Services gather, communicate ballistic missile defense

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anthony Kuhn
  • Air Force News Agency
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFNEWS) --  Service members and civilians from across the Pacific met at Hickam late February for a conference to discuss ballistic missile defense for the PACOM Area of Responsibility. 

Lt. Gen. Chip Utterback, 13th Air Force commander, said the conference, "allowed us to bring our experts in Ballistic Missile Defense and our Joint Interface Control Officers to compare tactics, techniques, and procedures to understand what the different services...bring to the table."

Because of the large distances in the pacific, most coordination is conducted electronically. The conference gave the attendees a chance to meet face-to-face, instead of using e-mail. Maj. Chris Gering, the JICO for 7th Air Force, said he was glad to meet some of his counter parts in the region.

"During the course of e-mail, you don't get the tone, sometimes all you see is disagreement," Major Gering said.

The conference was a good opportunity for all services to know how to communicate with each other, said Army Capt. Karen Clarke, 94th Army Air Missile Defense Command planner.

"Ultimately the goal of the conference is just to get everybody together in the PACOM arena and talk about communications, talk about how we're going to work together, talk about how we're going to link together. So that we can do it successfully when we need to," Captain Clarke said.

The 94th deployed a tactical operations center to Hickam as part of the conference marking the first time this type of operations center has been deployed to an Air Force Base. 

The deployment of the 94th's TOC helped strengthen the joint capabilities of the Army and Air Force, said Lt. Col. John Keffer, 56th Air and Space Communications Squadron commander.

"My unit actually does the computers for the air operations center," Colonel Keefer said. "This allows us to connect the Army tactical operations center up directly to the air component piece. It really facilitates very well the connectivity between the Army C-2 system and the Air Force C-2 system, allowing a much more effective joint fight."

Army Col. Christopher Moylan, 94th AAMDC G-3, said the conference was a unique opportunity for his unit and the Joint Interface Control Officers.

"It's critical for Joint Interface Control Officers to be here, to witness what we have here and how we interface with the air operations center. Because, we are the ones that synchronize the Ballistic Missile Defense fight," Colonel Moylan said.

While the conference gave JICOs from across the Pacific a chance to see how each service operates in terms of ballistic missile defense, the 94th's TOC gave everyone a first hand look at what the Army brings to the missile defense table.

By the end of the conference, all service members involved returned to their units with a better understanding of how each branch of the military helps identify, track and intercept Ballistic Missiles. The greater understanding will increase joint operations capabilities in the Pacific, giving Pacific Command another options to help maintain peace and stability throughout the region.

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