an integral part of the entirety of a lead wing’s C2 training program. As each wing progresses from ACE lead wing academics through certification in the ‘Prepare and Ready’ phases of the AFFORGEN [Air Force Force Generation Model] cycle, we anticipate continuous teaching and mentoring.”

Upon completing the LWC2C, attendees will understand the concepts and considerations of integrating ACC’s lead wing activities into the air component C2 structure to support ACE operations within any theater.

“The U.S. military can no longer assume that it will have the freedom of action in a conflict that it had in the past by gaining early superiority in the air, space, cyberspace and maritime domains,” said Col. Adam Shelton, 505th Test and Training Group commander. “In any future conflict, U.S. forces will need to fight for advantage across these domains – and then continue fighting to keep it – in the face of a continuous peer adversary efforts to disrupt and degrade U.S. battle-management networks.”

Story by 505th Command and Control Wing Public Affairs, 705th Training Squadron

Photos by Keith Keel

SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras (AFNS) —

Airmen assigned to the 22nd Airlift Squadron and 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Travis Air Force Base, California, collaborated to deliver more than 90,000 pounds of humanitarian aid to Honduras during a combined Major Command Service Tail Trainer (MSTT) and Denton cargo mission Aug. 21-31, 2022. Members of Youngstown Air Reserve Station’s 76th Aerial Port Squadron helped palletize and load the cargo.

Maj. Zachary Barrington, 22nd Airlift Squadron C-5M Super Galaxy pilot instructor, led a 14-member crew that delivered approximately $38,000 worth of medical supplies and other goods to support the Denton Program, which allows private U.S. citizens and private organizations to transport humanitarian goods to approved countries in need.

The crew consisted of pilots, flight engineers, loadmasters and crew chiefs with varying levels of experience. Each member received real-world operations training for the C-5M, enabling some members to become fully qualified and ready to support rapid global mobility.

“It was incredible to witness how the crew divides and conquers each challenge to successfully deliver aid where it’s needed,” said Staff Sgt. Darren Hopkins, a recently cross-trained 22nd AS C-5M flight engineer.

With the guidance of his instructor, Tech. Sgt. Beverly Castro, 22nd AS C-5M flight engineer instructor, Hopkins transitioned from simulators and theoretical systems studies to real-world applications in operations for the first time on this mission.

Each student on board received guidance and debriefs during flight and upon completion of their performance at every stop from their respective career field instructor.

“One of our goals during these MSTT missions is obviously to expedite students’ upgrade training, but just as important is to build our loadmasters’ competence and confidence,” said Tech. Sgt. Jacob Buruato, 22nd AS loadmaster instructor.

These long missions allow pilots, flight engineers and loadmasters the opportunity to check off tasks required to reach proficiency.

“These training missions are imperative to the development of our students’ skillset and ultimately, to mission success.” said Buruato. “Whether you are a pilot, flight engineer or a loadmaster student, MSTTs equip our Airmen with additional knowledge and real-world experience to tackle obstacles in the future should they face any.”

Both students and instructors benefit during these training missions.

“The moment when your student understands and realizes the importance of their role during a mission is very rewarding,” said Buruato, “And missions tend to drive that newfound mindset home.”

Dual-purpose missions like these tend to do just that.

“Flying into Honduras was a unique experience on its own,” said Hopkins. “Realizing that these supplies contribute to the development of that country helped me put things into perspective.”

The rest of the training consisted of stops to unique places such as Colorado, Ohio, Florida, South Carolina and Portugal.

“One of my personal takeaways from my first flight in my new career field is witnessing how these trainings support growth on the road, enhance communication and draw the crew closer to become one team, one fight when it comes to rapid global mobility,” said Hopkins. 

By Senior Airman Karla Parra, 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs