Guard and Reserve warfighters converge on D-M for WEPTAC

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
  • National Guard Bureau
TUCSON, Ariz. --  The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve sent their seasoned officer and enlisted warfighters to this desert area, with its history of weapons testing and tactics development, for a conference Oct. 20-24 that roadmaps their weapons and tactics needs for the near- and long-term, military officials said.

"This is the premier opportunity for warfighters at the tactical level, who have been there and done that, to get together and chart a future course," said Col. Dan Bader, commander of the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC) here.

Hailed by many as the "voice of the warfighter," the annual AATC Weapons and Tactic Conference (WEPTAC) began at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, just outside Tucson, with opening remarks by Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Then more than 1,000 weapons system specialists in attendance joined in working groups at the AATC and Davis-Monthan AFB to discuss and prioritize their requirements in funding, equipment and tactics.

"It's face-to-face," said Maj. David Ward, an MQ-1 weapons officer at March Air Force Base, Calif., who chaired the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) working group.

At their small room in an operations building, the UAV working group reviewed last year's agenda as well as MQ operational and developmental testing. Then their planning focused on current operations and the lessons learned in them.

"My job is to facilitate our discussions," said Ward. "I want everyone to understand what our problems are, what our limitations are, what our manpower limitations are ... this is what we take out of it, and I bring that over to the weapons system council to press at the O-6 level on up. The format is just beautiful."

Ward said it was his fifth time attending WEPTAC. He added that the UAV working group has grown with the reserve components' involvement in the Air Force's UAV missions.

The reserve components now have several MQ-1 Predator squadrons operating fulltime combat air patrols overseas and are expanding to operate additional MQ-1s as well as MQ-9 Reapers.

"We had seven [people] here the first year, 13 last year, and this year we had 101," said Ward. "We'll need a bigger room next year."

Providing an example of how input from the field, as in WEPTAC, directly adds value to combat missions, Bader described a recent AATC weapon system improvement.

The AATC is a small, total Air Force team at the Arizona Air National Guard base in Tucson with a mission to increase the capability and survivability of Guard and Reserve warfighters and the lethality of airpower.

The center is manned by Guard, Reserve and active Air Force and civilians. Additionally, nearly 50 percent of their team is civilian support contractors. Nearly all Airmen are combat experienced officers and weapons school or test pilot school graduates.

The team has reviewed, loaded and test-flown recent advances in radar warning receiver software and the Sniper and Lighting targeting pods for the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II.

More recently, when Guard A-10 pilots in Afghanistan learned their line-of-sight radios were ineffective in mountainous terrain, the AATC took action to find a solution.

Within a year, a team of military and industry specialists here quickly formed to design and integrate an existing Rockwell Collins ARC-210 radio for the aircraft.

The fix provided pilots, ground forces and combatant commanders clearer communications through the aircraft's line-of-sight communications as well as added a beyond line-of-sight satellite radio antenna.

"It greatly enhanced our capability, in this case, of the A-10 to communicate and do the mission," said Bader. He added that the system was integrated into some F-16s by retrofitting a satellite antenna to fit the fighter aircraft's limited interior space.

The weapons systems' add-ons soon became a program for all the Air Force A-10s and block-30 -40 F-16s, thus, strengthening the warfighter's value in pushing weapon system improvements, Bader said.

For their efforts, the AATC was awarded the Howard W. Leaf award by the Air Force Association this September as the Air Force's top test and evaluation team for 2008.

"Nobody knows better what warfighters need than the people out there doing the job," said Capt. Dave Stilli, operations officer for the Georgia Air Guard's 165th Air Support Operations Squadron.

At WEPTAC, Stilli chaired the meetings of at least 30 officer and enlisted Tactical Air Controllers and Special Operations Airmen - including combat veteran captains and staff sergeants - from across the reserve components. He guided the group toward their final briefing to the Guard and Reserve's general officers on Friday.

Equipment needs as well as tactics learned from hands-on experience in Iraq and Afghanistan were the main points of their discussion.

"For instance, if we find a tactic that's better, then we use this venue to discuss that and present it to the leadership," said Stilli.

Bader said the fact that lower-ranking Airmen were also here among field grade weapons system officers, intelligence officers and pilots to guide their future funding, equipment and tactics was because of the respect senior leaders have for experienced combat Airmen.

"The senior leadership advocates it and takes it back to their forums," said Bader. "This is a very warfighter centric conference, and they are all here. The relationships built here serve folks throughout their careers."

Conferees also interfaced with military industries at a nearby hotel to learn what current and future products they had. Wing commanders held a meeting to determine their needs. Many others socialized and networked.

"One week a year everybody comes together, and there's also as much work done in the hallways and at 'Industry Nights' and maybe over dinner than there is during the conferences," said Bader. "There's a lot of value added here."