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A few months ago, it was nearly impossible to turn on the television or open the newspaper without hearing or reading about the conflict in Libya. Aircraft and sea vessels from several NATO and coalition partners were busy conducting operations in Libya to help protect the Libyan civilians.
Here on Ramstein, however, life went on as normal, except for a small, partially underground compound housing the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center.
Here, approximately 250 military members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces plan, execute and assess air, space and information operations throughout the European theater.
When tensions began to rise in Libya, the 617th AOC, responsible for the U.S. African Command area of responsibility, teamed up with the 603rd AOC to form the Operation Odyssey Dawn AOC to conduct planning operations until NATO and coalition partners could fully assume command and control.
The challenge facing the 603rd AOC for many years has been the geographical separation between it and its support units peppered throughout the KMC and European Command’s area of responsibility. This decentralization of vital command and control functions results in a loss in efficiency and effectiveness that can be detrimental during crisis operations. As a result, programming and design began in 2003 to create a centralized facility and after almost five years of planning and cost delays, ground was broken in 2008 to create a new, appropriately sized and configured facility.
This new facility will support the war-fighting headquarters, provide an efficient command and control capability, a centralized location for senior leadership, and consolidate processes to disseminate critical reconnaissance and intelligence data and control airpower.
The new AOC, to be named in a contest between its future inhabitants — the 603rd AOC, 617th AOC, 603rd Air and Space Communications Squadron, and the 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment — is approximately 55,000 square feet and can hold nearly 600 AOC members. It will be the centerpiece of EUCOM and African Command’s Command and Control and will be the home of the European Phase Adaptive Approach to missile defense. A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for October and will commemorate the opening of this new state-of-the-art facility.
