LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- The 61st Airlift Squadron concluded a weeklong, organically generated exercise, Feb. 20, demonstrating the effectiveness of Agile Combat Employment (ACE) tactics, techniques and procedures focused on Mobility Air Force and Combat Air Force integration.
The off-station training, dubbed the Catalina Weapons Mixer, sought to integrate operations between three C-130J Super Hercules and six A-10 Thunderbolt IIs assigned to the 354th Fighter Squadron, from Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
Spanning three states, seven military installations, and units from Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, the joint exercise validated the ability of a small package of C-130Js to operate effectively in support of multiple joint users with little to no overhead.
Capt. Trevor Cutler, 61st AS pilot and one of the lead planners for the exercise, said one of the overarching objectives of the Catalina Weapons Mixer was to move past simulating ACE tactics, and instead use the exercise as a venue for real-world experimentation and evaluation.
“The biggest goal of the OST was to plan and execute TTPs in line with the 2018 National Defense Strategy and to answer our Chief of Staff’s charge to accelerate change,” he said. “As a result, the OST fell into two general lines of effort: refining ACE tactics, techniques, and procedures and executing core Herk competencies in unfamiliar ways.”
As units across the Air Force continue to develop and refine what ACE looks like for their particular mission-set, the 19th Airlift Wing has aggressively pursued operational experimentation to inform emerging concepts of employment, and where the C-130 platform fits within this larger Air Force picture.
“In order to reduce the Air Force’s dependence on large overseas bases, we need to present decision-makers with credible capabilities, and the entire force must become more nimble,” Cutler said. “The C-130J is perfectly positioned geographically, technically and culturally to help lead the force in this transition.”
Of note, refueling operations under the ACE construct was a core tactic the OST sought to further evaluate.
During this exercise, a C-130J wet-wing defueled 24,000 pounds of fuel into an R-11 truck which then refueled two A-10s on the ramp at a Strategic Expeditionary Landing Field (SELF), marking the first time an AMC aircraft conducted actual fueling support of CAF via this TTP.
“This is something that has been discussed as a hypothetical capability, but to our knowledge hadn’t actually been done before,” said Capt. Alexander Humphrey, 61st AS pilot and lead planner for the exercise. “Conducting the fuel transfer highlighted some limitations of the capability, and identified the fine-tuning we will need to execute this in an operational environment.”
According to Cutler, utilizing this training venue to enhance familiarity and integration of MAF and CAF assets was also a principal objective of the OST.
This included a mission of flying two C-130Js and two A-10s along a low-level route to a simulated emergency Low-Cost, Low-Altitude drop, honing air escort skills for both units.
“In the C-130J, we are very good at what we do while deployed and at retaining the ability to support the Army in mass airdrops or airland movements,” Cutler said. “But if we are to remain flexible and resilient in future conflicts, we need be able to work with every imaginable user in the Air Force.
“We need to train to what’s unfamiliar in an efficient way to push the boundaries of our comfort zone and learn lessons that are applicable in a wide range of scenarios,” he added.
Primarily basing operations out of Naval Air Station North Island, California, the support provided by the 61st AS to the 354th FS enabled the A-10s to also participate in Winter Fury ‘21, a U.S. Marine Corps exercise at the Marine Corps Air Ground Center at Twentynine Palms, California.
Moreover, the C-130Js provided agile combat airlift throughout the USMC exercise, positioning, de-positioning, and conducting training with the 5/11 Marines out of Camp Pendleton, California, executing two lifts of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) for simulated fires.
“Marines do business differently than soldiers or Airmen, and learning how to plan directly with CAF users without a central planning agency like TACC [Tanker Airlift Control Center] or an AMD [Air Mobility Division] is really valuable,” Cutler said. “Time and resources are finite in the military and across the government, so we need to be able to integrate effectively with users across the joint force and with a warrior’s mindset.”
In order for ACE to work, the service must rethink the way it operates. Traditionally, Airmen have a single Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) and perform only those tasks and functions defined by that AFSC. With ACE, however, Airmen must be ready and able to perform other tasks as well.
This means small teams of Airmen must become “multi-capable,” which demands flexibility and change.
In total, the OST brought together 25 personnel, across a myriad of AFSCs within the 19th Airlift Wing, to assess the Multi-Capable Airmen concept.
“The team we brought from Little Rock was able to identify creative solutions to problems we faced in the field,” said Cutler. “By the end of the exercise, we had loadmasters engaging with maintenance to load plan without an MPC [Mission Planning Cell] or AMD. We had USMC personnel support Little Rock LRS [Logistics Readiness Squadron] in ensuring the R-11 fuel truck we brought with us was air-worthy to fly home.”
Cutler added that many jobs within the Air Force are “siloed,” meaning that the service by-in-large needs to better grasp the responsibilities or aims of the different specialties.
“We need to develop a greater degree of awareness if we are to become the Multi-Capable Airmen the CSAF and AMC commander have talked about,” he said. “Our training sought to embrace that ethos, and even when we faced difficulties, we learned an incredible amount both personally and institutionally.”
What this particular OST proved was that the C-130J provides significant operational capabilities that translate directly into increased combat effectiveness.
“C-130Js are one of only a handful of aircraft across the Department of Defense that are solely dedicated to the tactical airlift mission,” said Humphrey. “Stepping away from our traditional role of supporting the Army to more deeply integrate with the CAF and USMC demonstrates how flexible our community is in terms of both what we can do and who we can integrate with as fellow joint warfighters.”