COMUSAFE checks out air ops progress downrange

  • Published
  • By Capt. Elizabeth Culbertson
  • U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe visited bases in three countries July 4-7 to view progress made on Alliance/coalition command and control and force integration since his previous visits in February and May.

Gen. Tom Hobbins traveled to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan; Kabul, Afghanistan and Al-Udeid AB, Qatar, with Chief Master Sgt. Gary Coleman, USAFE command chief, and USAFE Band "Direct Hit" during the trip, visiting with deployed troops, touring facilities and meeting with NATO officials.

The general, who is also the commander of Allied Air Component Command Ramstein, said he wanted to look at the International Security Assistance Force from a C2 standpoint.

"One purpose of the trip was to see the progress that [ISAF] is making toward the transition when NATO will take over the efforts in the southeastern part of Afghanistan, the Kandahar area," he said.

Meeting senior ISAF and coalition leadership, including Maj. Gen. Hans Werner Ahrens, Deputy Commander Air, and Brig. Gen. William Chambers, Deputy Commanding General, CFC-A, as well as ISAF personnel, in Afghanistan was also a priority for the general.

"There were old and new personalities in ISAF that I wanted to meet. At Kabul and Al-Udeid, it was important for me to hear their view of what the progress has been so far and where there needs to be improvement," said the general. "I would say also we had not previously spent a lot of time at Kabul International Airport, so I had an opportunity to go around and meet the various coalition elements, specifically the Romanians, who are running the operation there of 1,400 people with a very small number of personnel, but yet the operation is very successful and they're able to manage the airfield as the flow of traffic is increasing every day."

ISAF personnel are also contributing to the fight at Al-Udeid, said the general.

"The Combined Air Operations Center in Al-Udeid now has ISAF personnel permanently manning it, so it was my opportunity during that leg of the trip to visit with those personnel and get their feedback as to how well they are embedded into the CAOC structure as they work on the ISAF portion, the portion that's so important to our stabilization efforts in Afghanistan," he said.

The general said ISAF had made progress since his last visit.

"I see an improvement in the information technology use. I see automation in some areas. I see improvements in the C2 networking with towers across the country, cutting down some of the holes in coverage with communication systems that should facilitate talking to the provincial reconstruction teams," he said.

General Hobbins also noticed process improvements at Al-Udeid.

"Flying with the C-130 crews, I learned a lot and was also able to get feedback on some of their problems. When I went to the CAOC, I was able to go to the appropriate agencies and say, 'What are we doing to fix these issues?' There were four to five areas that needed attention, and I was pleased to find that all of them had already been recognized and were under some state of repair when I got there."

"There is a lot more reliance...on the way we support our Army, Navy and Marine Corps brethren on the ground in disparate locations in Afghanistan that need resupply," said General Hobbins.

The CAOC director said it was beneficial for General Hobbins to view the coalition concerns firsthand.

"One of the major, crucial issues for us at the moment is ISAF transition in Afghanistan and having this level of visibility, straight from the 4-star, taking the trouble to come out here to visit us, is simply awesome," said Air Commodore Mark Swan. “He's now seeing the issues that would normally just go to him on paper. I think it's wonderful and I'm really pleased that he's taken the trouble to come see us, so we can show him where the issues are and we know that he'll work them from both sides and we'll get much quicker resolution."

The trip also marked the general's first visit to Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan in Kabul, which is working to establish an enduring Afghan security structure and to set the conditions for long-term stability.

"The purpose of the visit is to help show General Hobbins the role of Airmen in this command and some of the challenges we have on the battlefield here in Afghanistan," said General Chambers.

"CFC-A was an opportunity to see the leadership there, walk around and see some of the people that are engaged, see their headquarters and what they have to do to work between Kabul International Airport, ISAF and CFC-A," said General Hobbins.

The USAFE band, which played at Kabul and Al-Udeid, met with enthusiastic audience response.

"Bringing a little taste of America to these locations means a lot to our people because we're the United States Air Force and it demonstrates that we do care for our people," said General Hobbins.