by Senior Airman Maeson L. Elleman
18th Wing Public Affairs
4/30/2013 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- In
the quiet darkness surrounding the Kadena flightline, the awaiting
aircraft roars to life with an escalated screech, and cool air rushes to
fill the newly lit cabin.
As the chill meets the humid Okinawan atmosphere within the aircraft, a
smoke-like fog diffuses into the nooks and crevices around the computer
stations and throughout the cockpit.
While it sounds like a mysterious and menacing science fiction movie,
this is a commonplace occurrence for the E-3 Sentry crew from the 961st
Airborne Air Control Squadron.
Once the airborne warning and control system takes off into the softly
glowing horizon and the dense fog begins to disperse, the cabin isn't
the only thing that becomes more visible to the crew, but rather the
entire encompassing airspace.
With its command and control capabilities and intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance mission, the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control
System aircraft assigned to the unit opens the crew's and Kadena's eyes
to virtually everything in the air. It's this capability that allows
Kadena and other Air Force assets to project superior force for any
contingency.
"If a contingency kicks off in the area, we're the eyes in the sky,"
said Maj. Cliff King, 961st AACS electronic combat officer. "It's
important to have AWACS in the sky for protection of our assets and
allies in the region."
Operating as the largest overseas combat wing, Kadena hosts multiple
airframes ranging from F-15 Eagle fighter jets to HH-60G Pave Hawk
search and rescue helicopters.
However, without the ability AWACS provide to perform air battle
management, or comprehensive visibility and direction of practically all
aircraft in the surveyed region, other airborne assets would be
virtually blind to other aircraft in a skyward battle.
Lt. Col. Trey Coleman, 961st AACS director of operations, said that
capability is something that sets the U.S. Air Force apart from other
nations.
"I think that air battle management is a direct correlate to the rise of
American air power since the Vietnam War," Coleman said. "It's one of
those integral things that makes American air power unique and makes it
the best in the world."
Since its establishment here more than a decade ago, the 961st AACS has
provided unwavering and unmatched air battle management in the Pacific
area of responsibility.
There are 32 Sentries currently in the U.S. Air Force inventory. Air
Combat Command hosts 27 E-3s at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., while
Pacific Air Forces features four of the aircraft between Kadena and
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
However, Coleman, who's been on Kadena since September last year, said
Kadena's expansive mission and strategic location make it one of the
most important bases for deterring conflict in the region.
"I believe Kadena is the best and most important place in the world to
conduct air battle management," Coleman said. "In today's geo-strategic
context in the Pacific coupled with the downsizing of our fleet, nowhere
else is it more important to have effective and efficient ABM."
Though the 961st AACS has only claimed the iconic "ZZ" tail codes of the
18th Wing since 1991, the squadron hosts a lineage as the 61st
Bombardment Squadron commissioned in 1940, which predates those of its
fellow Sentry-laden sister units.
Despite altering its mission and equipment since it began in World War
II to the advanced systems it boasts now, Coleman said the equipment
isn't what makes American air power the best in the world.
Rather, he said it's the legacy stemming from before the formation of
the U.S. Air Force exemplified by Medal of Honor recipients and our
predecessors in training and command.
"Our technology is fantastic, but it'll be out-aced in time," he said.
"What we bring to the table as American Airmen is a corporate wealth of
knowledge that spans all the way back to (retired Brig. Gen.) Billy
Mitchell and the Air Corps Tactical School."
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
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