MODERNIZATION EFFORTS ... - Air Force Network Integration Center

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii
— Warriors of the Pacific understand
we are a nation at war and face a ruthless
enemy who seeks to rob us of our
freedom and the destruction of our
way of life. Today, less than 1 percent of
all Americans will serve to defend the
freedoms the other 99 percent enjoy. All
of our military, civilians and contractors
are proud to serve as part of that 1
percent. Our mission? Protection and
stability of the world’s largest theater by
delivering information superiority for
air, space and cyberspace dominance.
In a theater that spans 105 million square miles and 16
time zones, it’s communications and information that creates
a seamless foundation tying together the world’s greatest Air
Force. We don’t have the luxury of being anything less than at
peak readiness to respond anywhere from the west coast of
the United States to the eastern shores of Africa.
It’s not by accident that the Pacific region has
enjoyed relative stability for the past 50 years. The
evolution and transformation of communications
forces in PACAF has been deliberate, albeit challenging,
at times.
From postal operations, expeditionary capabilities,
forward deployed combat forces, to enabling
combat power in two Air and Space Operations
Centers, our warriors consistently deliver superior
results.
Col. Vincent C.
Valdespino
PACAF Director of
Communications
Transformation for the PACAF is not a process
or an initiative — it’s a core competency. The
Pacific region is home to six of the world’s largest
armed forces, and we must constantly adapt
to project U.S. instruments of power to ensure
stability in the region.
While we reduced our overall communications
and information force by
nearly 20 percent, we also recognize the
importance those reductions played in
enabling modernization. In the past
year alone, we brought a C-17 wing here,
began deployment of F-22s at Elmendorf
AFB, Alaska, and prepared for the
deployment of Global Hawk and combat communications
capabilities in Guam.
In addition, the first overseas deployment of
the F-22 at Kadena AB, Japan, is currently in full
swing. Tying these operations systems together on
the ground and in the air is the ever evolving Air
Network Operations construct. You can’t continue
to gain operational missions and increase operations
tempo in a resources constrained environment
without transformation. We’ll continue to strive for
greater success through smarter and streamlined
operations.
The superior effort, attitude and teamwork have
been the formula used by PACAF’s comm and info
professionals to transform seamlessly insurmountable
challenges into success.
from
By Chief Master Sgt.
William Roby
Pacific Air Forces
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE,
Hawaii — So, you’ve been selected
to deploy to Southwest Asia to be
the maintenance superintendent of
the local comm squadron.
You’re not getting much information
about the actual mission yet,
but you run through the routine
checklists on lodging, uniform
requirements, dining facilities, etc.
Yet between the chemical warfare
training and M-16 qualification, a
few questions pop into your head:
4Will maintenance practices
be sound and processes well established?
4How standardized will the
comm-electronics equipment be in
the AOR?
4Will the unit have the correct
tools and equipment to do the job?
4With the inherent high turnover
rate of the Air Expeditionary
Force concept, will individuals have
the pride of ownership to set up
their work centers correctly?
4Will you have motivated/experienced
Airmen?
Thinking about all this may get
you to worrying . . . but then it’s time
to fire in the prone position with
your gas mask.
After a two-day flight, you set
down at an undisclosed location,
throw your gear into a 9x9-foot
room, spend 30 minutes to shower
and change, and then go to the
squadron to get indoctrinated in
the mission status. You spend three
days reading, briefing, and meeting
people before you put the incumbent
superintendent on a plane
headed for home. Now it’s time to
get to work.
For the next four months you put
out fires, react rather than act, work
long hours, and still have a little
time to socialize. In that little bit
of time, when you are relaxing and
Since May 2006 the
Pacific Air Forces
comm and info
community deployed
more than 600 warriors
in support of
numerous operations
and contingencies
throughout the world.
talking to the Airmen in your flight
and squadron, you realize — what a
great bunch of Airmen.
There are a couple of minor issues
you help the first sergeant work
out; but overall, there are 100 times
as many successes. You realize you
haven’t had to worry about your C-
E maintainers not following maintenance
practices.
Having commercial equipment
vs. standard military equipment
doesn’t matter, because your maintainers
know exactly how to handle
it. Correct tools and equipment
aren’t a problem, but if they were, all
the acquisition paperwork you processed
during the past few months
would take care of any shortcomings.
Pride of ownership is obvious
when visiting the work centers.
No matter what units people are
from, what rank they are, or whether
they’re active, Guard or Reserve,
everyone is motivated, hardworking,
and a pleasure to work with.
You think about those few worries
you had before the deployment
and realize that we have the best
trained, most professional and dedicated
group of men and women our
country has to offer.
You find that their devotion
makes you work even harder at what
you do . . . and that like me, you’d
deploy all over again.
intercom✭ June 2007 ✭ Photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III, 36th CS
Online ✭public.afca.af.mil
intercom ✭ June 2007
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