Civic leaders see deployed Airmen in action

  • Published
  • By Derek Kaufman
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
A Dayton region economic development official was among 15 civic leaders from across America who recently participated in a nine-day trip to the U.S. Central Command theater to observe Air Force combat operations.

JP Nauseef, president and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, visited the Combined Air Operations Center to see how air and space assets are assigned and missions are executed for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.

The group observed live mission video from unmanned MQ-1 Predator aircraft and the return of a Global Hawk from a long-endurance surveillance mission. They experienced the targeting process first-hand, along with how Airmen direct the movement of people and cargo for all military services throughout the theater. 

Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff, invited the small group on the trip to enhance their understanding of Air Force contributions to the Global War on Terrorism. 

Nauseef said he was honored to have been selected and privileged to see many of the weapon systems developed, acquired and managed by Air Force Research Laboratory and Aeronautical Systems Center people at Wright-Patt actually in use supporting joint warfighters. He added the trip left many lasting impressions on him.

"We met a lot of highly motivated people who took care of each other," Nauseef said.  "Every single one of them had a positive, can-do attitude. They were proud of what they doing and they believed what they were doing was making a difference.

"It was really interesting seeing the capabilities that we hear about at Wright-Patterson," Nauseef said. "You can talk about technologies - like real-time full motion video, sensors, targeting pods - but until you see these things in action and how they are employed to help protect troops on the ground and to find the bad guys...it's a tough story to communicate."

Seeing the direct connect between technology development and the fusion of all of those things in the CAOC to save lives and prosecute the war was "incredible," he added.

Another personal highlight was meeting Airmen at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan deployed from Air Force Institute of Technology and the 88th Security Forces Squadron at Wright-Patterson.

"The Air Force is clearly in the fight in a significant and meaningful way - more than people back home realize."

Seeing advances in aeromedical evacuation support for injured troops was one example, Nauseef said. He called his meeting with combat wounded troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, including soldiers from the U.S. and Poland, both humbling and inspiring.

Nauseef acknowledged the trip also reinforced in his mind that the Air Force must invest to maintain its technological advantage and replace aging systems. During the trip, a crash of an F-15 Eagle in Missouri due to a suspected structural failure resulted in the stand down of the fighter fleet, including those under CENTCOM's operational control.

"I definitely walked away from this trip thinking we need to recapitalize the Air Force," he said.