Cnth/nthXYZ, TACS, and Air Battle Management: The Search for Operational Doctrine

摘要

The Air Force recently changed my 'command and control operations' career field to 'air battle management.' What does it mean to 'manage' an air battle. Does air battle management describe a product, a process, an organizational structure, some combination of each, or something entirely different. As the prospective commander of the 'schoolhouse' that trains air battle managers, I had the harrowing thought that some second lieutenant might, with all sincerity, ask me, 'I still don't understand, sir. What do we do.' At the tactical level, my answer would be straightforward -- largely junior officer tasks. However, most air battle managers support the joint force air component commander (JFACC) at the operational level of air warfare, where things can be much more murky. Air battle managers work at the interface of the tactical and operational levels of war where the JFACC's intent is translated through tactical action into results that achieve the joint force commander's (JFC) objectives. Specifically, the air battle manager does the following: (1) 'plans' implementation of the JFACC's intent as a part of the commander's estimate of the situation planning process; (2) 'directs' air tasking order execution and makes changes during the air battle through real-time decisions to adapt air function execution to the changing air battle situation; and (3) 'controls' execution of combat operations as an operational-level extension of the JFACC's authority to ensure the tactical action results achieve the joint force commander's theater objectives. The air battle manager accomplishes these operational tasks through the capabilities of intelligence, communications, surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistics systems, and 'manages' those parts of the TACCS architecture assigned to his or her responsibility.