To all of our valued EW/EMSO colleagues:
Over the last two years, we have enjoyed reporting on activities from EW/EMSO symposiums and conventions around the country. We felt compelled to record our observations into these newsletters so the entire EW/EMSO community could benefit. Many of you provided genuine, positive feedback on their usefulness and we thank you for that. This past October, WSS was informed that the Air Force program element funding our participation at those events has been defunded for 2020. With the beginning of the “20s” comes new trails for us. We still intend to be as helpful and communicative as we can, fortifying your EW/EMSO decisions with up to date and useful G2/N2/A2. On to the next thing!
(If you are interested in having us attend EW/EMSO shows for you in 2020, saving you precious resources and providing you with the most comprehensive look at the goings-on in EW/EMSO, please contact Steve at: stourangeau@warriorss.com).
Our newsletter will take on a new look and we expect you will continue to find it interesting. We will keep Tango’s Take on things and Tango’s Musings. We are going to maintain our honest broker status for as long as we can. We intend to keep playing Matchmaker for our industry partners and DoD EW divisions so that our warfighters continue to benefit from the excellent technological developments taking place.
Over recent years, many of you have asked us how you can work with us…now you will have the answers! At the bottom of this newsletter (and on our refreshed website), we have a comprehensive listing of all of our services. Just click on the button pertaining to your area of service: DoD – Industry – Academia – and you will be fully informed on how Warrior Support Solutions, LLC can help you solve problems in EW/EMSO. We look forward to hearing from you!
Farewell to our faithful EW leader, colleague, and friend, Mr. Jay Kistler.
Mr. Kistler was a decorated Naval Officer who served as the Department of Defense’s Director of Electronic Warfare & Countermeasures. Mr. Kistler passed away on October 14, 2019.
Mr. “Hap” Arnold, Mr. Kistler’s deputy director, delivered the eulogy at the AOC’s Gold Medal Award Ceremony. In it he remarked,
“Jay Kistler’s dedication and service to his country is simply unparalleled…Jay gave his last full measure to electronic warfare and to our nation.”
To view the entire eulogy for Mr. Kistler, please refer to this link: https://vimeo.com/374178292/d014a0f411
MIT/LL Workshop
Lexington, MA
1-3 Oct, 2019
All MIT/LL workshops are assembled to provide information to the government and the community about the work they are doing with the money they are getting as an FFRDC. They report on it annually. Tango was impressed with the content of the workshop, especially spectrum – dependent capabilities. It outlined the technologies and programs more clearly in terms of what is being done to assure access to the spectrum. The A2AD Workshop (covered later in this newsletter) historically covers aircraft self-protection.
This is the first time Tango attended this workshop, which was classified. We hadn’t attended in the past because 1) it wasn’t on the radar (to use a relative parlance!), 2) it wasn’t marketed to Tango previously, and 3) historically, ISR is the Big Safari mission area and AF EW is primarily aircraft self-protection so a lot of people don’t usually cross the lines.
The Army briefed their new ISR Task Force specifically focused on Army ISR. They did a superb job laying out their roadmap and implementation plan, and they disclosed the unfavorable fact that they are lacking funds to make it all happen. They laid out where they are going and what programs of record they’ve established to make it all happen. This effort fits into the Army’s efforts to combine all three electromagnetic operations – SIGINT/EW/Cyber (read all about that at https://warriorss.com/the-evolution-of-us-army-signals-intelligence-sigint/ ). This focus is all about how to use the spectrum to do what they need to do. This program is going on to enable a specific mission in a particular part of the spectrum. It sounds like they understand the importance of spectrum and their leadership gets it. The Army is using their Cyber/CEMA focus in order to get funding.
In an unprecedented and traditionally opposite way, the Army announced it intends to enable air power in an A2AD environment. That is very different than air power enabling army activities. And, they are demonstrating it as we speak.
There were a number of AF attendees, but the AF didn’t present. AF has the predominance of the ISR mission set and Hanscom AFB is right next to MIT/LL.
There was a lot of discussion about MIT/LL activities being managed. They are doing 6.2-6.4 development; more technology transition than basic research. Really interesting technologies across the entirety of the spectrum not just RF. There is 6.4-level development going on to enable Joint All Domain C2 construct (MDC2 has now become Joint All-Domain C2; this is the term of reference now).
There was a demo of Sensor-to-Shooter coordination. This is a Man in the Loop operating from an AF-sensing aircraft providing targeting information to an Army weapon system and demonstrating live fire (!) (I feel the need to point out that this capability is 100% dependent on spectrum. It wouldn’t be a WSS newsletter if I didn’t say it).
I heard discussion on optics, LIDAR, acoustics, 6.1 work on new materials for processors, and Lincoln Lab’s airborne radar test bed. A topic has come up a couple of times: Hailstorm – name of a program – incorporating a lot of Machine Learning. There was discussion on the HF portion of the RF spectrum, which is coming back into vogue. This is an area of spectrum we haven’t used in a while but is functional.
Some discussion was had about ISR in the Information environment since all services are moving toward an Information Warfare construct. Title 10 / Title 50 challenges remain to be discussed. By the way, those policies are inhibiting the integration of ISR and Cyber, which will hold back our development of systems to enable spectrum availability.
Industry note:
New buzz words are in play: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI and ML). If you want funds, describe your development efforts as exercising one or both of these areas!
5th Annual Cyber Electromagnetic Activity (CEMA)
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
8-10 Oct, 2019
This is a well-attended and well-organized conference every year, and I feel privileged to attend. The Army really has it together; there are more general officers at this event every year. These leaders understand the importance of spectrum and they are willing to take the time to mingle with troops and industry to answer key questions and discuss important topics. Army units from all over the country – not just local – attend this event (again, demonstrating how the Army understands the ubiquitous focus it needs on EMSO/CEMA).
Brig. Gen. Collins, PEO for IEW&S, gave a fantastic and energetic talk. He assumed a commanding presence and remarked, “I am authorizing unclassified notetaking here and now.” I take that to mean he understands the importance of sharing ideas and collaborating. It was fun to be in that audience. He’s pushing OTAs and consortia to get work done. Check out this link for a listing and information on existing consortia, https://aida.mitre.org/ota/existing-ota-consortia/.
He went through all of his programs and gave some pretty good detail. He shared a lot detail ostensibly because he knows that EMSO Dominance is a teaming effort. He gets the partnership needed between industry and Army to provide the right technologies. He wants industry to know where the Army is and where they need help. He wasn’t able to disclose when, because at that time the budget hadn’t been signed. Hopefully those details will filter out now (January 2020).
The Army is looking for long-range, ISR capabilities to enable air power in an A2AD environment. They have long-range guided fires, but they need targeting information, often times to be transmitted beyond line-of-sight (BLoS). How is the Army going to put guided weapons on target without targeting information? Receiving precision coordinates in an A2AD environment is the problem. The Army knows that what we currently have for long-range ISR is at risk and they are asking for help.
Brig. Gen. Collins is seeing lots more operational interest in the spectral realm than ever in his career. So, his operators get it and they are asking questions. Their reformulation of SIGINT/EW/Cyber last year might be taking root. They are inculcating the needed culture change. Along with this new respect for spectrum availability, the troops are lamenting their inability to train adequately. This concern validates WSS’s comment in last quarter’s report to Congress: we sorely need Live-Virtual-Constructive capabilities so our troops can train like they will fight. Collins’s get off the stage comment: “We need to push research in quasars and pulsars to get away from our addiction to the RF!” Now that’s the money statement!
Brig. Gen. Matt Easley, AI Task Force and Director of Army Intelligence, briefed that the Army has made Artificial Intelligence (AI) an imperative. I believe this intent is linked to the fact that the Army is asking for a lot more data and they are trying to figure out what to do with it all. In my opinion, moving all this data is more Machine Learning (ML) than AI, but AI gets a lot of attention lately as a political buzz term. For those of you who might benefit from a quick and easy definition of AI and ML, here is my $0.02 on that:
Artificial Intelligence is based on priorities; Machine Learning is based on rules.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, commander of US Army Cyber Command, spoke all about Information Warfare (IW). It was a fantastic presentation. He laid out all the guidance that was given to the services from the National Defense Strategy (NDS). He is seeing the shift at his level he wants to mature the CEMA concept to IW. So, Cyber + EW + Intel + SIGINT + Info Operations into IW. And he said, “The Marines are writing the book on IW.” He wants to change the Cyber Command to the IW Command. This is a bold statement, and he cited, “He needs to move quickly.” to integrate the rest of this.
The Army is moving out to rewrite TTPs without policy that will allow for operations in a denied spectrum environment. They are still trying to figure out how they can get CEMA manned, trained, and equipped. There is talk about changing the name from CEMA Cells to IW Cells.
There were presentations about programs in PEO IEW&S and PEO C5ISR. Cyber is the 5th C. Click on this link for more info: CCDC C5ISR Center | Article | The United States Army
Mission statement from C5ISR PEO: Our mission is to be agile and adaptive, integrating Cyber and EW capabilities to support cyberspace and EMS superiority in complex, contested, and congested environments.
Air Mobility Command (AMC) Industry Day and Airlift Tanker Association (A/TA) Convention
Marriott World Center, Orlando, FL
23-26 Oct, 2019
AMC’s focus was briefed by the HQ AMC Staff A5/8. He briefed a time-phased approach, stressing how we are going to win today by enhancing platforms with technologies and upgrading defensive/situational awareness capabilities. He talked about preparing the force – a.k.a. train like we will fight. They are looking for revolutionary technologies to enable their future fight.
Tango’s take: AMC’s three biggest challenges going into the third decade of the 21st century:
- How do we get our airlift and tanker platforms close enough to be viable in an A2AD environment and how do we protect them?
- How are we going to operate in highly contest environment; not just how we will get there, but once there, how will we function?
- We need to figure out agile basing. Our enemy has such long-range reach that they can reach wherever we are. Everybody knows where the bases that already exist are, so we suspect they are already targeted. How do we operate away from those bases? We will need to land aircraft to refuel and rearm. Who will do this and how?
- How do we protect that whole effort?
- The AMC troops/operators understand how vulnerable they are operating in a contested environment. Policy does not yet exist to reformulate TTPs to operate with COMMS out, situational awareness, and the decision authority to fight or flee. They are frustrated they cannot train in a realistic threat environment. Troops are pushing to get resources and policy to train like they will fight. They know they have a gap and they are pushing to get solutions.
Crew comment, “We’d like to train like we will fight but we are challenged to do so by resources so therefore we are not ready.” The industry partner who is ready with the right solutions will win.
Tango’s take: AMC might be depending too much on technology instead of figuring out how to fight with what is available (e.g. using new moves in a chess game with the same pieces). In fact, this is an overarching concern across the entire DoD – we’ve become so technology dependent that we’ve lost an understanding of the art of war. I am seeing a lot of “Woah is me; we don’t have enough technology.” What we need to do is get back to basics and start asking, “How can we fight and win with what we have?”
The Rapid Global Mobility Vision document was briefed (https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/DocumentFile/Documents/2016/Rapid%20Global%20Mobility%20Vision.pdf) and there are seven focus areas: Readiness, Credible Deterrence, Contested Operations, Force Development, Recapitalization, Modernization and Innovation. These focus areas are intended to answer two questions: 1) In the near term, how do we give current AMC platforms the capability to fight in a contested environment? 2) In the long term, how can we make airlifters stealthy? They are just so big; we need an innovative idea (e.g. Star Trek transporter?) or something that hasn’t been thought of before.
Industry note: How will these focus areas drive procurement in the near term? No details were given, but this is a trend that will garner resources from AMC senior leadership. If you are interested in doing business with AMC, come up with ways to fashion your solutions to solve problems in one or more of these seven areas.
One obstacle for AMC is getting the resources to equip their platforms with Situational Awareness (SA). Air Combat Command and Big Air Force remain a challenge for AMC because they continue to have to answer the question, “Why do tankers need SA? They have no way to react so they will just die tense.” AMC says that SA will allow them to better position their platforms and empower them to know when to “leave the area.” AMC believes, “If I have nothing to make me stealthy or defend myself, at least give me something to determine SA so I can decide my own risk.” AMC is putting ALR-69As on KC-46s and they want to put this RWR on all of their platforms.
A point of note is there is a new game in town. AFWIC now gets to decide whether or not this will happen. This is a culture change for the entire Air Force and especially for each command. All (EW and EMSO) systems and capabilities that [arguably] are needed on every platform in the inventory falls into the new category of “above each command’s purview.” Those investments are Air Force-wide and thus need to be made after careful consideration of the expense across the whole fleet.
Lt. Gen. Jon “Ty” Thomas, the deputy commander of AMC spoke about his intentions for his leadership at AMC. The good news for us is, he can spell “EW”! At last year’s event (2018), I had the privilege of sitting down with him one-on-one. He said to me then that he needed to know how big a beacon his aircraft were emitting. To this day he still has no idea what the signature of his platforms are.
Industry note: if you have a technology that will tell him that, ask me to put you in touch with him.
Lt. Gen. Thomas made the statement that the AMC is not organized to do capability development. What this says to me is they need to bring back their Air Mobility Battle Lab. The idea of the battle lab was to explore new ideas concepts and technologies (aka, skunkworks), but the Air Force couldn’t justify the existence of these labs. AMC had one up until about 10 years ago and then it got shut it down. I suspect this is because senior leaders who supported the concept went away, and the idea of a command coming up with its own solutions fell out of favor.
Industry note: I see an opportunity for an outside vendor to develop a battle lab and propose it to AMC as a contracted-out function. An honest broker contractor with AMC’s best interests at heart could take on that task and do it cost effectively. This would give Lt. Gen. Thomas what he needs without tying up his forces.
The best place for this battle lab would likely be St Joseph, MO, because the Air National Guard already has their Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center (AATTC) there. Another approach is to let the ANG take on the Battle Lab task.
Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan gave the keynote at the opening of the convention. He mentioned Space Force which has since been signed into existence. He commented that in FY21, $30B was shifted from other programs to fund MDC2 and Space Superiority. He did not indicate what programs have been decimated to provide that $30B (Gen. Goldfein didn’t provide that A2 at AFA, either). We do wonder where that money is coming from…He also said pioneers are needed. “We’ve figured out air to air refueling, but we haven’t figured out air to air rearming.” Is one possibility for long-range air refueling capability to have it be optionally manned? Could you put a big, stealthy drone (gas tank) out there and have people plug in for fuel when they need it? We need Directed Energy and High-Power Microwave solutions. SWAP and on-board power replenishment remain a challenge.
Industry note: If you have advanced capabilities in SWAP or on-board power, ask me to put you in touch with the right people at AMC.
“Logistics under attack,” is another key phrase.
Gen. Stephen “Sevy” Wilson (VCSAF and big EW advocate!) spoke at this event and he mentioned the EW/EMS Superiority ECCT’s three outcomes (yay!). While this is old news to us, the AMC troops needed to hear it. We were gratified it was mentioned.
One big challenge for AMC is Tactical Data Link (TDL). They want to put TDL on the airplane, but they don’t have enough crew to monitor the data link. They are talking about bringing CSOs back on the airplanes to deal with the extra information flowing into the cockpit.
Another challenge is communications and bandwidth for Aeromed. They do not have the comms consistency and bandwidth to transport the patient’s vitals to the doctor at the other end. Machine Learning solutions for data compression would be helpful here.
Tanker PEO: his biggest challenge is sustaining KC-135s. The planned buy of KC-46s is 176 aircraft, but this leaves 300 KC-135s still flying (and they are 60 years old!). His focus is getting real-time, off-board information into the cockpit. Short of putting an RWR in the cockpit and looking to get LAIRCM on his tankers, this is how he would get his crews SA.
Question from the Q&A session following his talk: Are we willing to hang a pod on the KC-135s to help the joint force and maybe not the tanker itself? The answer was it is being looked at. This capability falls under Joint EMBM – one of the three recommendations that WSS made to Congress last quarter to enable EMS Superiority. (For a reminder on our three recommendations to Congress, please see our last newsletter: https://warriorss.com/q3-2019/).
Tango’s Take: Tankers are considered HVAAs – High-Value Airborne Assets. LAIRCM was designed as a surface to air solution, not air to air. It was put on airlifters because they are deployed all over the world, but tankers not so much. There is discussion on how to take LAIRCM to the next level, i.e. make it destructive rather than a jamming solution with full spherical coverage and focusing more on the air to air threat to protect our AWACs, JSTARS and other HVAAs.
I was pleased to hear some comments about spectrum getting denied while operating/training in the CONUS. I heard something along the lines of, “We can’t assume our ability to operate without contestation in the spectrum; how do you know someone isn’t sitting in a truck outside the test range jamming or spoofing us?” To me, this is great news. People are finally getting it – a slow retreat of Denial of Spectrum Denial (https://warriorss.com/warrior-support-solutions-llc-published-in-atq/). Every step we take toward that respect will help us in the future fight.
International AOC 56th Convention and Symposium
Washington DC Convention Center
28-30 Oct, 2019
This year the 56th International AOC Convention and Symposium was hosted at the Renaissance Hotel across the plaza from the Convention Center. The convention sessions generated a lot of questions from attendees and a lot of time was spent discussing problems. Because there isn’t focal authority to solve big problems in EW/EMSO, there wasn’t a lot of discussion around solutions. This isn’t a classified conference so we cannot really get into tactical details or alternate solutions for operating in the spectrum. This venue is perfect for senior leadership to talk about policy and doctrine changes coming. Perhaps we would learn more if the convention were to host those leaders who currently have the authority to drive activity in EW/EMSO.
We do count on this convention to provide background on upcoming policy reform and doctrinal changes. In the absence of proper authority to modify doctrine or policy, we still need to get together and continue to raise the flag otherwise it won’t change. We also would like to hear about where funding will be coming from for EW/EMSO research, development and tech transition. This convention is focused on Big Picture EW vice service-specific, so it is usually difficult to get overt intel on upcoming procurement opportunities.
This is the annual convention for our community, so we need to be there. It is a good opportunity to collaborate on much needed technology solutions, industry-DoD-academia partnerships in research, and innovation in military operations around EMS Superiority. We need to continue to fight for the EMS to be understood and treated as a domain – the META Domain: the domain that encompasses all others! This domain is important enough to keep fighting for it through strength in our numbers. The AOC remains a strong advocate for EW/EMSO issues and maintains its fraternal role in getting us together for much needed collaboration.
This convention does reveal trends in EW/EMSO. The biggest trend we saw was all the services aligning around the National Defense Strategy for military operations and they are bringing in spectrum dependence. We are also starting to see a culture change, which is sorely needed and provides renewed hope. In the words of Dr. Conley, “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” So, time to start munching…
We also heard talk of future technologies that may or may not play depending on whether or not we can get them operational. The near-term solution is to take our current capabilities and get really creative with deploying them – we already mentioned using new ways to play chess with the same pieces. The far-term solution is to figure out what hasn’t been done before and do it completely differently both in operations and technology.
Industry Note: It is still up to each industry attendee to read the tea leaves (trends) and figure out where to make investments. This show can be used to validate or invalidate your current investments.
Tango’s Take: I am seeing more interest, activity, and funding in the EMS space this year than last and it appears this is going to progress with the NDS as a basis for alignment across the DoD. It takes a while to change culture, but we are seeing signs of it changing and that will bring new opportunities. Those opportunities are going to need to be innovative and revolutionary, rather than continuing to enhance the capabilities we already have. Be prepared to modify your approach to business, be it a product or a service, and be prepared to respond differently to procurement and acquisition. DoD 5000 is the order of the day, but we need rapid deployment so stay tuned for widening of that aperture. And finally, although warfighters are increasing their understanding of the importance of spectrum, it’s not quite there yet nor is it in our legislative leadership. We still have work to do.
MIT/LL A2AD Workshop
Lexington, MA
5-7 Nov, 2019
This classified workshop was well attended, but surprisingly not by any of the regulars. We were surprised by that and we are not sure why – maybe a conflict of dates with another show? Whatever the reason, the new attendees opened up some new thoughts and impressions with their Q&A.
The Keynote Address was given by Mr. William Brey, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (RDA). Mr. Brey is quoted as saying, “The hard truth: the contested environment is expanding geographically and in all domains.” Wise words, Mr. Brey. He described programs the Navy is conducting to deal with A2AD. The Navy’s efforts in A2AD are more pronounced because it is living this environment on a daily basis due to its activity in the Pacific.
We heard quality briefings from all the domains on challenges and threats. The Army did another excellent briefing on their plans going forward to deal with A2AD environment. We learned more on the Army’s Long-Range Precision Strike capability and plans. One thing that is laudable about MIT/LL workshops is we see genuine curiosity from the briefers on questions from audience. MIT/LL sort of knows they are working in a bubble and may not know who to ask to get a more definitive reality check. We see a genuine devotion to get more information to enhance their research efforts. The briefers do seem to care to get outside data from operational partners and industry to comment on their research.
Laudably, we heard a discussion about cross domain architectures for Joint All-Domain C2. In order to be resilient in this space we need to be layered, so what are the layered capabilities that allow us to communicate across the entirety of the spectrum – technologically and operationally? When we know our primary method is going to be taken away – when the RF spectrum is denied – what is our fallback plan? The Army discussed PACE, a graceful degradation (if you will), which stands for Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency (frequency). When you build a plan with PACE, you have a comms/operational set of rules for when your primary frequency is taken away, a great TTP (Tactics, Training, and Procedure). Everyone knows where to go next and you can keep going. There was more talk of that than ever before. Let’s keep the conversation going.
A briefing was given by the chair of AF Science Advisory board, Dr. Eliahu Niewood, from MITRE. He spoke a bit about EP – Electromagnetic Protect – which is classically defined as ensuring your access and use of the spectrum (for example via using different bands or frequency hopping). This topic had been lost in recent years and I am happy to see it back. It is necessary to maintain these definitions (e.g. EA/EP/ES) so that we all know what we are talking about. These definitions have morphed over the years and we haven’t done a good job educating everyone on them.
WSS Contract News
Warrior Support Solutions, LLC has been asked to serve as a Prime for an Army Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) contract awarded to a local research firm here in our home territory of Nashua, NH. Our status as a Woman-Owned/Veteran-Owned Small Business qualified us for this opportunity. We look forward to serving our local colleague in his efforts.
We’ve been asked to assemble a proposal to write a report on USAF Offensive Airborne Electronic Attack capabilities. This will be a classified report and the period of performance is primarily in CY Q1, 2020. We are delighted to have been offered the opportunity to bid on this effort which we believe is a testament to our advanced subject matter expertise in this area.
Warrior Support Solutions, LLC was asked to participate in CSBA’s (https://csbaonline.org/) launch of the main portion of the report to Congress that assessed the U.S.’s EW capabilities. Here is a link to the launch event and a comprehensive video of the entire event: https://csbaonline.org/about/events/winning-the-invisible-war-gaining-an-enduring-u.s-advantage-in-the-electromagnetic-spectrum (Fast forward to 1:03 + in the video to hear Warrior Support Solutions, LLC’s answers to questions from the audience)
(Last quarter, we reported on our participation in writing that Congressional report. If you would like more background, kindly consult: https://warriorss.com/q3-2019/.)
Warrior Support Solutions, LLC was approached by a reputable industry partner to potentially participate in a Mentor-Protégé arrangement sponsored by the Small Business Association (SBA; https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/all-small-mentor-protege-program ). We are working toward that arrangement by engaging in lively discussions about business opportunities and looking for synergies in our respective missions. We wanted to thank this industry partner for its faith in us and we look forward to working with you!
Warrior Support Solutions, LLC is working with Ms. Deborah Tarleton of the GSA Small Business office to pursue a GSA Schedule. Stay tuned for that because this would mean our government partners could easily reach us to perform work.
Tango’s musings:
The NDAA was finally signed in the final weeks of December. Continuing Resolution (CR) wasn’t averted, but at least a budget was signed before the calendar year ended. We wish our government would disallow this from happening year after year. It really stunts progress and successful program evolution. It suffocates opportunities for real innovation and creativity. We remain hopeful for a better outcome next October.
Looking into the third decade of the century for EW/EMSO, Information Warfare and DoD, here’s what I would like to see happen by January 2021:
The EMSO Cross Functional Team (CFT, at DoD level) and the EW EXCOM band together to lead a joint EMSO effort to define policy and organizational construct authorities and responsibilities for the EMSO capability area. They are well-positioned to make this happen. They will need support from our community to help drive changes to policy. Let’s keep having the discussions. We need to get to Congress and the Senate and get them to push for this joint, overarching EMSO construct. If the EMS cannot be a domain, there simply must be an organization with Authority, Responsibility, and Budget to manage the EMSO mission areas ABOVE each of the services. EW/EMSO needs a solid message to be promulgated across the entire spectrum (to use a relative parlance!) A fortified, joint authority needs to create this message so we can all work to it, eliminating duplication of effort and leveraging economies of scale in all of our innovative work.
To the AOC: Please keep doing what you are doing with your advocacy on the hill and meeting with senior leaders. It is vital to ushering in this change.
It is my opinion we will NOT be able to execute the NDS until we get a joint authority above the services in place to deal with the entirety of the spectrum. This META-Domain presents us with our most formidable challenge yet: having to work closely with one another from each of our respective domains. Let’s unite to achieve EMS Superiority.
I have been asked frequently over the past few months, “What is the Air Force doing now that the ECCT is complete?” Well, as you may know, the CSAF and SECAF approved the recommendations that came out of the ECCT and gave Brig. Gen Gaedecke the stick to go do. Unfortunately, the general had some serious hurdles to deal with as he took over his new position as Director, EMS Superiority (HAF/A5L). First, he wasn’t able to move into the job until August then he had to figure out where he was going to get real estate and manpower within the Pentagon for this “new” office. Oh, and did I mention, he has no budget and we were under a CRA until two weeks ago. Finally, he was also designated the Chief of the new EMS Dominance Cross Functional Team (CFT) to the AFWIC, which still does not have its organization and mission fleshed out. The “Boss” has his hands full at the moment. In the meantime, the Implementation Plan has been signed with official direction. Brig. Gen. Gaedecke has a desk and the A5L staff is growing, albeit slowly, as staff leaves as fast as new personnel are signing in. The biggest roadblock right now is that as a new organization, A5L has no budget for the manpower necessary to get things moving. Hopefully, this will be resolved in the FY21 POM.
Warrior Support Solutions FUN NEWS:
Tango passed his Check Ride and is now a FULL MISSION PILOT for Civil Air Patrol.
Wheels UP, Tango!
Melinda will be speaking at Interise 2020, a small business unification event
Boston, MA
9-11 Mar, 2020
For a summary of Melinda’s talk, visit: https://interise2020.org/speaker/melinda-tourangeau/
Melinda had the privilege of singing the National Anthem at this year’s Airlift Tanker Association Convention opening ceremony. She filled in for a singer who had to cancel last minute. She received a thank-you letter from Ms. Patti Cost, Vice President of Programs.
Melinda participated in a local veterans’ honor ceremony at Hollis Brookline Middle School (HBMS) for Veterans’ Day. It was a privilege to be seated next to a WWII veteran! The students were very grateful and prepared a very respectful program. While shaking hands in the receiving line, a HBMS student gifted her with a hand-painted picture of an American warfighter. God Bless our Country!
Melinda and Steve are supporting CAPT. Lynne Blankenbeker, (USNR), for a Congressional seat representing District 2 in New Hampshire. For more information on our candidate for U.S. Congress, visit: https://www.blankenbeker.com
Melinda and Steve are supporting U.S. Army Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Don Bolduc for Senate in New Hampshire. For more information on our Senatorial candidate, visit: https://www.donbolduc.com
Warrior Support Solutions – AT YOUR SERVICE
You talked, we listened. We’ve prepared a comprehensive listing of How Can We Help? services for all of our EW/EMSO community partners. We invite you to find the service that is right for you by visiting our newly updated website:
https://warriorss.com/how-can-we-help/
In addition, we have prepared a “broad spectrum” report on the 19 entities in the USAF that are performing EW/EMSO programs, training, and testing. Contact us to obtain your personalized report, customized with recommendations for introductions with key leaders in USAF EW.
