Army, Air Force leaders discuss interoperability

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WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The chief of staffs for the Army and Air Force along with other senior leaders from both Services met to discuss issues of mutual interest regarding interdependency and interoperability Jan. 23 at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C.

Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Gen. T. Michael Moseley spent the day-long forum talking openly about issues facing both services. 

Called the "Warfighter Talks," the participants discussed how the Army and Air Force can work more interdependently to better accomplish their individual and joint missions.

"Our services have a long history of working together interdependently to defeat our nation's foes," General Moseley said. "We are familiar with each other's core competencies, and today we are going to continue to work toward solutions that will ensure joint, integrated combat power will dominate the battlespace."

General Casey said a future of persistent conflict will require increased coordination and collaboration among all services.

This meeting continues a history of such discussions, dating back to the chief of staff of the Army and chief of staff of the Air Force talks of 1965. The goal of the Warfighter Talks is to strengthen joint partnership, synchronize efforts to serve the nation better, and improve service-to-service interoperability. Some of the other areas discussed included mobility operations, joint training and command and control procedures.

Additionally, the two chiefs of staff signed a memorandum of agreement outlining each service's commitment to provide direct support liaisons at multiple levels of command. The agreement governs Army and Air Force liaison duties during home station training, joint training and deployed operations.

The memorandum also formalizes existing arrangements between the Army and Air Force developed over the course of the war on terrorism to support the warfighter. Through this agreement, the two services will develop a process to identify and address equipment interoperability issues, and will seek opportunities to jointly develop doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures through the exchange of personnel between service schools.

"Today we came together with a common focus on improving warfighting effects," General Moseley said. "By bringing our own service-unique skills to the table and learning how we can integrate our capabilities and support for one another, we will be stronger tomorrow."

General Casey held similar talks with the Marines earlier in January.

All services need predictable resourcing to build forces that are versatile and able to dominate in 21st century conflicts, General Casey said. 

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