Warfighters gather at Nellis for WEPTAC

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Laura Balch
  • 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) --  More than 1,300 U.S. and coalition forces members participated in the 2011 Weapons and Tactics Conference held here Jan. 10 through 14.

Held annually, WEPTAC brings together U.S. and allied warfighters from across the combat air force to discuss current issues, look at future issues, and provide solutions for joint and combined employment of airpower.

"This is the 12th WEPTAC we have held, and each year we evaluate how our forces are operating," said H. A. Hamilton, the WEPTAC coordinator and weapons and tactics consultant for Air Combat Command. "We want to make sure that we're efficiently and effectively integrating our warfighting abilities at the tactical level."

This year, conference attendees participated in numerous events throughout the week. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz provided opening remarks and the keynote address Jan. 10.

From Jan. 11 to Jan. 13, participants discussed integrating air, space and cyberspace operations. More than 30 generals from the CAF traveled here to take part in the final out-brief Jan. 14.

The week prior to WEPTAC, 485 invited CAF personnel participated in a Tactics Review Board. The TRB assembled with the purpose of aligning mission design series syllabi with component-numbered air force priorities.

"This review board and conference are vital because they ensure that what we capture on paper is aligned with what we're facing in reality," Mr. Hamilton said. "There are guys who participated in these events who were flying combat operations in Afghanistan four or five days ago and are heading back there now. Those guys bring real-world information to the conference and everyone benefits from hearing their perspective on how our warfighting strategies measure up.

"Thanks to everyone's input and the many discussions that occurred at this TRB and WEPTAC, CAF leadership members are able to shape policies and produce methods that will better our ability to fight and win current and future conflicts," Mr. Hamilton said.