Inaugural ASOC course grads first students Published April 22, 2008 By Staff Sgt. Jacob R. McCarthy Nellis AFB Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Eleven student Airmen walked as the inaugural graduating class from the Air Support Operations Center Initial Qualification Course at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center - Nellis April 18. Brig. Gen. Michael A. Longoria, 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing commander, was on hand to present graduates their basic qualification certificates and challenge coins during a ceremony in the COAC-N auditorium. The ASOC course gives students a three-week, hands-on experience of how to start integrating Army ground and Air Force air operations into a cohesive weapon system. Col. Patrick Raglow, 505th Operations Group commander, and General Longoria both spoke to those in attendance about the importance and the future of what the graduating Airmen represent to the ASOC mission. Integrating Air Force and Army systems to get the right air to the right place at the right time is the most applicable task being brought to the fight, said honor graduate, Airman 1st Class Jacob Rankin, 712th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Hood, Texas. "There's no better way to learn than by actually doing." "Air-to-ground operations are rapidly moving from analog to digital systems," said General Longoria. "We're trying to bring the cockpit and the foxhole closer together through a networked system." The process to bring the ASOC course online began six years ago, but due to budget limitations and ongoing operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, the ASOC course was simply put on hold. The inaugural ASOC course began March 31. Students in the ASOC course are trained in three specific areas to include academics, command and control systems, and a week-long practical exercise, all designed in a crawl, walk, run format. The training helps to standardize how ASOC's around the world operate, said General Longoria. Before the ASOC course, Airmen would be pulled from other specialties and go through on-the-job training. This new ASOC training is an institutional way to go about it, said the general. "We need very specialized people on the ground to direct and control the Air Force's attack capabilities," said General Longoria. The Air Force's ability to provide strategic situational awareness and real-time air support to ground forces will always be important, said General Longoria. The unique aspect ASOC's bring to air-to-ground operations is being that translator for the services out on the battlefield. "When you add the Airmen ingredient to the Soldier, Sailor and Marine, it's a fantastic, winning combination," the general said. The ceremony concluded when General Longoria and Colonel Raglow recognized each student individually with a graduation certificate and General Longoria's personal 93rd AGOW challenge coin.
