New AMC Command Chief Connects with Airmen

by Air Mobility Command
AMC

5/5/2014 - Summer 2014 -- New AMC Command Chief Connects with Airmen

As the new Command Chief for Air Mobility Command, CMSgt Victoria Gamble is the principal advisor to the commander and his senior staff on matters of health, welfare and morale, professional development, and the effective utilization of more than 38,000 active duty and 71,000 AFRC/ANG enlisted personnel assigned to the command.

Gamble grew up in Georgia and entered the Air Force in July 1985 at the age of 17. She has a diverse background in aircraft maintenance, having worked on six different aircraft. Prior to her current assignment, she was the Command Chief for the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill AFB and Command Chief for 18th Air Force at Scott AFB.

Gamble said she has experienced opportunities in her 28 years of service that motivated her to stay in the military but has also learned from her mistakes.

"Latch onto a good, positive example of an Airman and learn everything you can from him or her," she said. "I was more concerned with making friends when I came in, and I needed to be more concerned with finding people who represented what an Airman should be."

Serving as a conduit between AMC commander Gen Darren McDew and the Airmen, communication is a big part of Gamble's job, but she says you don't have to be in Public Affairs to share good information on the web. "Airmen should spend time posting the good things that they do to support the mission on social media," said Gamble, "because Airmen are doing great things every day.

Naval War College Celebrate Annual Dinner at the Washington Navy Yard

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Pedro A. Rodriguez, Naval District Washington Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Students, faculty and alumni gathered at the Washington Navy Yard's Catering and Conference Center to celebrate the 100th anniversary of distance learning education and the Annual Naval War College Dinner and Philip A. Crowl Lecture Series, May 8.

The College of Distance Education formerly known as the Department of Correspondence Courses was established on April 1, 1914 at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I. by General Order No. 89 from Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels.

From its inception the college offered a robust program of correspondence study. Adm. Stansfield Turner, former President of the U.S. Naval War College, initiated off-campus seminars in Washington, D.C. in 1974 with only 30 students. Known today as the Fleet Seminar Program, it has 1200 students enrolled at 20 satellite campuses around the country.

"This is an event that we've been holding for almost 30 years now at the end of the academic year for students, faculty and friends of the Naval War College here in Washington," said Dr. Charles C. Chadburn, III, director and professor of strategy at the Naval War College Fleet Seminar Program. "It's a combination of a social event to celebrate the end of another academic year and a professional event to stimulate our thinking about national security issues."

The dinner marked the end of the academic year and has been celebrated for 26 years since 1987 with 1991 as an exception due to Operation Desert Storm. Students, alumni, professors, congressmen and house representatives come to the event to discuss topics related to National Security and to attend a lecture honoring Crowl, one of the college's most successful former professors.

This year's guest speaker was Adm. Michael S. Rogers, commander U.S. Cyber Command/director, National Security Agency/chief, Central Security Service.

"I am here because I feel stronger about pay back in my professional life and as a Lieutenant in 1985 I met professor Chadbourn and I did my first class in the distance education program," said Rogers. "I wanted to do this tonight because this program ignited a fire in learning for me."

Rogers also spoke about the future of cyber warfare and the direction the National Security Agency is heading concerning the different ways the United States is battling enemy threats in this field.

Notable speakers in the past have included Tom Clancy, author, Honorable Ike Skelton, Congressman Evan Thomas, author and assistant managing editor of Newsweek Magazine, Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. Senator and John Francis "Jack" Reed, U.S. Senator.

"This is my second year attending the dinner. It is a great opportunity for me to fellowship with my classmates as well as other students and professors from other Fleet Seminar classes," said Lt. Richlyn Neal, Fleet Seminar student. "As a public affairs officer it allows me to learn more about the strategic, operational and tactical levels of war and operations that the operators are more familiar with. Because I'm taking the Joint Professional Military Education I (JPME I) Fleet Seminar Program classes, I'm better able to advise my principals because of what I have learned through the program. "

Navy Reserve Officer Candidate Earns NC State University 2014 Class Valedictorian

By North Carolina State University NROTC

RALEIGH, N.C. (NNS) -- An Officer Candidate with the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) unit at North Carolina State University was named Valedictorian of his class at the spring commencement, May 9.

Officer Candidate Michael Naclerio who was also commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy graduated Summa Cum Laude with Baccalaureate Degrees in both Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Naclerio earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 4.00, in an undergraduate program ranked the 17th best chemical engineering department in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report, 2013 Overall Rankings.

In addition to his perfect GPA, Naclerio accomplished another rare academic achievement. The North Caroline State Chapter of the Scientific Research Society, Sigma Xi, recognized his work for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and outstanding contribution to science. He will soon be published in The Journal of Rheology, for his research involving the delivery of pharmaceutical drugs via nanodiamonds.

"We are very proud of him," said Capt. Doug Wright, commanding officer of the North Carolina Piedmont Region consortium that includes Duke University, University of North Carolina as well as North Carolina State. "Officer Candidate Naclerio has been an example to all."

Naclerio enlisted in the Navy in 2009 as a Machinist's Mate and had an interest in the Nuclear Power Program. He was selected as a Staff Instructor for the Navy Nuclear Prototype School after graduating in the top of his class from "A" School, Power School, and Prototype School. Next, he was chosen for the Seaman to Admiral-21 (STA-21) program and reported to North Caroline State in May 2011.

"I had a great experience at North Caroline State and I am excited to join the Fleet and to serve in the Submarine Force," said Naclerio. After graduation, Naclerio has orders to return to the Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston, South Carolina, where he will begin training as a Submarine Warfare Officer.

The NROTC program, overseen by Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., was established to develop midshipmen mentally, morally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, loyalty and Navy core values in order to commission college graduates as Naval officers who possess a basic professional background, are motivated toward careers in the Naval service and have a potential for future development in mind and character so as to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

Face of Defense: Former Marine Corps Chief Lives Father’s Values

By Marine Corps Sgt. Jon Holmes

6th Marine Corps District

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 9, 2014 – As a young man, Charles C. Krulak, now age 72, respected his father’s values: selflessness, moral courage and integrity.

Krulak’s father, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Victor H. Krulak, who passed away in 2008, imparted in his son the same values introduced to him as a Marine.

Following in his father’s footsteps and making the transformation to become a United States Marine, the younger Krulak, who went on to become a four-star general and the Marine Corps’ 31st commandant, embodied those values. They are still a part of who he is today.

“My father instilled in his three boys a solid foundation of trying to be men of character -- being selfless, having great moral courage and having integrity. [And] at the same time, taking those values and seeking to do the most good for the most people,” Krulak said.

After retiring from the Marine Corps in 1999 after 35 years of military service, Krulak worked in the business world. In March 2011, he was selected to become president of Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama -- a position he says is one of the most challenging of his life.

Mismanagement and a growing debt foreshadowed the college’s future. Budget cuts cost students their educational programs and professors their jobs. Dropping enrollment, a demoralized faculty and a community that lost confidence in the school posed additional problems making Birmingham-Southern College’s future uncertain.

One of Krulak’s first decisions as the college’s new president was to refuse a salary.

“They were pretty surprised when I did that,” he said.

He also turned down the university vehicle and even lived in a dorm instead of the Birmingham-Southern College President’s house.

“Why turn down the salary?” Krulak asked. “Because of the sacrifice everyone else had gone through. If all of the sudden I came in and had this salary and drove around in a college car and lived in the house of the president, I wouldn’t be doing what all Marines do -- setting the example.”

Krulak continued that example by visiting every classroom on campus and meeting with the faculty, staff and students. He spent time in the cafeteria serving food to the students -- something he did for his Marines as an officer.

Former students who have returned to serve as staff to the college notice Krulak’s actions.

“I was most impressed with his relationship with his students,” said Katie Glenn, the executive assistant to Krulak and a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College. “He knows them all and genuinely cares. He even delivered cookies to the students, just as he did for his Marines. He really cared about his Marines, and here, he cares about his employees and students.”

For Krulak, his actions are not unusual. They are the actions of a man of character. They are from the values of his father and the Marines’ past, present and future that are bound together by their core values and ethos.

“You hear time and time again the Marine Corps made you the individual you are,” Krulak explained. “That transformation is forever. That ethos is in all of us for life.”

NRD San Antonio earns Gold with Retention Excellence Award for FY 2013

By Burrell Parmer, Navy Recruiting District San Antonio Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON (NNS) -- Anchors of black were replaced with anchors of gold in front of Navy Recruiting District San Antonio's headquarters after the command was recognized as one of the winners of the Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (MPT&E) Retention Excellence Award for Fiscal Year 2013, April 25.

Sailor and civilians took pride in the repainting of two large anchors situated in front of the headquarters, which is collated with the Military Enlisted Processing Station-San Antonio.

According to NRD Command Career Counselor, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jessica Hall, the award means taking care of Sailors and ensuring that their needs, such as reenlistments, officer packages, career development boards, retirements, and detailing issues, are met.

"This allows our Sailors to not have to worry about their careers and allows them to focus more on their mission," said Hall, a native of DeRidder, La. "And with 182 Sailors this is no easy task, but it was completed above Navy standards earning the retention award."

NRD Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Corry Juedeman was ecstatic when she heard the news.

"It is truly an honor for the entire command to win the Retention Excellence Award. And, it is validation of the successful command career counselor program and the positive command climate we have that Sailors are choosing to stay Navy," said Juedeman, who will be relinquishing command and commencing retirement in July. "We are very proud to have the now golden anchors outside our headquarters building for all to see!"

The Retention Excellence Award, formerly known as the Golden Anchor Award, established by the United States Fleet Forces Command through the Fleet Retention Excellence Program, is annually awarded to U.S. Navy commands that sustain superior levels of military retention during the previous fiscal year.

Award-winning commands must pass the annual Career Information Program Review with a score of 85 points or higher while meeting set benchmarks for reenlistment and attrition rates during the fiscal year. Earning the FY-13 award authorizes NRD San Antonio display gold-painted anchors near its headquarters. .

NRD San Antonio includes 46 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread throughout 140,000 square miles of Texas territory, spanning from Waco, west to Midland/Odessa, southwest towards El Paso, southeast along the Rio Grande Valley, and west of College Station.

Pope TACP Airmen integrate Air Support Operations Center during Warfighter exercise

by Marvin Krause
43rd Airlift Group Public Affairs

5/8/2014 - POPE ARMY AIRFIELD, FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Tactical Air Control Party Airmen from the 682nd and 14th Air Support Operations Squadrons integrated a new close air support process for combat operations during the 82nd Airborne Division's Warfighter 14-04 exercise on Fort Bragg, April 7 to 17.

These Airmen provided close air support command and control for a true combined joint team during this WFX, specifically for the 82nd Airborne Division, designated as Combined Joint Task Force-82, to accomplish its assigned mission of forming the nucleus of a Joint Task Force Headquarters along with forces from Canada and Great Britain.

The Warfighter is a command post training exercise, designed and led by the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which simulates scenarios units might encounter in war. The exercises are designed to challenge commanders and their staffs to be both tactical and academic in their approach to wartime decision making.

TACP Airmen established and operated a 24-hour Air Support Operations Center during the exercise within the CJTF-82 Joint Fires cell. The Air Support Operations Center is a part of the Theater Air Control System, which is the doctrinal mechanism the Army and the Air Force use to integrate close air support on the battlefield.

"The ASOC is the link between the Tactical Air Control Party Airmen that are aligned with Army divisions and the Air Operations Center that is executing the air effort on behalf of the Joint Forces Air Component Commander," said Lt. Col. Jonathan King, 14th Air Support Operations Squadron commander. "The ASOC prioritizes and de-conflicts current close air support operations. They receive CAS requests from subordinate TACP units in the field, then assign and control Joint aircraft resources to targets."

The ASOC is the primary control agency of the Theater Air Control System for execution of air and space power in direct support of land operations. Its mission is to control air operations short of the Fire Support Coordination Line.

The ASOC coordinates and directs air support for land forces at the tactical level. The ASOC is directly subordinate to the Air and Space Operations Center and is responsible for the coordination and control of air component missions in its assigned area.

Previously, the 682nd ASOC was aligned with XVIII Airborne Corps; however, under the new construct, all ASOC functions are distributed to ASOSs aligned with Army divisions. The 14th ASOS at Pope is in the process of building an ASOC in support of 82nd Airborne Division operations. In the future, the four ASOSs that support each division under the XVIII Airborne Corps will operate an ASOC.

The Air Force is implementing this process to become more agile and effective at joint control and integration of airspace in combat environments. The effort to create and operate an ASOC at the division-level and for the 82nd Airborne Division comes with some issues though.

"Some of the issues we are running into because of this migration are logistics and funding concerns since Air Combat Command is increasing from five to eight mobility teams consisting of 51 personnel each. The move and implementation of additional personnel, training and equipment is a complex task," said Maj. Mark McClay, 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron director of operations.

Another issue is ASOC integration into ASOSs not accustomed to having ASOC personnel.

"This will change the way they do business since ASOC personnel will include new Air Force Specialty Codes, training requirements and qualifications that will be in addition to the ones already present in an ASOS," McClay said.

ASOC integration with Army divisions is also an issue.

"The transition from a division TACP to a full Air Force command and control entity, within the division command post, is a significant change. This means making changes in the structure to include space for additional Air Force personnel and equipment as well as new processes to integrate the different command and control de-confliction systems," McClay said.

The implementation of the migration concept is still in its infancy. Airmen are driving solutions to these issues on the front lines since it's the creativity and adaptability of the Airmen building the Division level ASOSs who are identifying and solving these issues.

"This is why the Warfighter exercise is such a valuable training environment for us. It provides the platform for us to unravel the issues we don't know about yet. It also provides the stimulus to think critically about mission sets and how to employ the capability. It allows us to experiment so we can validate different solutions for tactical problems we experience," King said.

The 82nd, 14th ASOS and 682nd ASOS are working to develop new doctrine and techniques, tactics and procedures locally to guide the employment of the ASOC at the division level, which will be incorporated as joint doctrine for future battlefield operations. The Warfighter further strengthened the bond between the Air Force and the 82nd Airborne Division as a joint team able to rapidly deliver air and ground forces to any combatant command worldwide as part of the Global Response Force mission.

"The ASOC has to be adapted to the mission of the division it supports. For the 82nd Airborne Division, there are significant issues with ASOC equipment and manning constructs that were developed for corps missions. To operate at the 82nd, both have to be light and mobile enough to support airborne operations," King said.

The migration is being accomplished to support the Air Force tenet of decentralized execution. This pushes CAS decision-making, planning, de-confliction and execution to appropriate levels that support division tactical operations. Additionally, as the Air Force transitions to a digital environment, this construct is more responsive to implement and integrate digital CAS operations. This is the future of TACPs for the joint audience.

"TACPs supported the exercise in a variety of ways. For the past four months we have been heavily involved in the planning effort to integrate CAS into the Joint Fires plan. TACPs are part of the 82nd's command staffs from the division down to battalion level. We contribute to the execution phase of the exercise by implementing the Air Tasking Order in the division battle space, advising Army commanders on CAS integration and terminal control of CAS assets," King said.

"They serve as the link between the Army senior tactical element and Air Force AOC for battle execution. The ASOC Gateway system also provides integration between aircraft and TACP data link and digital systems to pass information and increase the situational awareness of all players," King said.

"When the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers in the field are getting fired on, they'll send us a form stating their position and what kind of forces they're being fired on from to this equipment called the Gateway," said Staff Sgt. Alvin Delos Santos, an command and control battle management operations specialist with the 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron. "We'll process that data and then send it straight to the ASOC, so that they can process it and then get aircraft over their heads to support them on the ground," he said.

For the exercise, Delos Santos and his fellow airmen provided an air picture for the ASOC, who pushed it up to the Air Operations Center, so they can see where friendly aircraft and forces are located as well as targets that are being fired upon.

"We have shortened the decision time to identify and attack targets, providing the guys on the ground with a tactical picture so they can see where aircraft are located to support them," Delos Santos said.

USS Vandegrift Departs San Diego for Deployment

From Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) departed Naval Base San Diego for an independent deployment to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility, May 9.

The crew of Vandegrift will play an integral part in the counter-transnational organized crime (C-TOC) mission Operation Martillo (Spanish for "hammer"). Operation Martillo is a U.S., European, and Western Hemisphere partner-nation effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters in Central America. Joint Interagency Task Force-South, a component of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), leads U.S. military participation.

"My officers and crew are ready and fully prepared as we head out to conduct this very important mission with our maritime partner nations," said Cmdr. Luis Alva, commanding officer of Vandegrift.

Operation Martillo is a component of the U.S. government's coordinated interagency regional security strategy in support of the White House strategy to combat transnational organized crime and the U.S. Central America Regional Security Initiative.

Along with the crew of Vandegrift, the drug interdiction team includes the ship's organic Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team providing support for the embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 402. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light (HSL) Squadron 49 Detachment 3 will provide embarked air support. The law enforcement phase of counterdrug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the tactical control of the 11th Coast Guard District headquartered in Alameda, California.

Vandegrift helps provide deterrence, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the seas, and humanitarian/disaster response.

Joint, interagency and international relationships strengthen U.S. 3rd Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners.