606th EACS controls the fight from below

by Capt. Laura Balch
351st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

6/19/2014 - POWIDZ AIR BASE, Poland  -- More than 80 Airmen and 573 tons of equipment from the 606th Air Control Squadron out of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, deployed here June 2, 2014, supporting both EAGLE TALON, a Polish national exercise, and the U.S. Air Force Aviation Detachment's Rotation 14-3 training exercise.

Through the first three weeks of June, the 606th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron served as a control and reporting center that provides tactical control to the aircraft participating in the exercises.

"Our mission is battle management -- we control, separate and deconflict what's happening in the air space," said Lt. Col. Robert Long, 606th EACS commander from Fort Worth, Texas. "We're one of three active duty CRCs in the entire U.S. Air Force. We provide a very unique capability to our military leaders since we are a highly tailorable mobile weapons system that a combatant commander can task for a variety of missions. Once tasked, we can mobilize and establish ourselves wherever assigned and then sustain ourselves for long durations since we have our own vehicles, generators, heating and cooling, radar and communications equipment."

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Steven Horton, 52nd Air Expeditionary Group commander from Sunrise Beach, Texas, visited the 606th EACS June 12 to see how the unit keeps the missions going in both exercises.

"The 606th EACS personnel just get up and go -- it's very impressive how they operate," Horton said.

While in Poland, 606th EACS members work alongside their Polish air force counterparts. Their cooperative effort aims to increase operability not only among the Airmen on the ground, but also those in the air.

"Our interaction with the Polish air force has been very positive, as we've been working together for EAGLE TALON, the Av-Det rotation and the Baltic Operations Exercise," Horton said. "These exercises enable us to promote interoperability with Poland -- one of our strongest European partners. We get to work together in a training environment which is great preparation in case we're ever together in future combat situations. We're learning just as much from them as they are from us. Between our CRCs, F-16 pilots and maintenance personnel, we have a lot of commonalities where we can share our knowledge."

According to Maj. Craig Ansel, 606th EACS director of operations and mission crew commander from Niagara Falls, New York, the squadron tracks the overall radar picture of the air space. This enables them to provide situational awareness to the pilots, who have a smaller, more focused radar picture in their aircraft.

The 606th EACS's primary focus has been to support EAGLE TALON. For this exercise, the unit has served as a CRC for friendly forces while a Polish air force CRC worked as the adversary.

"It's a pretty cool opportunity getting to control the friendly Polish fighters and incorporating them with our tactics," said Senior Airman Donald Jordan, 606th EACS weapons director from Commerce, Georgia. "The Polish representatives we've been working with are very friendly and interactive. They're willing to learn and share with us how they operate."

According to Long, this is the first time a U.S. Air Force CRC has operated in Poland and has been a great success in both mission accomplishment and building partnerships.

"My Airmen are amazing," Long said. "Their technical know-how is incredible, and they work so hard and are still smiling; you can tell they love their jobs. We have taken full advantage of this opportunity to further enhance our relationship with the Polish air force, and we've all learned so much from each other along the way."