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EBBING AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ark - Maj. Gen. John N.T. "Jack" Shanahan, commander of the 25th Air Force, based at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, visited Airmen at the 188th Wing, Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Dec. 11.
Upon arrival at the Fort Smith Regional Airport, Shanahan was greeted by 188th Wing leaders and shuttled to Ebbing ANG Base. While on base, Col. Mark W. Anderson, commander of the 188th Wing, briefed the 25th Air Force commander on the new 188th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group under the wing as well as the wing's additional capabilities.
The 25th Air Force, which was redesignated Sept. 29 from its former nomenclature Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, still focuses on ISR mission sets. Shanahan was briefed on myriad synergies that the 188th is focused on achieving with its remotely piloted aircraft, ISR and space-focused targeting mission sets all operating in the same building on the same operations floor.
"The 188th is certainly on the right path for success," Shanahan said. "The possibilities are endless on what they will be able to do. Their future is extremely bright and I am very proud of what the unit is doing now and I can't wait to see where they are in 18 to 24 months."
After the missions brief, the distinguished guest ventured on a base tour in which he viewed rapid engineer deployable heavy operational repair squadron engineer equipment and observed the new facilities that will house the 188th's new ISR mission.
Shanahan later ate lunch with a group of 188th superior performers who have recently won major awards or logged significant achievements during their military careers or in their respective communities.
Following lunch, Shanahan and 188th senior leadership boarded a UH-60 Black Hawk from the Arkansas Army National Guard's 77th Theater Aviation Brigade to take an aerial tour of Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center and 188th Wing Detachment 1 Razorback Range. The team from Razorback Range showcased the air space, close range proximity, Special Operations partnerships, remote air, zonal operations, reach back-processing assessment and dissemination, a joint terminal attack controller simulation and a briefing from Maj. Doug Davis, Det. 1 commander.
The RAZORback PAD, a mobile asset of the 188th Wing's 123rd Intelligence Squadron, was a key stop during the tour of the range. The PAD provides a unique domestic operations capability by linking real-time data from aerial assets and converting it to valuable information and video on the ground. Lakotas, also from the 77th TAB, based at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, North Little Rock, Arkansas, provided downlink footage, from Fort Chaffee, that Shanahan viewed from the PAD, which was stationed at Razorback Range for the capabilities demonstration.
Once the range tour concluded, Shanahan loaded back onto a Black Hawk and flew back to Ebbing ANG Base. Shanahan completed his visit by sitting down with 188th leadership and Fort Smith city officials to discuss the Flying Razorbacks' vast community support.
"Our objective at the 188th is to create an ISR Center of Excellence," Anderson said. "By having the distributed ground station, targeting and RPA on the same mission floor, the 188th will be on the forefront of the Air Force ISR mission. With these unique synergies, we will be able to establish cutting-edge new tactics, techniques and procedures that will make the ANG and the Air Force a much more effective tool to commanders and decision makers so they have the best chance to counter our nation's threats. We still have a lot of work to do but I have full confidence the 188th can attain those goals."
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 02.07.2015 12:34 |
| Story ID: | 153904 |
| Location: | EBBING AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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