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The 406th Air Expeditionary Wing recently streamlined its command and control operations across Africa through the establishment of a new regional command post at Ramstein Air Base.
The C2 node, which was officially designated as the 406th AEW Africa Regional Command Post on April 18, is the product of a consolidation of the formerly geographically separated command posts, located at both the 409th and 449th Air Expeditionary Groups, and has served as a 24/7 C2 operations center for both regions since becoming fully operational earlier this month.
“What we did was bring the command post closer to the wing,” said Capt. David Clapp, 406th AEW A3/5 director. “By being able to see what’s happening across the (area of responsibility), we can pick out specific capabilities that may be necessary everywhere, and not just one location.”
As the focal point for commanders across the wing, the new regional operations center is anticipated to reduce facility and equipment costs, enhance the flow of information and improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of C2 operations within the U.S. Air Forces Africa AOR.
“(The command post) is not entirely made for being close to the action, it’s for creating decision space,” Clapp added. “Getting that real time information as fast as possible to the decision makers increases their ability to come up with better decisions faster.”
Master Sgt. Samantha Dickerson, 406th AEW C2 Operations superintendent, said the expected amount of time needed to set up a command post of this measure would consist of roughly one year of planning and six months of execution. The team here at the 406th AEW, however, was able to accomplish this task within a three-month timeframe.
“Staying organized was crucial,” said Staff Sgt. Devon Galbraith, 406th AEW C2 Operations Specialist and project manager for the new command post. “I started out by talking with our command posts in Africa, both for the 409th and 449th, to figure out what their mission was, what their processes were, and what kind of systems they use. From there, it was getting all the products from the group command posts and merging them into a wing product.”
In addition to consolidating all necessary checklists and procedures, Galbraith and his team of C2 operations specialists ensured 24/7 operations could be met prior to the arrival of the newest deployment rotation, the first team to be officially assigned to the Africa Regional Command Post.
With the new C2 node now fully operational, the team said they will continue refining the new processes set in place to maintain and execute C2 from any location, including expeditionary and contested environments, to better support the accomplishment of U.S. Air Forces Africa mission objectives.
