The Air and Space Operations Center schoolhouse at Hurlburt Field, Fla., recently taught its first joint-service air and missile defense operations planning course, according to officials with the 505th Training Squadron that runs the school. “As the air and missile threat from potential adversaries rapidly increases, we need to stay ahead of emerging rival capabilities,” said David Connelly, manager of the Integrated Air and Missile Initial Qualification Course, in Hurlburt’s Nov. 16 release. The five-day course trains AOC controllers from all services to plan, control, and coordinate defensive operations. After graduation, the students will return to their assigned AOCs across the globe. “Understanding the concept of integrating offensive and defensive capabilities between military services and across geographic areas of responsibility is a primary objective” of the course, added Connelly. “I would not be surprised to see this curriculum expand . . . to keep pace with the opposition,” he stressed. The first class graduated the course on Nov. 5, states the release.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
