Advanced Study of Air Mobility teaches students logistics under fire

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Daniel Asselta
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  

The Advanced Study of Air Mobility class executed the Kingfish Agile Combat Employment (ACE) exercise for the first time on April 28th and 29th at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.


The exercise centers around hypothetical scenarios set in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility where players are tasked with employing forces to generate air power while overcoming various obstacles, challenges, and limiting factors. Kingfish ACE is now a part of the capstone for students to complete the course.


“Historically, ASAM has done a phenomenal job teaching its students commercial logistics theory,” said Lt. Col. Sean McConville, assistant professor of logistics and supply chain management.”


“We haven’t done as well of a job in showing how this theory can be applied to military logistics networks. Kingfish ACE is the perfect medium for bridging this divide; it gives our students the opportunity to see how supply chain principles like capacity constraints, supply chain resiliency, and communication are important in military logistics networks.”  


McConville also noted that using Kingfish ACE as a training exercise compels students to become more comfortable with the concept of risk, particularly in the context of a potential conflict within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. It challenges them to recognize and articulate risk when they encounter it, and to make informed decisions about when and how to accept risk in order to accomplish the mission.


Air Force officers assigned to the ASAM program come from a variety of career fields including aircraft maintenance, logistics, and air mobility pilots. 


“One of the highlights of ASAM is that it brings pilots, logisticians, maintenance and cyber officers together” McConville said. “Kingfish ACE, by its nature, forces organizational crosstalk. I’ve seen the value of this in real-life: I spent a year working in AFCENT with some extraordinarily gifted logisticians and maintainers. The organizational exchange between ops and these specialties is what enabled our operational success.”


Graduates bring back lessons learned to their units to train them and increase efficiency, lethality and to prepare for future competition with adversaries. 


“Launching this exercise in the ASAM program was a combined effort between the 305th OSS, 621st CRS and Expeditionary Center Rapid Global Mobility Course who all contributed facilitators.”


The class also focused on how its execution of Kingfish ACE might improve future ASAM classes.


“When I return to my career field I would like to include more tankers in future iterations, not just because I am a tanker pilot by trade, but because they project air power forward,” said Maj. John Della Pia, ASAM student. With the shift to Mission-Ready Airmen, fifth generation fighter aircraft, and joint personnel, ACE operations will disrupt our adversaries’ decision-making processes.”


The Advanced Study of Air Mobility (ASAM) is Air Mobility Command’s (AMC) premiere, in-residence intermediate developmental education (IDE) program. During this one-year program, the students complete a graduate research project, accomplish 49 hours of coursework, and tour infrastructure associated with military and civilian logistics networks. At its completion, ASAM students graduate with Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) credit, and a Master of Science degree in Operations Management.