The Integrator -- News From Across ESC

The Integrator

A collection of news and information specifically for the C4ISR community

Vol. 5, No.43
November 5, 2009

'Heritage' speakers offer insights on pride, sacrifice and service

Col. William Andrews, who as a captain and F-16 mission commander was shot down and taken prisoner of war during Desert Storm in 1991, addresses the Heritage of Freedom forum at the Minuteman Club Oct. 29. Hanscom’s own Senior Master Sgt. Raul Ruiz and Capt. Scott Carstetter, 653d Electronic Systems Group, also spoke at the quarterly forum. (USAF Photo by Mark Herlihy)

By Chuck Paone
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Col. William F. Andrews, who as a captain and F-16 mission commander was shot down over hostile territory and held prisoner of war during Desert Storm in 1991, highlighted another inspiring Heritage of Freedom event at the Minuteman Club Oct. 29.

Providing close air support to special operations personnel under heavy fire deep inside enemy territory, Colonel Andrews began considering the risks, he told the standing-room-only crowd. Everything had been going great for the first month and a half of the air campaign, despite a couple of close calls. But this time he began to wonder: "Is my number going to come up today?"

"When you start to feel a little bit of apprehension like that, it only takes the realization that there are Americans in harm's way, and [that] it's up to us whether they make it back or not," he said. (More)

Exercise Seeks Battlefield Information Effectiveness

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2009 – U.S. warfighters and allies operating in Afghanistan and Iraq depend on various sensor platforms that can provide information about the enemy’s whereabouts night or day, a senior U.S. military officer said today.

That’s why the annual joint Empire Challenge demonstration, which explores how to improve dissemination of vital intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information to battlefield commanders, is so important, Air Force Col. George J. Krakie, the director of this year’s exercise, told American Forces Press Service.

“It’s about bringing all these different ISR capabilities together to form a coherent picture for the warfighter of the battle space that’s around them,” Krakie said. This year’s four-week demonstration, he said, was held in July at several locations across the world.

Empire Challenge 2009 was the sixth of the series and the first managed by Norfolk, Va.,-based U.S. Joint Forces Command, Krakie said. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, he said, ran the previous exercises, which are directed by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Senior officials had decided the demonstration needed to be “more operationally realistic and relevant,” Krakie said, so Joint Forces Command was directed to take the lead. (More)

Veterans’ sacrifices can have far-reaching effects

Gen. Donald Hoffman

By General Donald J. Hoffman

Commander, Air Force Materiel Command

On Veterans Day, we honor those who have served in our nation’s armed forces, as well as those who continue to serve.

This being the Year of the Air Force Family, it’s also appropriate that we acknowledge not only the service and sacrifices of our military veterans, but those of their family members as well.

Deployments are tough on family members, multiple deployments more so. Veterans returning from hostile environments sometimes find it difficult to re-enter their families, a situation that causes family members heartache and tests their capacity for patience and understanding. Family members of veterans who come home wounded or disabled must adapt to permanent changes and sometimes permanent sacrifices. Children may find a parent veteran isn’t fully present to them for a time … or for good.

The Air Force, as well as our sister services, are committed to helping family members cope with the emotional hardships that often accompany a veteran’s service. We’ve gotten a lot better at it over the last 40 years. Something we call the Integrated Delivery System brings together all the resources devoted to physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellness to better serve the needs of all members of Air Force families.

The Air Force, however, isn’t able to help everyone who needs it. Wingmen, good neighbors, caring coworkers, and resilient family members have an important role too. We set aside one day each year to honor our nation’s veterans. This year, let’s also honor the people who sustain and love them.

ESC announces third quarter award winners

Airman Category	NCO Category	SNCO Category	CGO Category

Senior Airman Robert S. Bell *66 ABW*	Tech. Sgt. Shannon Haygood 554 ELSW	Master Sgt. Karen Plunkett 554 ELSW	Capt. Benjamin Ransey 554 ELSW

*Junior Civilian* *Category*	Mid-level Civilian Category	Senior Civilian Category

Patrick S. Hamilton 551 ELSW	Prentice C. Beverly 554 ELSW	Anthony A. Garcia 653 ELSW
Not pictured: FGO Category, Maj. Iza Dam Honor Guard Enlisted, Staff Sgt. Richard Leger Honor Guard Officer, 1st Lt. Marhsal Conover

Leading the way to new standards

Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds (left), Electronic Systems Center commander, Col. Lee Pritchard, 66th Air Base Wing IMA to the commander, and Master Sgt. John Carbon, 66th Security Forces Squadron first sergeant, take on the 1.5 mile timed-run portion of their physical training tests Oct. 30. Base leaders showed up in force for the PT session, conducted using the new Air Force standards, to inspire all Hanscom Airmen to get ready for the more exacting test. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mark Herlihy)

554 ELSW announces third quarter award winners

Airman Category	NCO Category	*SNCO Category*	CGO Category

Airman 1st Class Michael Anderton	Tech Sgt. Shannon Haygood	Master Sgt. Karen Plunkett	Capt. Benjamin Ramsey


Civilian Category I	Civilian Category II	Civilian Category III

Peggy Smith	Prentice Beverly	Sandy VanEtten

Command capability development director discusses leader-centric, net-enabled C4ISR

By MC2 (AW) Nikki Carter
USJFCOM Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- U.S. Joint Forces Command's (USJFCOM) senior joint capability development leader discussed how command and control is improving decision making last week at the the third annual Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) conference.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Kevin Kennedy, USJFCOM's Joint Capability Development director, gave a keynote speech to an audience of approximately 1,100 members, telling the attendees that DCGS is about making "tighter" decision cycles to enhance the warfighters capability.

The DCGS mission is to collect, process and disseminate intelligence and imagery from manned and unmanned reconnaissance sources. The USJFCOM-sponsored conference, which ran Oct. 27-29, gathered program offices, developers and users to focus on establishing a fully-integrated, seamless enterprise to support warfighters.

"The purpose of DCGS is to enhance our fighting capabilities at the tactical edge. Every aspect of decision cycles is enhanced by DCGS," Kennedy said, emphasizing the rigorous conditions on the ground for warfighters in Afghanistan and their need for good command and control. DCGS enables collection and exploitation of intelligence. (More)

In Memoriam

Retired Col. Joseph Smyth, who died this past weekend after battling cancer for more than a year and a half, is seen here accepting the U.S. flag at his 2005 retirement ceremony on board the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston Harbor. Colonel Smyth capped his 25-year Air Force career with a four-year stint as the E-10/Multi-platform Radar Technology Insertion Program director, and eventually Group commander, at Hanscom. A memorial service will be held in the Seaside Chapel at Patrick AFB, Fla., Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. Colonel Smyth’s wife, Sharie, has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., or to the charity of one’s choice.

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Boeing: CSEL Radio Upgrade Would Help Protect Downed Pilots
-- Space News
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems of St. Louis is developing a modification to U.S. military radios used to rescue downed pilots and isolated combat personnel that could help protect them against friendly fire accidents, according to company officials.

DOD Office Promises Beefed-Up Presence
-- Aviation Week
The principal Pentagon advisor on all matters relating to the defense industrial base insisted Nov. 2 that the Defense Department is boosting his office’s role in the near future, and that the office will pursue a bolder, albeit nuanced, approach to several endemic issues.

New alliance hopes to spur new talent in procurement field
-- Government Executive
For nearly a decade, there has been one constant lament from all sectors of the contracting universe: the need to dramatically beef up the acquisition workforce.

U.S. Services To Build ORS Costs Into Budget Plans
-- Defense News
Under instructions from U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn, the military services are building into their long-term spending plans the costs of quickly putting into orbit crucial space-based tools.

Pay for performance haunted by NSPS failure
-- Federal Computer Week
From the day the Federal Civil Service was created in 1872, the government has made it a goal to get the federal workforce to operate more like a private enterprise, with pay and advancement based on merit rather than patronage or spoils.

USAF Spending Too Much On Support Contracts, Donley Says
-- Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
The senior civilian overseeing the U.S. Air Force says the service is spending too much money on support contracts, and some of this work may be subject to fixed price contracts in the future or be shifted back to government entities for execution to contain costs.

Chilton: U.S. needs more ready-to-launch satellites
-- C4ISR Journal
U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton said Nov. 3 he would give up new, state-of-the-art space systems to swell the number of satellites the military could launch as needs arise.

command comments ...

... Situational awareness is a first principle for command and control of forces, no matter what the domain. It allows the commander to make good decisions. Without good situational awareness you die. I know this from my years flying fighters. We would come back in the debriefs and if you got shot or if someone in your element got shot in the exercise or the drill, you can bet one of the first things that happened to them on their way to getting shot was, they'll tell you in the debrief, I lost situational awareness at this point in the fight. Thirty seconds later, one minute later, I was kill removed. I lost track of the adversary, I lost track of my wingman, I lost track of the situation and the environment that I was directed to operate in. ...

-- General Kevin P. Chilton, commander, United States Strategic Command, at 2009 Strategic Space Symposium, Nov. 3, 2009

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