Skitterpop
05-11-2006, 07:17 AM
Wonder if they will let me use this to track #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&, Clammer, and Steve ?
May 11, 2006
Remote intel unit functions as 'eyes in sky'
By AMANDA LEHMERT
and KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
From thousands of miles away, airmen watch the action in enemy territory through real-time satellite images from overseas.
They identify the bad guys on rooftops. They find the weapons caches. And soon they'll be working right here in Massachusetts.
This week, the Air Force announced the Massachusetts National Guard will be the latest state militia to get more than 200 remote intelligence jobs as part of the latest base realignment.
But on Otis Air National Guard Base, the Cape base that is losing its F-15 fighter jets and the jobs that go along with them, uncertainty remains.
The new Distributed Ground Station unit will replace some of the positions lost when Otis' fighter jets are moved to an air base in Westfield, but state Guard leaders have not said whether the new unit will actually be located at Otis.
''We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of the (base realignment and closure) announcement, and the Guard Bureau hasn't told us anything,'' said Dennis Mills of East Sandwich, a crew chief at the 102nd Fighter Wing and chief steward for the Local 3004 chapter American Federation of Government Employees.
''The politicians say, 'Look at the jobs we're bringing in.' But what does it mean?'' he said. ''I already have a job. Are you going to help me sell my house? Will you pay me more to commute?''
First step for Air Guard
For now, though, state and federal leaders say the intelligence mission is a first step in staking out a modern mission for the state Air Guard.
Distributed Ground Stations are part of the 21st-century Air Force, which will have fewer fighters - like the aging F-15s used at Otis - and new missions.
The 480th Intelligence Wing, headquartered at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, has Distributed Ground Station units at Langley, Beale Air Force Base in California, and in Hawaii, Germany and Korea. Soon, Air National Guard units in Kansas and Nevada will work on missions with their active-duty Air Force counterparts in Virginia and California.
About 1,400 Air Force personnel nationwide are involved in the round-the-clock mission.
A Distributed Ground Station is essentially an office full of computers linked to satellites, according to 480th spokeswoman Tech. Sgt. Marina Evans. Airmen receive digital images collected by reconnaissance planes and flying unmanned vehicles, such at the Predator, anywhere in the world.
The Air Force members decipher the real-time images to identify insurgents or other obstacles for military units on the ground. They then communicate the data to the troops in the field, or to commanders who can order remotely operated air vehicles to attack targets.
''We become their eyes in the skies to let them know what is going on around them,'' said Col. Michael Archuleta, 497th Intelligence Group commander.
Last year, the Langley ground station helped overseas forces capture six enemy mortar teams and 26 insurgent facilities, and also identified weapons caches, Evans said.
The group provided information about the enemy during more than 300 skirmishes last year, Archuleta said.
They can also review images from areas after airstrikes or other conflicts to survey damage.
Adjutant general decides
While the National Guard Bureau and the Air Force will have a say where the new unit should be located,the decision is ultimately up to Massachusetts Adjutant General Oliver Mason, said state Guard spokesman Maj. Winfield Danielson.
For the time being, Guard leaders say there are no plans to put a new flying mission at Otis to replace the fighter jets.
And since the Air Guard currently runs the airfield, which is a $17 million operation, the shake-up still leaves questions on how it will affect the other tenants of the airstrip - the Army National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Military and political leaders said there is still a chance for other new missions to move to Massachusetts as the Air Force continues its efforts to restructure itself.
''We have not completely bought off on one idea, even to move the jets,'' said Mark Forest, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., whose district includes the Cape.
''The only way this is going to make sense to anybody is to see the whole package.'' Any local Guard members who join the new unit will have to undergo specialized training for the new mission, which is expected to be in place in about two years.
May 11, 2006
Remote intel unit functions as 'eyes in sky'
By AMANDA LEHMERT
and KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
From thousands of miles away, airmen watch the action in enemy territory through real-time satellite images from overseas.
They identify the bad guys on rooftops. They find the weapons caches. And soon they'll be working right here in Massachusetts.
This week, the Air Force announced the Massachusetts National Guard will be the latest state militia to get more than 200 remote intelligence jobs as part of the latest base realignment.
But on Otis Air National Guard Base, the Cape base that is losing its F-15 fighter jets and the jobs that go along with them, uncertainty remains.
The new Distributed Ground Station unit will replace some of the positions lost when Otis' fighter jets are moved to an air base in Westfield, but state Guard leaders have not said whether the new unit will actually be located at Otis.
''We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of the (base realignment and closure) announcement, and the Guard Bureau hasn't told us anything,'' said Dennis Mills of East Sandwich, a crew chief at the 102nd Fighter Wing and chief steward for the Local 3004 chapter American Federation of Government Employees.
''The politicians say, 'Look at the jobs we're bringing in.' But what does it mean?'' he said. ''I already have a job. Are you going to help me sell my house? Will you pay me more to commute?''
First step for Air Guard
For now, though, state and federal leaders say the intelligence mission is a first step in staking out a modern mission for the state Air Guard.
Distributed Ground Stations are part of the 21st-century Air Force, which will have fewer fighters - like the aging F-15s used at Otis - and new missions.
The 480th Intelligence Wing, headquartered at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, has Distributed Ground Station units at Langley, Beale Air Force Base in California, and in Hawaii, Germany and Korea. Soon, Air National Guard units in Kansas and Nevada will work on missions with their active-duty Air Force counterparts in Virginia and California.
About 1,400 Air Force personnel nationwide are involved in the round-the-clock mission.
A Distributed Ground Station is essentially an office full of computers linked to satellites, according to 480th spokeswoman Tech. Sgt. Marina Evans. Airmen receive digital images collected by reconnaissance planes and flying unmanned vehicles, such at the Predator, anywhere in the world.
The Air Force members decipher the real-time images to identify insurgents or other obstacles for military units on the ground. They then communicate the data to the troops in the field, or to commanders who can order remotely operated air vehicles to attack targets.
''We become their eyes in the skies to let them know what is going on around them,'' said Col. Michael Archuleta, 497th Intelligence Group commander.
Last year, the Langley ground station helped overseas forces capture six enemy mortar teams and 26 insurgent facilities, and also identified weapons caches, Evans said.
The group provided information about the enemy during more than 300 skirmishes last year, Archuleta said.
They can also review images from areas after airstrikes or other conflicts to survey damage.
Adjutant general decides
While the National Guard Bureau and the Air Force will have a say where the new unit should be located,the decision is ultimately up to Massachusetts Adjutant General Oliver Mason, said state Guard spokesman Maj. Winfield Danielson.
For the time being, Guard leaders say there are no plans to put a new flying mission at Otis to replace the fighter jets.
And since the Air Guard currently runs the airfield, which is a $17 million operation, the shake-up still leaves questions on how it will affect the other tenants of the airstrip - the Army National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Military and political leaders said there is still a chance for other new missions to move to Massachusetts as the Air Force continues its efforts to restructure itself.
''We have not completely bought off on one idea, even to move the jets,'' said Mark Forest, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., whose district includes the Cape.
''The only way this is going to make sense to anybody is to see the whole package.'' Any local Guard members who join the new unit will have to undergo specialized training for the new mission, which is expected to be in place in about two years.