Air chiefs conference comes to close

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WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Strengthening partnerships with coalition and allied air forces is one of the Air Force's strategic goals and this week's Global Air Chiefs Conference was an effort to accelerate progress toward achieving that goal, said the Air Force's top officer.

"We aimed this conference at establishing and reinforcing air force-to-air force relationships, increasing our understanding of the operational dynamics faced by Airmen around the globe, and working toward interoperable solutions for our common challenges. I'm confident we achieved those objectives," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. "We operate in the same medium but often with different resources. The key is working together to achieve the desired effect quickly in any situation."

More than 80 international air chiefs attended the week-long GACC which ended Sept. 28. The conference gave leaders a chance to build and reaffirm global relationships. 

Emphasizing the need to improve on partnerships already in place with the U.S. Air Force, Air Vice Marshall Julius Boateng, the Ghana air chief stated, "Our countries need to continue to dialogue and strengthen our partnerships."

General Moseley highlighted some of the missions that could be improved by partnering. 

"Our nations are engaged in a worldwide conflict," he said.  "This requires greater international partnering to defeat threats to our way of life. We (also) share in cooperative efforts including medical assistance and humanitarian missions, as well as search, rescue and recovery efforts.

"We've seen many times in recent years," General Moseley said, "the need for air forces to work together to bring quick relief to those who are suffering, whether victims of earthquakes in Pakistan, the Boxing Day 2004 Tsunami, or Hurricane Katrina on our own Gulf Coast.  Developing these relationships now allows us to fly immediately into action when required."

Building interoperability and synergy among partners was a main theme throughout the conference. Nearly a dozen of the world's air chiefs led discussions about international relations and the interoperability of air and space forces required in today's fight against terrorism and to ensure global stability well into the future.

Air Vice Marshall Boateng emphasized this point, saying air forces must work toward greater interoperability. By standardizing equipment, training and procedures, air forces can progress toward this goal.

The commander of the United Arab Emirates' air force and air defense, Staff Major General Pilot Mohammad bin Swaidan al Qamzi, expanded the notion of interoperability beyond just technical, machine-to-machine connections. He suggested that air forces also must have cultural interoperability -- understanding each others' doctrines and tactics, techniques, and procedures -- to work effectively with each other. 

The air chiefs also discussed the need to address interoperability in the weapon system procurement. Seventeen NATO nations currently operate UAVs and many are not interoperable. In addition, more 60 UAVs are currently in development around the world which, when fielded, will only increase the challenges associated with air force-to-air force interoperability, according to the air chiefs.

"I'm convinced that we as global air chiefs face the same set of fundamental challenges," said General Moseley at the conclusion of the conference.  "As we continue to share ideas and build relationships, we can better leverage our air and space power capabilities to achieve a common goal: making the world a safer place for our children and grandchildren."

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