Organizing and Training Airfield Operations Capabilities for Emerging Expeditionary Operations: Potential Courses of Action

Abstract

Additional information about PAF is available on our website: www.rand.org/paf/ This report documents work originally shared with the DAF on September 30, 2021. The draft report, issued on September 30, 2021, was reviewed by formal peer reviewers and DAF subject-matter experts. and leads for data and documents. In addition, he invited our research team to participate in the October 2020 Airfield Operations Executive Council meeting and in the ongoing Airfield Operations Vision and Bridging strategy working groups, which gave us important insights into the challenges faced by the Airfield Operations community. Numerous individuals from Headquarters Air Force, combatant commands, major commands, the Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, and other organizations were very generous with their time by granting interviews and providing data and documents. The project would not have been possible without their assistance.We thank RAND colleague Pat Mills, who served as a project advisor, and Barbara Bicksler, who was our communications analyst. Their feedback and advice on improving the presentation of the report was invaluable. v Summary IssueAirfield operations (AO) officer and enlisted career fields provide air traffic control; airfield management; and radar, airfield, and weather systems services for the U.S. Air Force (USAF), in-garrison and deployed, during peacetime and contingencies. The AO community faces three challenges in adjusting to a new strategic environment. First is the introduction of the Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) concept involving a transition from centralized, unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient, adaptive basing, which could increase the demands for AO services. Second, the USAF is developing force employment ideas that are grouped under the term Agile Combat Employment (ACE), which will involve quickly dispersing and clustering forces at different locations in a way that will allow the United States to increase the survivability of its forces. 2 Finally, to reduce the strain and prepare to respond to near-peer adversaries while incorporating DFE and ACE concepts, the USAF is implementing a new Air Force Force Generation approach (AFFORGEN).As these concepts mature and evolve, it is important for the USAF to determine whether the demands for AO in a changing strategic environment can be satisfied. The objective of this project is to identify ways to enhance the ability of the AO career fields to respond to the needs created by the DFE concept and the USAF implementation of ACE. ApproachThe research team on this project used three research streams. A review of USAF and joint documents related to the AO career fields provided background for AO doctrine and missions. Interviews, informal discussions, and other interactions with a variety of subject-matter experts illuminated current challenges for accomplishing AO missions and highlighted the potential impact of new demands on AO that could result from DFE and ACE approaches. Finally, using AO personnel data and current ...