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ANG supports Red Flag CAOC

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Emily Chilson
  • Red Flag Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --  The 103rd Air and Space Operations Group of Bradley Air National Guard Base, Conn., supports Red Flag 09-4 in the Combined Air Operations Center-Nellis. 

Subject matter experts lead the training, and the job is unique in that the guardsmen work with airborne assets like F-16CJs and F-16CGs, and even the Israeli Air Force. 

"It's pretty neat to work multi-national," said Col. Pete DePatie, 103rd AOG commander. "It makes it truly combined." 

During Red Flag, attention is directed toward the sky, but it takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to complete the mission. 

"We don't fly," he said. "We plan, execute and assess the air tasking order. We take it from national objectives to effects-based targeting." 

An ATO is a document that tells the flyers what to do during a large force employment, and includes airspace control orders and special instructions. The Red Flag staff creates the ATO a day prior to the LFE. 

Although the CAOC-N team monitors aircraft during each LFE to ensure the ATO is followed, their focus is to conduct dynamic targeting. 

A dynamic target isn't a part of the initial employment, but because of an intelligence input, becomes a mission priority. From the CAOC-N operations center floor, pilots are given a description of the target as well as restrictions to mitigate collateral damage, and directed to the target location as quickly as possible. 

"We're getting trained on positions we'd hold in a real CAOC on the operations center floor," said Colonel DePatie. 

Second Lt. Anna Cichocki fills the role of joint interface control officer in the CAOC-N, managing data-link systems. 

"Data-link systems exist so everyone can see where all the fighters are at any one time and communicate about what they're seeing," she said. "So we can maintain air superiority." 

Another Guardsman, Airman 1st Class Mitch Smith, is a command post controller at home station, but at the CAOC-N, he works in the Joint Personnel Recovery Center. 

"If an aircraft goes down, we get information from the wingman or someone from the CAOC-N space cell notifies us," he said. "Then we coordinate with rescue teams to recover downed pilots." 

While each position on the operations center floor is dramatically different, they tie together seamlessly to ensure the ATO is carried out and dynamic targets are eliminated. 

Red Flag 09-4 began Monday, July 13, and ended Friday.