Instructs In Best Use Of Air Assets In The Combat Theater
At the Air Force Warfare Center at Nevada's Nellis Air Force
Base, lessons learned supporting ground troops in Afghanistan and
Iraq are being shared with the aviation community and incorporated
into the training as quickly as they're developed. Meanwhile, the
center's operational arm, the 57th Wing, is helping to train
warfighters to take maximum advantage of air assets available to
support them, as well as airmen who operate directly with them in
the combat theater.
"When you look around the warfare center, it is hard to think of
what really isn't connected to today's fight in some shape or
form," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Stanley "Ted" Kresge, Air Force
Warfare Center commander. "The entire institution is responding to
what is going on, and how it can better support the troops on the
ground."
The 561st Joint Tactics Squadron is the most forward edge of
that effort. Its members regularly deploy into the combat theater
to identify emerging tactics, techniques and procedures, as well as
gaps in warfighter support. "We form teams of experts across
mission areas and travel to Iraq and Afghanistan to interview
people at war, sit down and have discussions about what's working,
what's not working, what's going on, and [asking], 'What have you
learned since you have been here?'" Kresge said. "They're not only
trying to find out what is working, but also what is not working,
then to close the book and do something about it with a feedback
cycle."
The teams report their findings back to the schoolhouse to
incorporate into its programs, which provide the world's most
advanced training in weapons and tactics employment to combat air
forces officers. The warfare center shares these lessons with the
Air Force aviation community, as well as Army and Marine Corps
leaders, during regular joint forums. But another popular venue,
the Web-based "Community of Practice," reaches out to a broader
population with a real-time tactics exchange. The forum is by far
the most-viewed network on the Air Force Knowledge Now portal.
"Folks can get on there and prepare their training plan before
they go to the [combat theater]," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Russell
J. Handy, the 57th Wing commander. "It gives them the opportunity
to learn first-hand what is going on over there, and what they need
to train for differently."
Meanwhile, as the warfare center's operations arm, the 57th Wing
supports this effort through tactics development geared to the
evolving threat. For example, the wing helped to identify the best
ways for the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft, designed as a long-range
interdiction platform, to conduct intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance and close-air support missions in the current
fight.
Also, training on the massive Nevada Test and Training Range
here, it tested tactics used to provide reconnaissance and
close-air support in conditions found in the combat zone. The wing
came up with techniques for tracking high-value targets riding in
fast-moving vehicles, "skipping" bombs deep inside tunnels serving
as insurgent hiding grounds, and increasing the precision of
strikes in busy urban centers without causing collateral damage.
Currently, the wing is focused heavily on taking better advantage
of digital tools such as the remote operated video enhanced
receiver, or ROVER, to improve coordination between ground troops
and Air Force support elements, Handy said. "What we found over the
years is that there is a lot more efficient and better way to pass
information than just jumping on the radio and talking to each
other," he said.
Air Force Photo
Far better, he explained, is enabling front-line forces to
receive streaming video directly from both manned and remotely
piloted aircraft. Digitally aided close-air support tools provide
the same operational picture to ground commanders, the
on-the-ground joint terminal attack controller and aircraft pilot,
he explained. "Every time you hear better or different ways of
doing things, we're on top of it," Handy said. "It's all about how
to most quickly and efficiently support those troops on the
ground."
As the 57th Wing advances new tactics, techniques and
procedures, the Air Force Warfare Center works to get them out to
the Air Force community as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the wing
also helps to train ground troops to take maximum advantage of air
support available to them. It provides air support for ground
forces about to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq during their mission
rehearsal exercises at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin,
California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk,
Louisiana.
In addition, the wing provides advanced training for airmen who
working directly with ground troops in the combat theater, with an
increasing focus on training more joint terminal attack controllers
who typically work at the corps level to coordinate close-air
support. "We are rapidly expanding that program to meet the demands
in the area of responsibility, and looking for better and more
efficient ways to train," Handy said.
Ultimately, he said, the mission comes down to increasing the
Air Force's effectiveness in supporting ground troops in harm's
way. "It's all about being able to find out that there is someone
in trouble on the ground, and as quickly and efficiently as
possible, help that soldier on the ground," he said.