Expeditionary Aerospace Force
concepts seen showing dividendsBy Wayne Specht
Misawa bureau chief
Expeditionary Aerospace Force concepts introduced by the Air Force to alleviate high-operations tempo are beginning to bear fruit, a top Air Force commander said.
"EAF has been a major adjustment for us in Southwest Asia, but I think it’s all been a change for the positive," said Maj. Gen. Gene Renuart Jr., commander of the Joint Task Force-Southwest Asia at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "The concept was implemented to put predictability into the high-ops tempo … and we’re seeing it."
EAF groups armed forces differently than in the past. Teams, known as Aerospace Expeditionary Forces, or AEFs, deploy to operations or remain on-call at their home stations. There are 10 AEF units in the EAF program.
Each AEF unit is composed of a cross-section of Air Force weapons systems, 150-175 aircraft and 10,000 to 15,000 airmen. Aircraft and personnel are drawn from the active-duty major commands, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard.
In the Pacific, only Misawa in northern Japan, and Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, support AEF deployments.
Air Force fighter squadrons based in South Korea do not deploy under the AEF because they would remain and fight should a conflict in the Korean peninsula arise, Air Force officials have said.
Eight of the 10 AEF units have been deployed in the EAF program’s first 15-month cycle. Aircraft and personnel from Misawa’s 35th Fighter Wing and the 18th Fighter Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, are currently supporting ongoing contingencies such as Operation Southern Watch patrols over Iraq’s no-fly zones.
Renuart calls the EAF rotations a qualified success.
"Qualified, because we are still really working out the very significant details that it takes to make this work smoothly," he said.
Lessons learned from initial AEF deployments, he said, are expected to benefit succeeding rotations.
One goal of the EAF — improving servicemembers’ quality of life — is paying off, Renuart said.
"People now have the ability to see into the future and know that during a certain window, they are committed to one of the contingency areas," he said. "They can plan leaves, family activities and schooling that were so difficult prior to EAF."
The vice commander of Misawa’s 35th Fighter Wing, whose 14th Fighter Squadron recently returned from an Operation Southern Watch deployment under AEF-5, said the concept is a great planning tool that allows commanders to predict upcoming deployments.
"After just one rotation of AEF-5, it is hard to tell how it will affect our ops tempo (at Misawa)," said Col. Jeff Blanchette. "We are hopeful that over time, it will give (us) stability."
While the EAF concept has helped improve quality of life for people before and after they deploy, quality-of-life improvements are abundant at the deployed locations, as well.
"The quality of life across the theater has made great strides," Renaurt said. "The dorms at Prince Sultan Air Base (Saudi Arabia) are the keystone of great quality of life."
There also is an expansion planned for the fitness center facilities and theater at Prince Sultan, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg, the general said.
"At Al-Jaber Air Base, we’re making great progress in moving everyone out of tents. We’ll begin construction in Ali Al-Salem in the next few months that will also move people out of tents," he said. "At our three major locations, we’ll be making tents a memory and not a reality."
Despite the changes to the numbers of people deploying to or living in Southwest Asia, the Air Force’s mission remains.
"While Saddam (Hussein) has not been going through the large scale threats to Kuwait or other nations in the region, he continues to be aggressive, challenges us in the no-fly zone and continues to publicly declare that he will shoot down a coalition aircraft," Renaurt said.
Air Force news service provided information for this article.
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