Getting Ready to Go

More than 80 functional experts from the Air Force, Army, and Navy got together at Joint Base Balad in Iraq earlier this month to take an initial look at how to drawdown US Air Force Central operations in Iraq over the next two years, according to a May 13 release. The four-day conference, said Lt. Col. David Moeller, AFCENT chief of strategy and long-range plans, helped airmen “view Air Force assets from a theater perspective” since there is “an overarching logistical impact” because “functions are different from base to base and are intertwined with joint forces.” This was not a be-all, end-all session, but “it formed the foundation for future discussion,” explained Lt. Col. Donald Brien, chief of plans and programs for the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Joint Base Balad. AFCENT plans to hold such conferences at least quarterly and conduct video teleconferences monthly. (332nd AEW report by Maj. Elizabeth Ortiz)