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J-FIRE Standardizing Calls for Fire Across the Military Spectrum

Story Number: NNS030221-18
2/21/2003

By Matthew R. Weir, 1st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (NNS) -- The Air, Land, Sea Application Center (ALSA), based on Langley Air Force Base, Va., recently published and distributed 13,000 copies of the Multiservice, Tactics, Techniques and Procedures publication for Joint Application of Firepower (J-FIRE).

"J-FIRE is a pocketsize reference manual that allows warfighters to coordinate critical joint fires that may be out of their service-oriented domain," said Maj. Mark DeLong, ALSA action officer, who worked on the publication's recent revision.

This revision updates essential weapons risk estimate data to include the addition of the modern joint direct attack munitions, joint standoff weapon, wind correction munitions dispenser and hellfire munitions. Risk estimate provides the warfighter with essential "danger close" ranges for all air-to-ground munitions.

It contains calls for fires to include: naval gunfire, artillery, a format for joint air strike requests, a format for briefing pilots who provide close air support and close-in fire support, structures of communications nets and data on weapons, DeLong said.

J-Fire applies to the tactical operating forces of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. It is intended, primarily, for use by members of battalion/squadron-level combat units, such as tactical air control parties, fire support teams and forward observers.

J-FIRE was first initiated by the Joint Action Steering Committee, made up of a general officer from each service's doctrine command, in 1984 to address the issue of difficulties in requesting and coordinating interservice fire support. The first edition of J-FIRE, published in 1985, was published in response to the integration of fires lessons learned from Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. Subsequent editions have also incorporated additional lessons learned from Operation Desert Storm through Operation Enduring Freedom.

The ALSA Center was established in 1975 to meet the immediate the needs of the warfighter and upholds that tradition today. Anyone, from seaman to admiral, has the ability to request ALSA pursue a solution to an interoperability problem. Each publication that the ALSA center prints has the possibility of saving lives.