Flag officers complete warfighting course

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) --  Flag officers from four of the military services and a senior civilian recently gathered here to prepare for their future roles as senior warfighting planners.

The senior leaders took part in Air University's two-week Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, and had the opportunity to talk with prominent military leaders including Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of saff and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, who served as the senior coalition commander in Iraq from June 2004 to February 2007.

The university conducts the course, sponsored by the service chiefs of staff, twice a year to prepare up-and-coming two-stars to fill senior roles as joint task force, senior combatant command or major command positions.

When attendees leave JFOWC, they have a general knowledge of joint warfare and the basic tools needed for their next level of command, said Lt. Col. Reagan Schaupp the JFOWC director.

What makes JFOWC such a great course is that it allows flag officers from various services to interact, said  Army Brig. Gen. John Seward, the Army's Space and Missile Command deputy commander and chief of operations for the Army's Strategic Command.

"This course helped give all of us an idea of what is ahead for the military in the war on terrorism," he said. "I look at joint force as a football game where each service brings assets to the field. When you take those assets and make use of them, the team succeeds. Each of us brings our own unique capabilities, and working together, we get a synergistic effect."

While discussions among the flag officers during the course were open and candid, there were times of disagreement on topics, said Maj. Gen. Wiliam L. Holland, the 9th Air Force vice commander at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

Everyone brings their "service culture, biases and personal nuances" to the course; but that's OK, he said, "because we soon find out that we are never too old to learn."

The only Reserve officer to attend the course was Brig. Gen. Jeff Talley, the commander of the Army's 926th Engineering Brigade at the Maxwell Air Force Base Gunter Annex. Referring to mentors as "graybeards," he said sharing their experiences added tremendously to the success of the course.

His brigade is preparing to deploy to Iraq again, and he said many of the course sidebars helped him "pin down loose areas" that are different from what they were when he was last in Southwest Asia.

"I found the piece on strategic communications particularly good," General Talley said. "I'm a 'citizen Soldier' and feel damn lucky to be here."

JFOWC is very valuable from a "career-broadening" perspective and will help him in future assignments, said Rear Adm. Scott Hebner, the Navy Personnel commander.

"I tried to capture all the 'pearls of wisdom' available to attendees," the admiral said. "I feel like I have captured some pearls that I will be able to use down the road."

The "great" speakers are always the highlight of the course, but the opportunity to sit with joint flag officers was "fantastic," said Maj. Gen. Allen G. Peck, the Air University vice commander.

The general, also commander of the Air Force Doctrine Development and Education Center, found the course educational and useful from a different perspective, he said. 

"Attending JFOWC gave me an opportunity to see firsthand what an outstanding job my people do to run these courses," he said. "I feel privileged to have attended JFOWC, and feel nobody does this type of training better than Air University."

In addition to a senior executive service member, who is the first civilian to participate, seven Army generals, six Air Force generals, a Navy admiral and a Marine Corps general attended the course.

Some of the other speakers to the group included Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former commanding general of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing; Adm. Patrick Walsh, vice chief of Naval Operations and former commander of Combined Maritime Forces during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; and Gen. James Conway, Marine Corps commandant and former commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during two combat tours in Iraq.

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