Subject Matter Experts (SME) gathered at the JALLC from 06 to 08 August to take part in an Air-Land Integration (ALI) Workshop in support of a study currently being conducted by the JALLC into the current NATO Tactical Air Command and Control (TacAirC2) Model and how it could be optimized in a Major Joint Operation Plus (MJO+) scenario to enable effective dynamic ALI.
In total, 21 SMEs participated in the Workshop who came from HQs from across the NATO Command Structure, the NATO Force Structure, and from National entities such as the US 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment (19th BCD), the US 4th Air Support Operations Group, and the UK Air Support Operations Squadron (UK ASOS). The principal aim of the Workshop was to provide a forum for SMEs to discuss the current challenges associated with NATO TacAirC2, receive briefings on how Nations conduct TacAirC2, and discuss potential options and risks associated with conducting effective TacAirC2 in an MJO+ scenario.
The Workshop was spread over two and half days. The first day was dedicated to a series of briefings that included a presentation by a representative from HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) to outline the background to the study. A representative from Allied Air Command provided its perspective on the topic, and briefings were also provided by representatives from the 19th BCD and UK ASOS on how they conduct TacAirC2 in their respective Nations. Additionally, a representative from the Deployed Air Command and Control Centre (DACCC) provided a brief on Exercise EAGLE METEOR 2019 which, later this year, will be a data collection venue for this JALLC study.
The second day was dedicated to syndicate work. Attendees were split into two groups for two separate syndicate sessions dedicated to developing three outputs: first, the projected Air-Land structure in an MJO+ scenario with their respective liaison and command elements; second, the creation of Business Process Models to capture the current and future air support request processes; and third, potential options to enable dynamic ALI. The third day focused on consolidation of the previous days’ discussions and agreement on how the JALLC could take the project forward in terms of further data collection opportunities.