A collection of news and information specifically for the C4ISR community

Vol. 4, No. 25
June 26, 2008

Cartwright at Cyber Symposium: break service barriers

Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addresses attendees at the second annual Air Force Cyberspace Symposium in Marlborough, Mass, June 19. The conference, sponsored by the Electronic Systems Center, Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) and the Paul Revere Chapter of the Air Force Association, featured numerous high-level speakers, expert panelists and more than 1,000 attendees. (U.S. Air Force photo/Rick Berry)

By Chuck Paone
66 Air Base Wing Public Affairs

MARLBROROUGH, Mass. -- Nattily attired in his khaki-and-olive service dress, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James E. Cartwright squinted through the stage light glare before beginning to speak at the second annual Air Force Cyberspace Symposium here June 19.

Looking out at a sea of blue uniforms and business suits, the general joked briefly about the seeming incongruity of a Marine addressing an Air Force conference, and then spoke passionately about the need to break down service barriers.

Much of what tends to hamper joint warfighters’ ability to share and fully exploit critical information stems from individual services’ inherent desire to control their systems and processes, he said.

“The technology is not what paces us; it’s the culture,” General Cartwright said. “And that needs to change.”
 (More)

Donley in as acting Air Force secretary 

Michael Donley chats June 20 during a ceremony at the Air Force Memorial honoring former Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski)

WASHINGTON  -- Michael B. Donley is the new acting secretary of the Air Force, succeeding Michael Wynne, who held the position since November 2005.

Mr. Donley was previously the administration and management director for the Secretary of Defense, a position sometimes referred to as "mayor" of the Pentagon.

The secretary is responsible for organizing, training, equipping and providing for the welfare of its nearly 323,000 men and women on active duty, 180,000 members of the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, 160,000 civilians and their families. He oversees an annual budget of approximately $110 billion and ensures the Air Force can meet its current and future operational requirements.

Mr. Donley has more than 26 years of experience in the national security community, including service in the Senate, White House and the Pentagon. During his career he has been involved in strategy and policymaking at the highest levels and is a recognized expert in national security organization, planning and budgeting.

From 1996 until his appointment as his former Pentagon post, he was a senior vice president at Hicks and Associates, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation. During this time he served as a special adviser to the Defense Reform Commission in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the State Department and contributed to several major defense projects involving organizational reform and planning. (More)

AFCYBER headquarters staff to operate virtually 

Shown are the partial manpower authorizations needed for Air Force Cyber Command officials to declare initial operations capabilities by Oct. 1. The command will operate virtually among these distributed locations until the final basing decision has been made. It is not know whether the authorizations will stay in place, or move to a final location, or a combination of the two. (U.S. Air Force graphic)

By Karen Petitt
AFCYBER (P) Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill (AFPN) -- Air Force Cyber Command officials announced their intent to spread out headquarters staffing among nine locations so it can meet the 45 percent manning requirements needed for initial operations.

"Normally, a major command headquarters will house all its staff functions at one place, but because the final basing decision for AFCYBER has not been determined, the command will operate in a virtual environment," said Maj. Gen. William T. Lord, the commander of the AFCYBER (Provisional).

He said this action will allow some personnel to be assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. -- the interim headquarters location for the command -- and minimize relocation actions at the other places for the rest of the proposed 450-person HQ staff. Of the original 540 positions allocated for AFCYBER HQ staffing, about 90 of those positions were moved to man positions in the 24th Air Force and subordinate wings.

Thus the command will assign about 240 positions and fill them during the summer so it can declare initial operations capability by Oct. 1. It is not known at this time whether the rest of the 450 authorizations will also be assigned to the identified locations, or to new ones after that date, or be on hold until the final basing location is decided.

"We'll be operating in this virtual construct until the final basing decisions are made, which is expected to be announced by September of 2009. At that time the Air Force may be decide to keep AFCYBER in this construct, relocate all its staff to one place or perhaps a combination of the two," General Lord said. "What this virtual command will do for us is minimize environmental impacts to all involved while be able to move forward in building this command. The virtual construct is not intended to foreclose or presuppose any options for permanent basing."   (More)

551 ELSG commander retires after 26 years of service

Outgoing 551st Electronic Systems Group Commander Col. Doug Railey completes some final paperwork with the assistance of 1st Lt. Donovan Pavlik, the group's executive officer. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Liam Murnane)

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

Decades after being told he would not serve as an Air Force officer, 551st Electronic Systems Group Commander Col. Doug Railey has proven the odds wrong on multiple counts when he retires July 1 after 26 years of service.

“Being a group commander has been a true privilege, and command is a job that none of us take for granted,” Colonel Railey said. “There is no doubt that being a commander is the best job in the Air Force. I feel like I am leaving at the top of my profession.”

As the son of an Air Force father, he had the opportunity to travel and experience military life as a dependent. Now as commander of the 551st Electronic Systems Group, he has been able to realize his lifelong Air Force dream of serving and commanding – the responsibilities of his position include all aspects of modernization and sustainment of the United States Airborne Warning and Control System and international Airborne Early Warning and Control fleets.  (More)

Retiring group commander: serve those you lead

Standing in front of a map that highlights some of the global locations of deployed 751st Electronic Systems Group members, Col. Michael Graham, the group’s commander, chats with executive assistant Danielle Raass June 25. Colonel Graham will retire after 26 years of active-duty Air Force service in a ceremony at Hanscom AFB July 1. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Rick Berry)

By Chuck Paone
66 Air Base Wing Public Affairs

For Col. Michael Graham, outgoing Commander of the 751st Electronic Systems Group, the decision to retire was hard to make, but he takes solace in knowing that he’s leaving at the genuine high point of his career.

“For an acquisition officer to serve as a large system program director, that’s the pinnacle,” the 26-year Air Force veteran and Academy alumnus said. “And then to get the chance to command, as well, it just doesn’t get any better.”

Colonel Graham said that when he retires July 1, he’ll leave with an abiding pride in, and love for, the Air Force.

“I made the commitment to serve when I was very young,” he said. “Now, all these years later, I can look back and say I did everything I committed to doing. I served very well and faithfully.”

Service is something Colonel Graham has taken very seriously throughout his career, and it’s something he’s sees as extending in every direction, rather than just upward. A strong proponent of the management concept known as ‘servant leadership,’ the colonel says he always endeavored to serve those who worked for him, even as he led them and directed their activity. (More)

Rockets’ Red Glare

Fireworks explode over Hanscom’s F-86 display during a Fourth of July celebration several years ago. While there will be no fireworks at Hanscom this July 4, there will be fireworks tomorrow night as part of the base’s Summer Base celebration. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. with a Hanscom Homecoming Heroes celebration at Memorial Park behind the Clinic, followed by lots of fun and music throughout the afternoon and evening, culminating with fireworks at about 9:30 p.m.

Because of the Independence Day holiday, there will be no Integrator next week.
 

command comments ...

… I'm oftentimes asked, as I was in these all-hands calls on a couple of occasions, "What does the armed forces of the future look like?" And I'm not exactly sure what it looks like except I think there's a healthy spot for every service, that we've got to be able to handle these irregular wars and this asymmetric warfare and the counterinsurgency and being the best in the world, which is what I believe we are right now. And at the same time, I think we need to prepare for the potential for conventional, more traditional kinds of conflicts which are out there as well.

I'm reminded constantly about our inability to predict the future. And if you go back to Vietnam, not many people thought we'd be here. If you go to Iraq in 1990, not many people thought we'd be there. And if you get into the early 2000s, there weren't a lot of people predicting we'd be in Afghanistan. We don't predict very well.

And it's a very dangerous world, uncertain world, and so you've got to have -- I consider -- you've got to have a robust capability across the whole spectrum of capabilities, to include irregular warfare as well as conventional.
 ...

-- Admiral Mike Mullen
Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

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