Beyond Contingency Response Groups

The United States Air Force (USAF) maintains systems, plans and trains personnel to perform air traffic control (ATC) in contingency and wartime environments, as well as conducting day-to-day operations at USAF and Air National Guard (ANG) bases around the world. This paper focuses on the ability to deploy ATC and operate within a Theater Air Control System (TACS). Stovepipes exist between ATC and other elements of the TACS that marginalize overall effectiveness. Twice during the 1990’s the USAF attempted to combine the weapons control (the primary command and control (C2) operators in the TACS) and ATC career fields to gain manpower efficiency. These initiatives were seeking an answer to the wrong question. Iraq’s asymmetric battlefield clearly identified the lack of ATC/TACS integration. Seams in tactics, training, procedures (TTP), and equipment create confusion during flight operations. Pilots and controllers highlighting dangers have filed numerous Hazardous Air Traffic Reports (HATR) describing near mid-air collisions. Airmen in both career fields are working diligently to narrow the seams and improve flight safety.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.