Balikatan key to air support center upgrade

  • Published
  • By Capt. Genieve David
  • 13th Air Force Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii --  The Hawaii Air Support Operations Center, under the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron, achieved initial operational capability standing after proving its ability to deploy and perform its mission during exercise Balikatan 2010 in March.

The 25th ASOS, based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, deployed 34 Airmen and more than 16 short tons of equipment to Clark Air Base, Philippines, via a C-17 Globemaster III to participate in the bilateral field training exercise March 9 through 22.

Balikatan is an annual exercise designed to increase interoperability between the Philippine Air Force and U.S. military and exercises the two nations' ability to operate together when responding to natural disasters.

"Balikatan was a key exercise for the ASOC because it provided a crucial step towards becoming fully combat mission capable," said Lt. Col. John Schaefer III, 25th ASOS commander. "We proved we were able to field a self-sustained command and control hub which retained accountability for fixed and rotary winged aircraft while executing requests for close air support and support land maneuver forces."

As part of their team, the 25th ASOS deployed joint terminal attack controllers, communication specialists and logisticians.

JTACs, a specialized subset of the tactical air control party career field, are qualified members who, from a forward position, direct the actions of combat aircraft engaged in close air support and other air operations. The JTACs, along with communication specialists and logisticians, directly support the ASOC's main mission to coordinate and direct air support for joint force land component operations.

The new generation ASOC has a standard wartime mission but also has a new employment capability that can be tasked with supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

"The same air control capability used during wartime can be used to help control civilian aircraft after a major disaster when an airport may have been affected and cannot handle the influx of response personnel and supplies," said 1st Lt. Anita B. Clark, 25th ASOS communications flight commander. "The ASOC has the capability to take control and deconflict aircraft altitudes and ensure a steady and clear flow of air traffic."

The Hawaii ASOC is on schedule to obtain full operational capability within the next couple of months. The unit will deploy in the fall with TACPs, logisticians and communication specialists for two six-month tours in the Central Command area of responsibility.

"Pacific Air Forces is leading a revolution on how the Air Force handles close air support," Lieutenant Clark said. "I am proud to be part of history and glad I had the opportunity to be involved in standing up the ASOC here in Hawaii and shaping it to full operational capability."

(1st Lt. Anita B. Clark contributed to this article)