'One command post' initiative beneficial to Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Vadnais
  • AFPN
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) --  Wing and tenant unit commanders and command post leaders Air Force wide were recently directed to consolidate their command and control operations.

Many Air Force bases have multiple command posts. The "One CP" initiative will consolidate those into one facility with a single staff.

While One CP will ultimately yield more efficient command and control centers, it will also benefit the Airmen in the Command Post (1C3) career field.

As it stands, air mobility control center, major command, active duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard controlling duties are all done separately on many bases. This means some Airmen only experience a portion of the 1C3 career field's core competencies of mission monitoring, emergency and disaster management, emergency actions, and operational reporting at a given assignment.

Under the new organization, most assignments will allow Airmen to do all the aspects of their job.

"It's a great thing for the Airmen," said Senior Master Sgt. Laura Hopkins, the Pacific Air Forces 1C3 career field functional manager.

"As our Airmen PCS (make permanent change of station) right now within the command and control career field, most of them require a significant amount of time learning command and control, as it were, for their particular location," she said.

"This initiative is going to bring all the core competencies back to the heart of the career field, so there will be significantly less time spent having to retrain and relearn."

One CP is also a total force initiative. Like Hickam AFB, many bases have separate active duty and Air National Guard command posts, each responsible for their respective assets. One CP will have active duty Airmen and Guardsmen working side-by-side, controlling all the team's assets together.

Senior Master Sgt. Hopkins serves on the One CP Working Group along with other MAJCOM 1C3 functional managers, the Air Force 1C3 functional manager, and subject matter experts. Their charge is to decide how to make this change happen.

One CP will affect nearly every base in the Air Force. A few -- including two in PACAF -- already have only one facility. However, a few bases will continue to operate multiple command posts.

"The One CP is a Wing-level base initiative, so it's the multiple command posts at the Wing level that are going to be consolidating," said Sergeant Hopkins.

One CP is part of a larger plan to implement installation control centers, which will be single facilities housing multiple command and control elements such as law enforcement and fire protection dispatch as well as the base's command post.