C2 Battle Management Operations specialists safeguard nation’s skies

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Luther Mitchell
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs

Command and Control Battle Management Systems are responsible for many functional areas and play an important role in Devil Raiders executing contingency operations. They include surveillance operations, radar control, air weapons monitoring, airlift planning and data management.

Airmen from the 621st Air Mobility Operations Squadron manage these systems within the wing. Their primary job is integrating the Air Tasking Order, which is a tool used to efficiently and effectively plan, organize and direct air operations through centralized planning.

“As ATO integrators, we are the Mobility Air Force’s functional experts for integrating the air mobility plan into the Theater Battle Management Control System,” said Master Sgt. Michael Russell, 621st AMOS ATO integrator. “We ensure airlift missions are integrated into the ATO and continually import external airlift missions throughout the ATO cycles.”

At the 621st AMOS, the majority of C2 Battle Management Operations specialists’ time is spent planning and executing training missions in preparation for real-world contingencies.

“We maintain proficiency by conducting training scenarios utilizing our most prized possession, the AOC Falconer Weapons System, a system that provides us with the same tools and equipment located at a functional or geographic Air Operations Center,” Russell said.

The Air Operations Center Weapon System is the senior command and control element of the U.S. Air Force’s Theater Air Control System and provides operational-level command and control of air, space, and cyberspace operations, as well as joint and combined air, space and cyberspace operations.

As an ATO integrator, Russell is responsible for establishing operational connectivity between these systems, as well as database management. Planning data includes call-words, call-numbers, tactical information, base locations, airframes, controlling agencies, and data needed to ensure mission effectiveness and safety of flight in a contested battlespace.

C2BMOs were important to the success of Exercise Mobility Guardian 2019 and winning Air Force- and Major Command-level awards.

“The AMOS enterprise is the only unit that possesses this unique capability within AMC,” Russell said. “We only have four positions, two C2BMOs per coast and are the only 1C5X1s on each base.”

The C2BMO career field is multifaceted and is essential to the success of the CRW mission.

“The CRW mission is to direct and project multi-domain C2, anytime … anywhere,” said Tech. Sgt. Aqueelah Carter, 621st AMOS ATO integrator. “We are literally the cornerstone of what the CRW is delivering in response to military contingency operations worldwide: tactical, capable, highly adaptable warfighters who can plan for the fight or direct it from the ground up if need be.”