-Caveat Lector- 991596. Faster rescues part of JEFX search by Tech. Sgt. Mark Kinkade Air Force Print News HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Air Force and Navy search-and-rescue experts here are experimenting with a series of computer programs that could speed recovery of downed pilots. While participating in Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment '99, representatives of the Navy's Third Fleet and the Air Force's Joint Combat Search and Rescue Center are testing tools aimed at trimming coordination time and narrowing search areas. "We learned in Desert Storm that most successful rescues take place within two hours of the initial downing report," said Tech. Sgt. Pete Ewing, a search-and-rescue specialist with the JCSR at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. "After two hours, the odds start dropping dramatically." The process of launching a search or rescue is streamlined compared to many typical military operations, but still too slow to the people who go after the downed pilots, said Navy Lt. Jack Schuler, a Third Fleet exercise officer. Using a manila folder with preprinted information blocks, a controller in a crisis center or command post goes through a series of contacts to bring all the forces needed to the search. That means repeated briefings to senior commanders, constant telephone or radio calls, cumbersome paperwork and a long process of gathering all necessary information. "They can do it quickly, and most people know how to react in the event of a downed aircraft, but if we can do anything to speed that process, we're going to save more lives," Schuler said. At JEFX, the written checklist is computerized. Using the same collaborative virtual workspace that is the backbone of most experiments here, the search and rescue people have instant contact with every element involved in a search. In the event of a downed aircraft, the computer flashes a message to every person on the virtual network. Those people then go to the electronic version of the checklist and begin filling out the forms. At the same time, the commander and the search and rescue units start receiving intelligence background on the pilot, the weather, the area of the downing, enemy activity and other information. "The commander and the people involved have to be situationally aware at all times," Ewing said. "If this is successful, those people will have real-time information, instead of waiting for someone to gather the information and brief them." While the software will speed the search effort, it may also reduce the number of people deploying to forward locations, Schuler said. Since the collaborative workspace is based on the military Internet, commanders can link with people worldwide. In the past, they had to have those people with them in the air operations center. "Now we don't have to be there," Ewing said. "We can link up with people anywhere and accomplish this mission. That means a smaller forward-based footprint." The idea of using the collaborative workspace in search and rescue came up during JEFX '98. Through that experiment and a series of smaller evaluations, Ewing and others have been working on the program's shortcomings. The weakest link in the experiment so far is the ability to maintain connection with the rescue units themselves. "This information has to go to the guy in the cockpit, to the people doing the search," Schuler said. "Right now, it's still going over secure lines to people who brief the pilots and crews before they fly. We need to speed that up some more." 991597. AMC uses experiment to educate warfighters by Tech. Sgt. Mark Kinkade Air Force Print News HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- For more than 3,000 people participating worldwide, Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment '99 is a giant petri dish for growing a new Air Force warfighting culture. For the Air Mobility Command people here, it's a chance to remind the warfighters that mobility forces will get the light, lean, lethal force of the 21st century to where its going. "One of our goals is to continue educating the rest of the Air Force that the immediacy with which we do things is part of our everyday mission," said Col. Steve Daniels, the JEFX '99 deputy director of mobility forces and AMC's chief of exercise policy. "We want to ensure AMC's command-and-control system integrates with the rest of the Air Force's. To do that, people have to understand how we work and what we do." Improving the Air Force's ability to command and control its forces is at the heart of JEFX. People here are evaluating how new technology, processes and procedures can shorten response time and reduce the number of forces going forward in battle. For AMC, getting in on the ground floor of any changes is vital because the command is constantly performing the same mission it will carry out during a war or contingency. "The whole future of command and control is being developed here," Daniels said. "AMC's daily job is command and control of its assets." There is little difference between what AMC does daily and what it will be asked to do as the Air Force fields its expeditionary forces, said Lt. Col. John Hinds, the JEFX Air Mobility Division director and squadron commander at the 621st Air Mobility Operations Squadron, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. An order to deploy forces to a future hotspot will probably mean one of AMC's Tanker Airlift Control Elements will go first to establish a landing area. Tankers will refuel aircraft and cargo transports will carry people and equipment. In the past, that meant loading aircraft with every conceivable piece of equipment that could be needed in any environment. That meant more aircraft carrying more equipment, slowing the airlift process. A short-notice change to the airlift could bog down the whole deployment. But at JEFX, AMC is tailoring airlift packages to meet the needs of future expeditionary force commanders, he said. "We can't be expeditionary if we can't get off (the ground) quickly," he said. "The days of 'fat packages' are over." Daniels said AMC's ability to react quickly to any situation has caused some misunderstandings. Commanders have the ability to task AMC aircraft with short-notice missions and changes to missions, which causes a ripple effect within the airlift world. "What they see is the result," he said. "All they know is the aircraft is there with the package they wanted. What they don't see is what happened as a result, and how that's going to impact future operations. We're working on ways to show that impact so they can make informed decisions." Daniels said one of the AMC success stories here is a global air mobility operations display that will show commanders where all mobility aircraft are at any given time, what they are carrying, where they are going and how many aircraft are at any given airfield. The display system is designed to integrate with the collaborative work tools under evaluation at JEFX. With little more than a desktop computer, the commander can access the information he needs and keep an eye on virtually every aspect of the operation, including air mobility. The result: fewer people deploying to forward locations and a near real-time ability to track every aircraft in the system. "We can deploy forces tailored in less time with the right stuff," said Maj. John Groff, a JEFX assessor. "That will mean a lighter force, moving quickly, responding to the commander's needs before it deploys." The display will also give AMC the ability to show the JEFX participants that air mobility doesn't just happen. AMC aircraft are often the first on the ground, but what gets them there can be a mystery to people outside the command. "Our mission often happens in the background," Daniels said. "You look on television and you see fighter aircraft bombing and people deploying, but you don't see mobility role. We get it done, but very often people don't realize how complicated it was to accomplish the task. That's not visible. It has a huge impact on how we do business." 991595. New SECAF visits Pope, takes a fall by Capt. Susan Idziak 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) -- Freefalling from 8,000 feet falls under the caption "other duties as required," on Whit Peters' job description. The new Air Force secretary completed that duty here Aug. 20 during one of his first official trips since being confirmed Aug. 3. The day started at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., when an MC-130 Talon flew out of Pope Air Force Base, N.C., to take Peters to the Luzon Drop Zone on Fort Bragg, N.C., where he made an 8,000-foot tandem freefall jump with Tech. Sgt. Gregg Pittman of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. "It was great," Peters said once safely on the ground. "But now my numbers of landings and takeoffs don't match anymore!" The secretary spent the rest of the day with combat controllers and pararescuemen of the 21st and 24th STS and students of the Combat Control School. "I came here to spend time with the special operators," Peters said. "I really wanted to see what the combat controllers and pararescuers do -- and hear their concerns firsthand." One of their major concerns is high operations tempo, he said. The small Air Force specialty is one of the most tasked and demanding, and is currently only 70 percent to 80 percent manned. The secretary's day included a Special Tactics and Rescue parachute demonstration jump at Pope Park and a press conference with media about his visit to Pope. When asked by Air Force Television News reporter Staff Sgt. Dean Padgett if his tandem jump was "a result of a mid-life crisis," Peters, 53, replied jokingly, "The job of being secretary of the Air Force is my mid-life crisis. But I have lots of family support." About his jump he added, "It was fascinating. I think I'd like to do it again. But I'm first going to reread the insurance papers." While at Pope, the secretary officiated a ceremony dedicating one of the base's newly renovated dorms to be shared by combat controllers and 23rd Fighter Group enlisted members. The dorm is named Scholl Manor in honor of Tech. Sgt. Mark Scholl, who, while assigned to the 24th STS at Pope as a combat controller, gave his life in service to his country during a United States Special Operations Command training exercise in 1992. Scholl was 33 years old when he died. "In his short life Sergeant Scholl epitomized the standard of service before self and consistently placed the welfare of his fellow man before himself," said Peters at the ceremony. "The debt of gratitude we owe for his sacrifice is immense, and today we have an opportunity to immortalize his contribution with the dedication of this important building." 991591. Reserve's support role expands under EAF ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- Air Force Reserve Command will perform a greater support role during contingency operations under the expeditionary aerospace force concept. As of Aug. 24, about 400 reservists with expeditionary combat support skills will participate in Aerospace Expeditionary Forces 1 through 4, Oct. 1 to Feb. 29. As providers of base operating support, expeditionary combat support people include civil engineers, security forces members, financial managers, personnel specialists and aerial porters. "The Air Force went to the air reserve components first to fill AEFs 1 through 4," said Lt. Col. John Woerly, Reserve EAF project officer. For AEFs 5 through 10, the Air Force will seek people by unit type codes rather than using the Palace Tenure program, the current system for assigning support people. The codes are five-character, alphanumeric codes that identify each type of military skill. To help match expeditionary combat support reservists with requirements, the Reserve has developed a unit sourcing template. The 439th Airlift Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass., and the 433rd AW, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, have been identified for AEFs 1 and 2. The 911th AW, Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pa., and the 507th Air Refueling Wing, Tinker AFB, Okla., are covering AEFs 3 and 4. "The active force has been happy with the aviation support the Reserve has provided during contingencies," Woerly said. "It should be happy with the ECS that our people can provide. The active-duty (force) needs the help because some functional area managers have said their career fields will have difficulty filling all requirements without reservists. Here's an opportunity for the Air Force to use an underutilized resource." Woerly said the personnel tempo for the Reserve will increase but will help justify reservists' positions. "If reservists are not used to support real-world contingencies, there may not be a need to keep them," he explained. "EAF participation will also give them a theater perspective and may give some an opportunity to use state-of-the-art equipment they don't have access to in their unit." One goal of the EAF concept is to avoid shutting down support functions at a base, such as security forces. By using people from different bases and accepting volunteers from the Reserve, units tapped to support an AEF will still have people at the home base to perform base support activities. For example, if an AEF needs a 44-person security forces unit, members of the unit can come from different bases from throughout the United States. One 13-member team might come from a Reserve unit, the second team may consist of active-duty members, the third team may belong to an Air National Guard unit, and the five-member headquarters staff may come from another Reserve unit. The Reserve wants to fill ECS slots with volunteers, ideally from the same flying wing supporting the AEF. If that's not possible, then volunteers from wings participating in the same 15-month EAF cycle, followed by volunteers from any wing. If there are no volunteers, the Reserve will take reservists directed on annual tour from the same wing supporting the AEF, followed by reservists from wings in the current EAF cycle, next EAF cycle and then any EAF cycle. (Courtesy of AFRC News Service) 991590. Fairchild gears up for first KC-135 Weapons Instructor Course by Staff Sgt. Jim Verchio 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) -- Beginning in January, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., will be the home of a school which is geared toward training the best tanker pilots in the world. The five-month KC-135 Weapons Instructor Course will teach pilots the best way to utilize their aircraft in a combat environment. Students will attend several phases of instruction at Nellis AFB, Nev., accompanied by four and a half months at Fairchild, according to Maj. Glenn Richard, assistant director of operations assigned to the weapons instructor school. Then students will head back to Nellis to complete the mission employment phase of instruction and graduate. WIC will improve on an already-quality product through academics and actual flying time. "This class gives pilots and navigators expertise on planning and executing sorties in the combat arena while deployed to an air operations center," said Maj. Tony Gurney, chief standardization and evaluations pilot assigned to the WIC. "In addition, since our aircraft aren't equipped with early warning radar equipment, the students need to develop skills in avoiding the threats in the electronic, surface-to-air and air-to-air combat arena." The course is divided into several blocks to include: -- Surface-to-air tactics, which is designed to teach aircrews how to avoid surface-to-air missiles, shoulder-launched weapons and anti-aircraft artillery. -- Electronic combat instruction, which will discuss the vulnerabilities of the KC-135 and how to overcome them. -- Air-to-air tactics, which will include tactics on how to avoid air-to-air combat and how to work together with fighter escorts. -- Threat avoidance and departure procedures, which will show students how to avoid terrorist threats close to the airfield by working with U.S. Embassies and developing TAADS based on the threat. -- Joint tanker operations, which will show students the proper steps needed to work with the other branches in the military to accomplish the mission. -- Air operations center instruction, which will allow the students to plan and execute sorties in a simulated air war with unknown inputs and surprising results. Fairchild was selected to host the course for several reasons. "Air and ramp space were important factors in the selection process," said Richard. "Fairchild offers the best possible learning environment for the students." "The class promises to be really exciting," said Maj. John Tomtschik, instructor pilot, 92nd Operations Group and one of the first students selected for the January class. "It's like getting a master's degree in KC-135 employment." WIC graduates will be assigned to weapons officer positions at group, wing and headquarters level. Training received through the WIC will enable graduates to oversee the integration of group training and tactics, expeditionary aerospace force and contingency planning and to be the essential link between training and standardization and evaluation. (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service) 991592. Luke pilot garners airmanship award by Kristen M. Butler 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) -- More than 10 years after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, one Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., major is still winning awards from his alma mater. Maj. Pete Gersten, 310th Fighter Squadron chief of weapons and tactics, recently received the 1999 Col. James Jabara Award for Airmanship. The award recognizes academy graduates whose significant contributions to the Air Force set them apart from their contemporaries. "Major Gersten was selected for his outstanding airmanship, instruction and vision in all aspects of the Air Force mission ranging from operational training to sustained combat operations," said Capt. Ed Cardenas, Academy public affairs officer. Gersten said winning the Jabara award was a complete surprise. "To win this award from the academy is a tremendous honor," said Gersten. "There's no question my experiences at the academy shaped me into the officer I am today. Beyond shaping your thinking processes, they instilled discipline, responsibility and the ability to follow through." As a member of the 310th FS, Gersten was instrumental in the development and integration of weapons and tactics principles into night-vision goggles and F-16 forward air controller-airborne training missions at Luke. His inputs have contributed immeasurably to the combat capability of the Air Force, said Brig. Gen. John Barry, 56th Fighter Wing commander. As a result, the 310th FS is considered the focal point and subject-matter expert, and is the sole fighter squadron formally training F-16 pilots in these missions. Additionally, Gersten helped create the night-vision goggle mobile training team program. The program allows 310th FS instructors to take the training mission on the road, enhancing the squadron's capacity to qualify pilots to use NVGs. The operational readiness inspection team recognized the program as a "best practice" in December. His proposed multicommand F-16 NVG training package defines requirements for training to every pilot in the combat air forces through fiscal 2003. The plan included training for the total force from the youngest lieutenant to the most experienced pilot. Another "best practice" was awarded when Gersten developed and refined the FAC-A training program at Luke. His mission planning books include sortie-specific air and ground battle scenarios, ground order of battle maps, mission profiles, FAC-A specific weapons data, techniques and lessons learned. In addition, he created "smart packs," providing the pilots with an authenticator, pre-mission brief, airborne briefs, artillery and surface-to-air threat envelopes, code words, flight profile information, radio frequencies, flight route data and attack profiles. "Any time you win an award it's because of a great team behind you," Gersten said. "Everyone from the maintenance crews to the leadership at Luke has been behind me 100 percent of the way. For the good of the Air Force, they allowed me the freedom and guidance to develop a (NVG and FAC-A) program and go with it." "Gersten is a role model and constant reminder of what an officer, instructor and fighter pilot should be," said Cardenas. "His only concern is creating a more qualified and capable warrior for the Air Force, and his efforts have significantly contributed to creating the word's best fighting force for both day and night." "At a young age, I was told there are two types of successful fighter pilots," Gersten said. "Those who are naturally born with their talents and those who surround themselves with great wingmen -- I've flown with a lot of great wingmen." Gersten, a native of Papillion, Neb., graduated from the academy in 1989. Prior to his assignment at Luke, Gersten was assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy. While there, he was selected 1996 U.S. Air Forces in Europe Fighter Pilot of the Year. After Aviano, he attended the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Upon completion, he was assigned to Luke. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service) 991593. Luke pilot shines, takes top honors by Senior Airman E. Petosky 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) -- Maj. Tod Fingal, a 62nd Fighter Squadron instructor pilot here, distinguished himself from every other tactical fighter pilot in the Air Force by recently taking top honors as the Lt. Col. Anthony C. Shine Award winner. The purpose of this Air Force award is to focus attention on, and accord recognition to, an outstanding pilot for proficiency and professionalism in flying fighter aircraft. Fingal's list of achievements leading to the award include being the 1998 Instructor Pilot of the Year for the 56th Operations Group, and leading the group to an excellent rating during the operational readiness inspection in December as the lead program standardization flight commander. He was also named "Top Gun" in the fall "Turkey Shoot." "(Fingal) has been here for two years and he's really been key to the development of the squadron," said Lt. Col. Rob Kesterson, 62nd FS commander. "He's the linchpin for a lot of our programs, and this is one more feather he's helped put in our cap." Fingal accepted the honor by giving kudos to the team that backed him. "The neat thing about the award is that Luke gets recognized for its contribution to the Air Force -- producing the world's finest F-16 pilots," said Fingal. "It's a definite honor, and I don't think the importance of it has hit me yet. "Anyone who gets an award is backed by lots of people, though," Fingal said. "Realistically, the individual gets the award, but it reflects upon the squadron, group and wing -- that's the greatest satisfaction for me." Kesterson said it's a big morale booster for a training base to prove itself in the company of operational combat pilots. "With all that's happening around the world -- Kosovo, Northern and Southern Watch -- Fingal won without being in combat," he said. "I think it made pilots around here proud to know we could win." The award is a culmination of a lifelong dream, said Fingal. "I've worked hard to teach, and I came to Luke to pass on what I've learned," he said. "It's neat to get recognized for that." Shine's widow established the annual award in remembrance of her husband and other prisoners of war and service members declared missing in action during the Vietnam War. Shine was listed as missing in action while flying a combat mission there and remains missing. The award emphasizes the plight of the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and their families. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service) **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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