A collection of news and information specifically for the C4ISR community

Vol. 4, No. 13
April 3, 2008

General Hoene bids farewell to Hanscom, 350 ELSW

Brig. Gen. Pete Hoene, 350th Electronic Systems Wing commander, talks to Tom Powis, 350 ELSW deputy director, and Capt. Edward Wagner, the wing’s executive officer, during a recent meeting. This week General Hoene will leave Hanscom and the 350 ELSW to move to his new post at the Defense Information Systems Agency .  (Photo by Mark Wyatt)

By Monica D. Morales
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Striking a balance between productive team work and ardent team spirit isn’t always easy, but for 350th Electronic Systems Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Pete Hoene it is high atop the list of successes he cites as his two-year tenure at the wing draws to a close.

“We get the job done, but we’ve also generated a tremendous amount of spirit and camaraderie in this wing,” the general said during a recent interview. “We push this hard because the mighty
3-5-0 is the best in show.”

This week, the general departs Electronic Systems Center to fill the post of the Defense Information Systems Agency Joint Program Executive Officer for Command and Control.

As commander of the 350 ELSW, General Hoene leads a 1,300-person organization, and manages a $14-billion portfolio of programs that develop, field, and sustain command and control and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities for combatant commanders, special operations forces, and joint and allied partners worldwide.

Under the general’s leadership, the wing has achieved many program accomplishments, some of them, he said, hard to quantify because they reach well beyond the scope of ESC.

“Over the last two years we have delivered time and time again a number of key capabilities to help identify and destroy terrorists’ targets, to help protect the homeland and to provide the tools and capabilities to the combatant commanders to support their missions,” he said.  (More)

SECAF visit to Hanscom underway

Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne listens to military members who’ve recently returned from deployments during a luncheon at the Minuteman Club this afternoon, immediately after his arrival at Hanscom. Joining the Secretary are (from left to right) Electronic Systems Center Executive Director Fran Duntz, ESC Commander Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds and the general’s wife, Marcia Bowlds. While at Hanscom, the Secretary will meet with base leaders, tour the facility and also visit nearby Harvard University. See next week’s Integrator for complete coverage of the Secretary’s visit.  (Photo by Mark Wyatt)

Appraisals, interim reviews keep civilian supervisors busy

By Kevin Gilmartin
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

It’s a busy time of year in the civilian personnel world at Electronic Systems Center and Hanscom as one system’s performance period enters the mid-year point and the other closes out.

The National Security Personnel System, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 31, is now at the half-way point, which means those non-bargaining unit employees who are covered by NSPS should be working on their interim self assessment.

General Schedule and Federal Wage System employees completed their rating period March 31. Supervisors of those non-NSPS employees should now be completing performance appraisals using Air Force form 860A.

For those covered by NSPS, interim self appraisals are highly encouraged, but not mandatory, said Bob Youtt, ESC’s NSPS program manager.  (More)

General Cartwright joins growing list of Cyber Symposium speakers

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, speaking from the Pentagon’s National Military Command Center Feb. 20, informs Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that a nonfunctioning reconnaissance satellite had been successfully intercepted. (DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adam M. Stump)

By Chuck Paone
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

The vice chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has now joined a growing list of high-level speakers scheduled to address the Air Force Cyberspace Symposium II set for June 17 to 19 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlborough, Mass.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright will address the symposium over lunch on June 19, where he is expected to bring a top-level Defense Department perspective to the proceedings.

As the then newly appointed commander of U.S. Strategic Command, the general addressed the C4ISR Summit hosted by Electronic Systems Center in October 2004. There he discussed the need for network-centric information systems that would enable more rapid decision making.

During his tenure as STRATCOM commander, General Cartwright became quite familiar with ESC, said Bruce Hevey, director of the 653rd Electronic Systems Wing and lead government coordinator for the symposium. Mr. Hevey noted that the center worked to provide the general with streamlined acquisition solutions to many of his top challenges.

“General Cartwright brings his own unique experience as the former commander of the U.S. combatant command primarily responsible for global vigilance and response,” Mr. Hevey said. “Beyond that, he can offer us a great DoD leadership perspective with a truly joint flavor.”  (More)

U.S., Japan AWACS units join forces

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- A Kadena Air Base squadron signed an agreement here March 26 with its Japan Air Self-Defense Force counterpart formalizing the joint working relationship they've enjoyed for years.

Lt. Col. Rene Romero, the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron commander, endorsed the first sister squadron agreement between Kadena AB and JASDF with Lt. Col. Miyamoto Hironori, the 602nd AACS commander, during a ceremony on the wing of an E-3 Sentry aircraft.

"This agreement is formalizing everything we've been doing for some time now," said Colonel Romero. "From one commander to another, we've agreed to take part in a sister squadron relationship and work together on a regular basis toward achieving our training objectives."

The 961st AACS commander said the agreement is important and also feeds into the 18th Wing's mission of promoting peace and stability in the Pacific.  (More)

Governors involved in Cyber Command basing process

WASHINGTON -- Air Force officials here are involving the governors and communities of 18 states interested in hosting the new Air Force Cyber Command in the basing process.

Bill Anderson, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, sent a letter to the governors outlining the basing process and notifying them of an upcoming data call that will allow each community to highlight attributes they feel will be good for the command.

In the letters, Mr. Anderson addresses the deliberate approach Air Force officials are taking in choosing the final location for the command's headquarters.

"We are systematically moving through a sound basing process to ensure mission requirements determine the best location for this important command," Mr. Anderson said.  (More)

Information Assurance training set for April 7-9

By Kevin Gilmartin
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Electronic Systems Center will be holding “Information Training for the Certification Team” at Hanscom April 7-9.

“We will cover the aspects of the DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process, the AF IT Lean process and how the processes work in the Enterprise Information Technology Data Repository,” said Christopher Hartz of the 66th Communications Squadron.

The training covers two and a half days, with the first two days consisting of lectures and the third day made up of hands-on training.

On the first two days, April 7-8, lecture classes will run from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on both days in the O’Neill Auditorium, Building 1612.  (More)

command comments ...

Our Air Force today faces tough challenges. We are fighting a long war on terrorism. We are constantly asked to compete priorities against each other, weigh costs and keep an eye on balances, expenditures and the bottom line. However, in the midst of prosecuting recapitalization and modernization of our air, space and cyberspace assets; affecting and experiencing significant force structure changes and getting the mission accomplished; we can never lose sight of what is most important -- our Airmen.

Our Airmen are absolutely incredible, and a large percentage of them volunteered after 9/11 with our Nation at war. They serve at a time that demands sweat equity; working high operations tempo, separations from their families and personal sacrifice. Yet through all this, Airmen remain one of the few assets whose value appreciates over time instead of depreciating.
 ...
 

-- Chief Master Sergeant
of the Air Force
Rodney J. McKinley

The Integrator is a weekly product of the 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office designed to give ESC decision makers a snapshot of news affecting the C4ISR community.  This e-publication is approved by Kevin Gilmartin, Chief of Public Affairs, (DSN) 478-4110 or commercial (781) 377-4110.  Back issues are available online.  To facilitate service, please select a link for your e-mails:  
Subscribe -- Unsubscribe -- Offer Comments.