Air chiefs from 13 nations gathered here March 25 to 27 for the fifth Middle East Air Symposium to discuss issues and challenges facing the region.

The focus of the talks was the unconventional roles of air forces in the changing security environment.

King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan hosted the event, which was attended by Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, France, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

His Royal Highness Prince Feisal Ibn Al-Hussein, Royal Jordanian Air Force lieutenant general and special assistant to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, delivered the symposium’s keynote address.

Jordan is faced with unconventional threats of insurgencies, improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers, as well as emerging threats of ballistic and cruise missiles, Prince Feisal said.

Other crises which could face nations were also noted, such as sabotage, cyber warfare, organized crime, civil unrest and event security.

A counter-revolution in military affairs is underway, Prince Feisal of Jordan said.

“Intellectually, much of our military doctrine is wedded to the 'revolution in military affairs' ideology, which presupposes that technological leaps will always transcend older realities of warfare,” Prince Feisal, a Brown University-educated engineer, told the audience. “It is technology itself that has reversed the RMA.”

Internet, cell phones and discounted airline tickets empower terrorists to operate worldwide and synchronize their lethal strikes with devastating consequences, he said.

“We need to actively pursue unconventional roles in supporting or leading crisis response, homeland security and humanitarian operations,” Prince Feisal said.

The importance of humanitarian operations was emphasized by Lt. Gen. Gary North, 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces commander.

General North, who served as director of operations for U.S. Pacific Command during the Southeast Asian tsunami relief effort, shared airpower lessons learned during that effort as well as from Hurricane Katrina and Pakistan earthquake relief operations.

“It is very important for us to synchronize interagency, intergovernmental and multi-lateral relationships in humanitarian relief operations,” General North said.

Continued emphasis on contingency planning, staff training and routine multi-national exercises will serve to improve the speed and effectiveness of multi-national crisis response, he said.

“When a humanitarian crisis occurs, there is no time to learn on the job,” General North said.

Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, deputy Combined Forces Air Component commander for U.S. Central Command, described how the use of fighter aircraft as non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms is a valuable unconventional use of airpower.

Using targeting pods of airborne close air support aircraft augments traditional ISR as part of the integrated collection plan and shortens the kill chain.

“NTISR is a marriage of convenience and necessity,” General Peck said.

General Peck highlighted some of the many unconventional NTISR applications, ranging from helping identify roadside bombs to providing imagery to commanders in humanitarian relief operations.

The Middle East Air Symposium has three objectives -- to build coalition relationships and trust, describe current and emerging trends, and prescribe near-term actionable initiatives to achieve coalition interoperability.

Prince Feisal of Jordan sees the Middle East Air Symposium as an opportunity to show and tell the air forces story differently.

“Modern air forces are a victim of their own successes in speed, reach and lethality,” Prince Feisal said. “By exercising and demonstrating our ability to support unconventional missions, Airmen will help decision makers, opinion leaders, joint forces, law enforcement and first responders better understand our value and how to capitalize on our capabilities.”

General North agreed.

“MEAS provides a great opportunity for air chiefs within the region to meet and discuss their shared interests such as transformation, training and exercises,” General North said. “It gives us a chance to look to the future.”