Liveblogging:
Unified Endeavor 07-1
Earlier
this week, U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) began
the latest iteration of the Unified Endeavor Mission
Rehearsal Exercise series to prepare the U.S. Army’s
82nd Airborne Division for deployment to Afghanistan. USJFCOM's
MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir liveblogged all day Nov.
15 directly from Unified Endeavor 07-1 at Ft. Bragg,
N.C.
By MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir
USJFCOM Public Affairs
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| 82nd
Airborne Division Joint Operations Center personnel
meet inside of the Unified Endeavor joint operations
center to examine documents as they begin the exercise.
(Click on this photo by MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir
to get a high quality version of the image) |
(FORT
BRAGG, N.C. - Nov. 15, 2006) -- 8:00 a.m.:
Attention in the JOC!
"Attention in the JOC! Attention in the JOC!" Army
Maj. Bill Shavce said over the announcing system.
That's how Exercise Unified Endeavor 07-1 mission rehearsal
exercise (MRX) began here last night in the 82nd Airborne
Division's Joint Operations Center (JOC) at Fort Bragg,
N.C.
U.S.
Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) is conducting the MRX
to train the 82nd, along with several subordinate units
and individual augmentees, for deployment to Afghanistan
as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-76 (CJTF-76) Operation
Enduring Freedom early next year.
All the information coming into the division's headquarters
goes through the JOC. More than a hundred operators man
rows of computers dedicated to processing that information
and routing it where it needs to go, up and down the chain
of command. Teams work in different areas of expertise,
covering every aspect of the operation.
Shavce is one of the JOC's battle majors. During his shift
he's responsible for managing the flow of all that information.
"My primary function is collecting information, figuring
out where it needs to go and making sure it all gets there," Shavce
said. "Specific staff sections work their own pieces,
and then we consolidate everything to provide one common
operating picture."
When they deploy in a few months, that information will
come from numerous sources, including satellites, intelligence
organizations, other military units, and the task force's
own troops on the ground.
For the exercise, USJFCOM is using its distributed training
network to link input from units around the country to
create a realistic environment. The operators in the JOC
are seeing what they can expect to see when they arrive
in Afghanistan.
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| Air
Force Senior Airman Corey Welton, of the Washington
Air National Guard's 111th Air Support Operations Center
Squadron, mans his post at the start of the Unified
Endeavor 07-1 mission rehearsal exercise.(Click
on this photo by MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir to get
a high quality version of the image) |
9:30 am.: The 111th Air Support Operations Center
Squadron
To one side of the JOC a small group of Air Force personnel
diligently works their computers, passing information back
and forth through instant messages, by telephone and over
the radio.
The Washington Air National Guard's 111th Air Support
Operations Center (ASOC) Squadron provides coordination
of air support for the task force. Based at Camp Murray
in Tacoma, Wash., and aligned with the Army, it deploys
when and where the Army unit it supports does.
I spoke briefly with Senior Airman Corey Welton, a forward
air controller with the unit.
"We take immediate requests from joint terminal attack
controllers on the ground, and coordinate with the aircraft
and the Army's battle manager to meet those requests," Welton
said. "Basically, we're command and control for the
close air support mission."
When an Army unit on the ground needs air support, it
can come from a variety of sources, the ASOC determines
which source will best meet the unit's request.
"We
take those requests and pass them up to our air liaison
officer (ALO), who finds out what's available to use
to meet those requests. At the same time, the intelligence
cell takes a look at it to validate the target.
"The
ALO drafts a plan and coordinates it with the battle
major. Meanwhile, a controller like me is coordinating
with the Army's fires element to determine if there are
any artillery assets that can handle the target. If there
are, then we pass the request to them to fill. If not,
then we communicate with our aircraft and send them to
perform the mission."
At every step of the process, the ASOC coordinates with
the aircraft, the controller on the ground and the battle
major in the JOC to ensure they hit the right target at
the right time. Weldon said the soldiers' needs on the
ground are what drive the whole process.
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| Army
Sgt. Paul Glenn and Pfc. Eric Patterson work on
a flight plan in the 82nd Airborne Division's Aviation
Cell during the Unified Endeavor Mission Rehearsal
Exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C. (Photo
by MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir) |
12:30
p.m.: Army Aviation
After
discussing how the Air Force provides ground support
for the Army, I visited the soldiers in the 82nd Airborne
Division’s aviation cell and spoke with Army Sgt.
1st Class Scotty Brightwell.
Brightwell’s cell works closely with the ASOC, but
has a very different mission. While the ASOC handles
controlling tactical aircraft, the Army handles the mission
planning for all the Army helicopters and airplanes in
the task force’s area of operations (AOR).
"We
really don’t own the aircraft," Brightwell
said. "The aviation commander owns them. We’re
the aviation commander’s liaison to the division
headquarters on how the division’s air assets get
allocated."
That
allocation includes filing flight plans and making airspace
requests, and moving personnel. The cell
also oversees the personnel recovery mission. Brightwell
said the division works closely with the Joint
Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA).
"If we get a downed aircraft, we’re the ones
who coordinate for overhead support, deploy the rescue
aircraft and personnel to help secure the site, and detail
the med-evac unit. We have JPRA representatives
in our cell whose whole mission is personnel recovery."
In
short, the cell is where the commanding general goes
when he needs to move people and materiel in his AOR.
3
p.m. :
Future Operations
So far I've covered how the JOC handles the information
coming in and going out, how the Air Force delivers ground
support and how the Army manages its aircraft and the personnel
recovery mission.
After grabbing a bite to eat I dropped in on the Future
Operations Cell. This is where near-term operational planning
for the task force in the exercise takes place. The cell
takes a view four days ahead.
I spoke briefly with Army Maj. Tim Williams and Spec.
Dennis Mullins about what future operations means. Both
are in the 82nd Airborne Division.
"The
Future Operations Cell is part of the division's battle
staff," Mullins said. "This is where
plans are coordinated and distributed up to the commanding
general's staff. They'll either approve or disapprove of
what the battle captains have come up with."
Once approved, the plans from the cell then go to the
Current Operations Cell, which will pass them down to the
brigade level for implement. From there, the brigades will
decide what needs to happen at the task force's lower echelons.
I asked Williams about what the benefits of the exercise
and the environment USJFCOM is providing are to the division
and to the Future Operations Cell.
"It is definitely what we're expecting to see once
we get to Afghanistan," Williams said. "The
issue here is the replication of the cells and the subject
matter expertise that they're working through these first
couple of days.
"As a result of this exercise we'll gain a greater
understanding of the capabilities and the information these
different cells that we don't normally operate with on
a daily basis, what they can provide for us and how to
interdict and get that information that we need. We're
learning that as we speak."
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| Capt.
Ivy Miller of the 36th Engineer Brigade based at
Fort Hood, Texas, takes a call in the brigade's operations
center during the Unified Endeavor 07-1 mission rehearsal
exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C. (Photo
by MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir) |
5:30
p.m.: The Engineers
All the networked capabilities that USJFCOM is using to
drive the exercise, and CJTF-76 will use when it gets to
Afghanistan, don't simply pop up overnight.
The 36th Engineer Brigade will perform that job for the
task force, as well as all the other duties combat engineers
perform. Those include repairing buildings, building roads,
building fortifications for force protection and clearing
routes so the task force can maneuver.
Known as the Rugged Sea Horses, the brigade is a new organization.
It was originally the 36th Engineer Group, based at Fort
Benning, Ga., before expanding and moving to Fort Hood, Texas,
in this year as part of the Army's transformation plan.
Sgt.
1st Class Donald Thomas, the brigade's construction operations
sergeant, said there are about a dozen soldiers in the
brigade who made the move from Georgia, making the experience
of working together in this exercise even more valuable,
because the procedures for day-to-day operations are still
being developed.
"Pretty much everybody in this brigade is new," Thomas
said. "Now we're putting our standard operating procedures
together and learning how to work with each other. We're
starting from scratch.
"I
expect that when we get to Afghanistan we'll be like a
clock and we'll be ticking. This is preparing us to go,
and I think once we get there we'll be prepared for any
challenge."
I also spoke with Sgt. Inja Clarke, who works with the brigade's
communication systems, including computers, telephones and
all the networks the task force will use when it deploys.
"This unit's mission is to support the headquarters," Clarke
said. "Without the communications and networking parts
it would be a lot more difficult to transfer secure information
from one point to another."
Clarke said another challenge is interfacing with the multinational
forces when the task force assumes its role as Regional Command
- East, under the NATO-led International Security Assistance
Force. She said the brigade has already sent personnel to
Afghanistan to gather information on what they will need.
"That's what this mission is also helping with," Clarke
said. "In learning how we're supposed to tie in, getting
everybody familiar with the software systems that are going
to be used out there with the 82nd, and also getting some
feedback from units in Afghanistan, so when we come in it'll
be a smooth transfer."
During
the course of this day, I've
covered how units are using the exercise to integrate and
hone their procedures in preparation for the deployment.
One thing I haven't yet mentioned the individual augmentees
who are also training in the exercise. These service members
come from both active duty and reserve units and fill crucial
roles in the headquarters. The exercise gives them the opportunity
to integrate with the headquarters staff and perform their
jobs more effectively.
I'll
be heading home now, knowing more about what it takes to
train and prepare troops to operate together after seeing
it up close and personal.
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