General Carlson reports on AFMC's contributions in Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher Frost
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, NEW MEXICO --  In the thick of rocket propelled grenades, mortars and small-arms fire in a battle, the last thing on a combat controller's mind would be thanking Air Force Materiel Command for the weapons the controller is about to employ.

Using better intelligence offered by AFMC's advancements, the controller can be sure that the position he's about to relay the coordinates for is, indeed, a hostile position. After delivering coordinates to the F-15E Strike Eagle, he can wipe the sweat from his brow knowing that the smaller blast radius of the new small diameter bomb on its way doesn't have a chance of harming friendly troops in the area.

This example offers a glimpse into what AFMC has brought into the Global War on Terror in the past five years.

Gen. Bruce Carlson, AFMC commander, having recently returned from a January visit to Southwest Asia, was able to witness first-hand the impact that the command has in the war on terror. He shared some thoughts during his Feb. 21 visit here.

"Technological improvements over the last five years have changed the way that we fight this war," said General Carlson. "We don't drop weapons unless they're precision weapons anymore, and we do very little without precision intelligence."

The improvements range from the small diameter bomb, to improved intelligence gathering, to enhanced data links that are used to get that intelligence to the people who need it faster, said General Carlson.

Another improvement in the past years has been the use of precision airlift. General Carlson said that in the past, an area as large as a parking lot would be targeted as a drop site. Now, aircrews have the ability to make a drop on a car within that parking lot.

"If you're sitting on top of a mountain that's only 30 yards across, and it's a 60 degree decline ... if you just miss by just 20 feet, accurate delivery means an awful lot," the general said.

Viewing the equipment that AFMC has brought to the fight and talking to the Airmen who field it every day was one of the reasons General Carlson visited Southwest Asia.

"I think it's unanimous that they like it," he said. "I didn't run into a dissatisfied customer."

The general also received feedback on what could be improved upon, which was another reason for his visit.

"I ran into people who had input for me on things we could do better," said General Carlson. "Normally it's things we could work together on to do better. I thought it was a great dialogue."

Aside from the technological advancements AFMC brings to the war, General Carlson also said that the Airmen the command brings to the fight are just as important. Many Airmen are performing "in-lieu of" work for the Army, such as intelligence analysis, driving trucks, arming .50 caliber machine guns and performing explosive ordnance disposal work.

"However, the most impressive thing was seeing young Airmen at work doing what we trained them to do," said General Carlson.

He was not alone in terms of being impressed by the Airmen from AFMC.

"The unanimous feedback I got from Army and Air Force commanders was 'Your people are doing great, they're superbly trained. We love them. Send more just like them,'" said the general.