Space planning essential to battle success

by Staff Sgt. Shawn Nickel
7th Air Force Public Affairs

3/13/2015 - OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- "Space, the final frontier," means a lot to people in different careers, but is the vast blackness filled with mesmerizing intergalactic-lights important to today's warfighter?

According to Air Force Capt. Jamil Brown, 607th Air Operations Center chief of space plans, space is a newer concept to warfighting, and his team works to integrate the concept into exercise Key Resolve 15.

"As chief of space plans, I'm in charge of integrating space into the air tasking order cycle, making sure the plan that's put together has both the space support it needs and also the estimated space effects to make sure the mission goes along as planned," Brown said.

Over the past few exercises, integrating space effects into KR scenarios has been an evolutionary process.

"One of the nice things about working with our Korean counterparts is we're beginning to not only educate everyone here [on] what space has to contribute, but we're also integrating it into the plans, so space is as essential and integral as everything else," he said.

During the exercise process, Brown found that planners' interest in space had increased as they sought to understand how space effects fit into their planning and maneuvers.

"It's great they have that thirst, but now we're catching up to that to [make] sure we can satisfy that interest in space knowledge," Brown said. "That's a challenge I'm pleased to have to overcome."

U.S. Army Capt. Otis Ingram, 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment space coordination officer, said space technology isn't just applicable to flying and air combat; it's essential to troops on the ground.

"Although solar flares and space dust aren't directly related to what troops on the ground are doing, it directly affects elements of warfare such as GPS and satellite communication," Brown said.

He said generating and implementing knowledge of space effects is sure to help KR run smoother, but more importantly, play a role in future combat and humanitarian operations around the world.

"Space has been around for a while, but in regards to integrating it into the overall theater of operations, we will continue to improve and develop to better assist our counterparts and warfighters around the globe," Brown said.