25th ASOS demonstrates JADC2 capabilities

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Nick Wilson
  • Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs

U.S. Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) commander, visited the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) at Wheeler Army Airfield. Hawaii, April 23.

The visit was organized to enable Wilsbach to further sharpen his understanding of the 25th ASOS capabilities to provide joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) at a tactical level from the edge of the battlespace.

Simply put, JADC2 can be defined as the ability to distribute relevant communications across the globe to the correct people at the speed of relevance.

“It's the seamless movement of relevant information, whether it's directed, orders, or intelligence,” said Lt. Col. John McGregor, 25th ASOS commander. “That information seamlessly moves across the Pacific from a command team to the team at the most forward edge.

McGregor explained that the mission is bigger than just the transfer of executable orders.

“It's also those teams out on the Florida edge, collecting information intelligence and pumping it back seamlessly back to the to the command team so that they can consolidate the information and then provide the follow-on orders,” McGregor said.

McGregor briefed the PACAF commander on how the 25th ASOS can push and exchange information in real time from Hawaii directly to the operators in the field who are spread out thousands of miles throughout the Indo-Pacific.

“That's what I mean by the speed of relevance; it's the people that are out there, forward in the Pacific,” McGregor said. “They can get the exact information that they need to impact the mission in the best way possible.”

During Wilsbach’s visit, Airmen from various career fields briefed their daily processes and core competencies.

“It's important for our Airmen to not only be capable of briefing the general, but also comfortable because of how dynamic our mission set is,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jason Meinders, 25th ASOS chief enlisted manager. “Their ability to articulate the message that we need to convey in order to highlight the importance of what we're doing with all the main command and control teams is it's amazing.”     

One of the key points discussed during the visit was the fact that the 25th ASOS’ Human Performance Center was recently revamped and renovated.

“Our Human Performance Center is state of the art,” McGregor said. “And it's really getting after not only keeping our team fit, but it's actually supporting pretty much every tenant and pillar of our agency.”

McGregor discussed how the Human Performance Center became a mainstay in his organization by contributing to psychological fitness and mental fitness (in addition to physical fitness) among the Airmen in the unit.

As the 25th ASOS’ mission statement is to “deter, neutralize, defeat, and survive” in the U S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, deterrence was another key talking point during Wilsbach’s visit.

“If we can deter the enemy and keep the peace, then that's our best course of action,” McGregor said. “One of the best ways forward is that we operate in a non-kinetic environment, and that we influence an enemy without firing a shot. You don't necessarily have to drop weapons. Just to have the ability to do so is a formidable advantage.”

McGregor also explained that the formidable advantage is enough to deter the enemy from wanting to proceed.

The ability to deliver JADC2 capabilities enables the 25th ASOS to support the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff’s priority to deliver airpower anytime, anywhere.

“Watching the amount of talent from the youngest airman to the highest-ranking officer within the organization over the last couple years has been extraordinary,” McGregor said. “Everybody's been a part of this, and [seeing] that unified front where everybody's going towards those common goals is really phenomenal.”