Total force meets at Fort Dix for conference

FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) -- More than 20 senior officers from the air mobility total force met to improve practices during a director of mobility forces conference at the Air Mobility Warfare Center here Jan. 18 to 19.

The conference was an opportunity for leaders in the mobility world to enhance practices in current operations. This includes operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility and future ones whether for combat or humanitarian relief.

“What we are trying to do is gather their inputs so that we can make sure that we are teaching exactly what the warfighter needs,” said Maj. Gen. Scott Gray, Air Mobility Warfare Center commander.

Directors of mobility forces are responsible for providing theater airlift operations. This duty is filled by mobility leaders from active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard. They work with key leaders from task forces and commands to ensure mobility airlift assets are in the right places at the right times.

“We want to make sure that our (directors) are aware of the most current tactics, techniques and procedures at AMC,” General Gray said. “We also want to make sure future (directors) are up to date on command and control capabilities and they know how to integrate mobility air forces assets for the combat air forces, so the joint forces air component commander has a truly integrated Air Force.”

The response in getting past directors of mobility forces to attend was surprisingly easy.

“We had an overwhelming response from former (directors),” said Domenic Fazzo, deputy chief of mobility operations for the center’s Air Force Mobility Operations School. “Normally, it’s difficult to get these people in the same place because they are important and very busy. We want to get this group of recent (directors) to tap their brains, so we can improve the programs and make their successors better prepared for the future.”

The conference addressed concerns and issues from operations within U.S. Central Command and humanitarian relief operations, like the relief effort for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The directors for each of those operations were on hand at the conference.

Brig. Gen. Buddy Reed just returned from serving as the director of mobility forces at U.S. Central Command’s combined air operations center in Southwest Asia. The general said that it’s essential to update the information future directors will be using.

“We obviously can’t continue to teach the same information for every course,” General Reed said. “The information is constantly changing and we’re here to give these folks an update of where the [directors of mobility forces] role is at.”