Panel discusses people, command and control, IT

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jeffrey Bishop
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
DALLAS (AFPN) --  A panel of senior officers discussed the importance of people, strong command and control, and information technology innovations during the Airlift/Tanker Association convention here Oct. 30.

The panel consisted of Gen. John W. Handy, commander of U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command; Gen. Charles F. "Chuck" Wald, U.S. European Command deputy commander; and Gen. Lance W. Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command. The discussion was moderated by retired Gen. Ron Fogleman, former Air Force chief of staff.

General Handy said that while modernization of the mobility fleet has been in many headlines this past year, Air Force leaders should also continue to pay close attention to the service’s top asset, its people.

“If you all play back in your minds what the national debate has been in the last year in our command, it has been focused around a weapons system; specifically, tankers,” General Handy said. “I worry that quite often, that takes precedence over our critical people issues.

“The tendency ought to be to focus more on people and quality of life and the welfare of our people,” he said. “If you ever take your eye off the people issues, that’s what’s going to consume you. So within our command, as stretched as we are around the world, continuing that focus is a priority.”

In providing the top lessons learned within AFSPC in the past year, General Lord cited the vital importance of space superiority and space situational awareness. These are capabilities AFSPC should continue to offer the warfighter, but he said command and control was also critical at all levels of operations.

“You must have a good command and control structure to string everything together,” said General Lord, and that his command is patterning its command and control operations after AMC’s, “because mobility does global ops, and we do global ops. We’re looking at the Tanker Airlift Control Center as a potential kind of way to do space business.”

Part of command and control is knowing where your people and supplies are and when you will get them, General Wald said. In-transit visibility of equipment and people moving through EUCOM will improve in the next few months with the stand-up of a European Distributions Operations Center, he said.

“Ninety-five percent of all the equipment, people and goods that went to Iraq traveled through the European Command … and today in Iraq that continues,” General Wald said. “[Standing up the center] will be important to all of us from the standpoint of moving equipment and goods.”

When asked how information technology affects warfighting, General Handy said AMC has made strides in using it to manage 350 to 450 missions a day, every day, worldwide.

“You can go in the TACC and see every single thing that is happening in this command,” said General Handy about AMC’s central mobility air operations center. “It’s a powerful application of technology.” (Courtesy of AMC News Service)