Intel Airmen experts at puzzle solving

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Gates
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Predicting enemy actions in a combat zone like Iraq is like trying to put together a puzzle where not only the pieces rapidly change, but the overall picture changes moment by moment.

At Ali Base, three members of the 407th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron intelligence flight spend their day doing exactly that -- putting together the pieces of a rapidly changing puzzle to protect the people at the base.

“We provide operationally relevant intelligence to support the group commander, security forces, explosive ordnance disposal team and fire department so they can be situationally aware when they respond to events on or off base,” said Maj. Charles Weaver IV, chief of the intelligence flight.

“For instance, if they are headed out to a bridge, and we heard that someone might have planted an improvised explosive device there, we can tell them about it,” Major Weaver said.

“We want to make sure everyone is aware of the possible dangers and they come home safely when they go outside the wire,” said Senior Airman Jeana Pecukonis, intelligence specialist.

The members of the flight do this by putting together and analyzing material, something like putting together a term paper, Airman Pecukonis said. They gather material from home units, headquarters and other sources, put it together in a graphical format and pass it on to their customers. 

“You could think of it as a puzzle,” Major Weaver said. “Everyone comes into theater with the borders. They know about how big the puzzle is. They know the edges. What we do is start putting the puzzle together, piece by piece, from online research, our networking with units on base and our other sources.” 

The work they deal with here is much different from at home. Airman Pecukonis and Tech. Sgt. Gaylen Charles, the third member of the team, hail from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., where their concern is more with space-borne assets and threats. Major Weaver is from Air Combat Command headquarters at Langley AFB, Va., and has mostly been involved with acquiring the systems needed to accomplish the intelligence mission. 

“This is 180 degrees from what I do at home,” the major said. “It requires different skills, but it is good to get back into the ‘real’ intelligence world.”

Another difference between the mission at home and the mission here is the information they receive to put together, Major Weaver said. Much of the information he dealt with at a previous assignment was raw -- original information that had not been refined or edited.

“At home, I would be able to hear a tape-recorded message between two people,” he said. “Here, I might get information that two people had a conversation and they might have discussed a football game, but maybe they didn’t. We already have different people who have analyzed and given their interpretation of the available information.”

Getting different interpretations of information is key to the intelligence flight successfully completing its mission, Major Weaver said.

“Every member of the flight brings different experiences to the table. We can each look at the same information and come up with different conclusions. We can analyze these conclusions to see which one makes the most sense. When intelligence is done correctly, it is cooperative. Any interpretation could be the right one.”

Another challenge for the intelligence team is dealing with the different languages, Major Weaver said.

”We have a very large coalition presence on the base,” he said, “and we get a good deal of information from them every day. Trying to communicate with them can be tricky. Of course, sometimes talking to other services can be a little challenging as well.”

This can be more of a challenge in the future as the Army takes a larger role around the base, he said. Currently the team provides some briefings to the Army forces protecting Ali Base. That will continue for some time until the Army spins up the infrastructure to provide their own intelligence analysis.
 
Making sure the right information is available to the troops who need it is what makes the job rewarding. 

“I like briefing,” said Airman Pecukonis. “It’s great when I am able to put information out there and get questions. That helps me make a better analysis of the information I give out.”

Sergeant Charles agreed.

“It is good to find and provide the important information that may drive a decision to make an operation safer or more successful,” he said.

And getting feedback from those folks directly impacted by their information can be rewarding as well, Airman Pecukonis said.
 
“Getting feedback when we give good information is one of the best feelings since we are not physically out there,” she said. “But, it is better when the information we provide them directly contributes to them making the choices that will bring them home, bring them back safely so they can go home to their loved ones.” 

Making those operations successful also means that the flight has a great deal of impact on ensuring the growing democracy in Iraq stays burgeoning.
 
“I am excited to be in on the process. What we do here today will shape the country for decades to come,” Major Weaver said. “I can say that I was there when it happened. It is a very important mission and I am honored to be a part of it.”

Airman Pecukonis is proud of not only being a part of history, but the particular part she plays.

“I don’t think I could have a better job in the Air Force,” she said.