The U.S. Air Force’s senior advisers in the Operational Command Training Program, or OCTP, have had a busy 2021, connecting the concept of Strategic-Level Joint Command and Control, or JADC2, to command and control organizations and operational level control.

Chartered in 2000 by the Chief of the Air Force Staff, OCTP is the USAF’s senior operational-level C2 training program, operating under the 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field, in Florida, and is made up of both highly trained expert mentors. and senior operational advisers C2. The OCTP team is made up of graduate C2 leaders who provide operational level commanders with subject matter expertise, confidential peer-level advice, mentoring, training and performance feedback.

Throughout the year, senior advisers were active in several C2 operational exercises including Pacific Fury, Pacific Sentry, BLUE FLAG, Austere Challenge, Northern Edge, Air and Missile Defense, Global Thunder, training events in South Korea, and a host of other war games, planning conferences, and college events.

In addition, the team provided just-in-time academics to the Numbered Air Force, supported the organizational design review of a large command, and participated in a Joint Task Force Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. disaster.

“This team represents some of the Air Force‘s top C2 air component mentors and advisers who bring decades of experience to Airmen who plan and execute at the operational level of warfare,” said Col. Adam Shelton, commander of the 505th Test and Training Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla. “However, this interaction is also adding value to the wing by bringing back field observations to improve both training and technological developments for the evolution of C2.”

Just in time training

Due to their ongoing relationship with Air Forces Northern, or AFNORTH, supporting various theater exercises, including Ardent Sentry and Vigilant Shield, the AFNORTH training team enlisted the assistance of a Senior Advisor to develop and deliver training. just in time covering the joint planning process. for Air, or JPPA.

A team of three senior advisors developed and delivered two personalized 2-day academic and vignette programs that covered a range of topics from command relationships, mission analysis, and plan development and analysis. action. The purpose of the event was to instill a “planning culture” with the participation of over 50 staff from AFNORTH and the 601st Air Operations Center.

The academic event allowed attendees to apply open discussion, reflection and assessment to each stage of JPPA, a table vignette scenario supported by doctrinal resources, allowing staff to better understand joint planning and planning. myriad of considerations involved.

Operational planning teams

Air Forces Southern, or AFSOUTH, asked OCTP senior advisers for the support of an Operational Planning Team, or OPT. AFSOUTH was exploring the design of its internal organization to determine whether a realignment of air component personnel would result in better agility to compete with adversaries in their area of ​​responsibility.

The team of senior advisers had previously participated in the reorganization efforts underway in the Pacific Air Force and the United States Air Force in Europe. Thus, the three senior advisers were able to share lessons from other realignment efforts to assist OPT in the development and refinement of potential options. Senior advisers provided recommendations throughout the event and helped develop and present the action plans presented to the AFSOUTH Commander.

Real-time JTF support

On August 14, 2021, the southwest region of Haiti was struck by a 7.2 earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people and displaced more than 150,000 Haitians. Within hours, US Southern Command, or USSOUTHCOM, assigned JTF-Haiti to Special Operations Command-South, or SOCSOUTH, to lead humanitarian aid / disaster relief on the Caribbean island.

As the air component of USSOUTHCOM, AFSOUTH activated its staff and deployed a joint air component coordination element, or JACCE, to integrate with the JTF-Haiti staff. Given the previous relationship between AFSOUTH and OCTP, AFSOUTH management requested the support of OCTP’s senior advisers. While they normally operated as advisers to C2 operational leaders in a shoulder capacity, two senior advisers were deployed to Homestead, Fla., And were seamlessly integrated into the JACCE team, at the floor of the Joint Operations Center and all planning events.

In many ways, the FOI-Haiti mission was a success for the Haitian people. The coalition team of soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guards, coast guards and international partners in and around Haiti provided medical evacuations to critical patients and moved more than half a million pounds of food , water, medical supplies and temporary housing in some very remote locations. The thousands of professionals who have contributed to this effort have been essential in the efforts of the Haitian people to recover from the devastating earthquake.

For Senior Advisors, attending this actual event will enhance their credibility with training audiences during future exercises, academic courses and other training events.

The way to go

Despite the busy 2021 exercise season, the senior advisor team took the time to write and publish eight handbooks specially designed for air component division chiefs, expanded their menu of just-in-time training briefings and added several models to their OCTP Community of Excellence website. .

For the senior advisor team, 2022 looks like another busy year with nearly two dozen Level 1 and 2 exercises, Agile Combat Employment Lead Wing training events, and more academics on site.

As the only USAF team tasked with overseeing all air component commands, it is well positioned to be the connective tissue and translator between Air Force Headquarters vision for concepts such as JADC2 and ACE, and operational C2 combatants implementing these guidelines.

For more information on OCTP Senior Advisors, contact the team at: [email protected]