The 505th Command and Control Wing supported the U.S. Army’s Mission Command Training Program in its fourth and final Army Warfighter Exercise of the fiscal year.

Despite multiple significant global events, the U.S. Air Force team led by 505th Command and Control Wing, Detachment 1 based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with support from the 505th Combat Training Squadron and 505th Communications Squadron based at Hurlburt Field, Florida,  delivered a doctrinally accurate air component to 3,700 Soldiers and Airmen representing the Army’s 10th Mountain and 38th Infantry Divisions at Fort Drum, New York, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, along with the 15th, 20th, and 165th Air Support Operations Squadrons.

“The entire team contributed greatly to improve the interoperability of our joint partners and helped bring greater understanding of what the Air Force brings to the joint fight,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Frank Klimas, 505th Command and Control Wing, Detachment 1 commander, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The exercise was also a significant accomplishment for Detachment 1 in that it was primarily led by the unit’s reserve component, the culmination of a vision started several years prior under the unit’s previous commander.

“Detachment 1’s mission is the textbook embodiment of a total force integrated mission and to see reserve Airmen take a leading role for this Warfighter was absolutely phenomenal,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Feher, 505th Command and Control Wing, Detachment 1 Reserve director.  Feher continued, “Our reserve component Airmen represented a highly specialized cross-section of air power expertise that was critical to ensuring we delivered a doctrinally accurate air component during this Warfighter exercise to our Army partners.”

Warfighter exercises are complex, multi-tiered, computer-driven, Joint Master Scenario Event List, or JMSEL, supported exercises against competitive opposing forces. WFXs are designed to train, rehearse, team build and contribute to the overall combat preparation of the training audiences for large-scale combat operations. Additionally, Warfighter exercises provide an opportunity to integrate joint doctrinal processes at the operational level of war.

“Warfighter exercise 22-5 continued the tradition of being a valuable opportunity to educate Army Division and Corps staffs on the effective application of air component capabilities during large-scale combat operations.”  U.S. Air Force Maj. Joshua Goldfarb, 505th CCW, Det 1 chief observer and coach.  “Det 1 provided a diverse team of active duty, reserve, civilian, and contractor coaches/trainers ensuring exercise training objectives were met, providing professional coaching and education when necessary.”

Goldfarb continued, “The employment of air power during large-scale combat operations is substantially different compared to counterinsurgency operations that dominated the prior two decades, particularly with respect to operating in a non-permissive airspace environment where the synchronization of non-kinetic and kinetic effects is essential to meeting the commander’s intent.”

During the warfighter, exercising multi-domain operations, or MDO, played a key role in training.

“One big key to being successful in MDO in warfighters is tying in all the enablers and synchronizing them in time and space,” said U.S. Army Col. Michael Manner, chief of Operations Group C, Mission Command Training Program.  “Then it’s about layering effects on multiple things and areas.”

The 505th CTS and 505th CS, Hurlburt Field, Florida, report to the 505th Combat Training Group, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and the 505th CCW, Det 1, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, reports to the 505th CCW, which is headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida.