Team provides airpower at right place, time

Air Force Links ^ | Maj. David Kurle

[SandRat]

8/21/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- U.S. Army and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan rely on a special team of Air Force officers to help provide airpower at the right time and place.

The Air Component Coordination Element, or ACCE, is relatively new to operations involving more than one branch of service and other nations, but supports Combined Joint Task Force-76, which oversees Operation Enduring Freedom.

"We help the CJTF planners integrate air and space power into the development of their campaign plan," said Brig. Gen. Christopher D. Miller, the ACCE director here.

According to Air Force Doctrine Document Two, the ACCE director "normally has no authority to direct or employ forces." But, in Afghanistan, there is a unique arrangement.

General Miller is also the commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing here, which provides airlift, strike and electronic-warfare aircraft. In that role, he provides airpower forces and helps the Combined Air Operations Center, located in Southwest Asia, employ them.

The ACCE functions much like a neighborhood hardware store, with each department run by an expert in a particular facet of home repair. Instead of building a house, its customers are building a free and democratic Afghanistan.

When a customer, in this case CJTF-76, needs an airpower tool for a particular project, or advice on how best to use the airpower tools at its disposal, the CJTF commander consults General Miller, who then turns to his experts in each department of the ACCE.

"I don't think any of our primary interfaces are hesitant to step up and ask for our expertise, which in the end makes us feel that our job here is beneficial," said Maj. Troy Etheridge, the strategic airlift expert on the ACCE staff.

The ACCE's divisions -- plans, strike, airlift, space and intelligence -- provide advice on how to best use the airpower tools in their respective areas.

The Air Force created the ACCE organization to meet the growing demands for airpower in U.S. Central Command, which is simultaneously managing military activities in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, as well as humanitarian and advisor operations in Africa.

All air operations in central command's area of responsibility are conducted from the CAOC. To provide in-person customer service in all three places to represent the center, three ACCE staffs stood up to work directly with the three task forces.

"It's the difference between doing customer service in person or by a 1-800 number," General Miller said. "The ACCE staff provides a physical, personal presence that solves problems and facilitates the best use of airpower resources."

Working on the ACCE also provides Air Force officers a broader vision of U.S. and coalition operations, which will provide valuable expertise to their careers later on.

"It's given me more perspective on how airpower benefits forces on the ground," said Maj. Lisa Webster, a C-130 Hercules pilot who works in the airpower division.

With the International Security Assistance Force taking over more of the military operations in Afghanistan, the ACCE will need to learn how to open its doors to more customers.

"We are doing everything in our power to make sure ISAF succeeds," said Maj. Jeffrey Lanphear, who heads the space division.

The ACCE will have no shortage of customers to its "hardware store" until the job of building a stable democracy in Afghanistan is completed.

[SandRat]

AIRORD