618 TACC commander visits Warriors of the North

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman J. Paul Croxon
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center commander visited the base Sept. 13 to ask Warriors of the North for ideas on how TACC can execute its mission better. He brought a notebook.

The 618 TACC is responsible for all tanker and airlift mission planning throughout Air Mobility Command, and they are busy; responsible for planning one departure about every 90 seconds. With such a high operations tempo, they need to do their job as efficiently as possible.

"We've had roughly the same operations tempo before the war as we do now, so we think we do a pretty good job," Maj. Gen. Ronald Ladnier, 618 TACC commander, said. "But we know we can do better. That's the reason I'm here -- to get feedback from the aircrews and the maintainers. [To ask them] what are some of the things we can do better?"

Much of that feedback came during a professional development speech where Airmen asked questions ranging in subject from inter-command exercise checklists to the general's opinion on what concerns him most.

According to the general, the two things that concern him most about the future of air mobility operations are the ability to quickly pass information between aircrews and support personnel, and the advanced age of the fleet.

He wasn't able to answer a few of the questions posed by Warriors of the North. He said he appreciated the tough and challenging questions posed by the Warriors of the North and that he would take them back to TACC.

To put into to perspective the enormity of the TACC mission, General Ladnier talked about a day's typical mission load and the planning done up to that point to get those missions tasked to the wings.

According to General Ladnier, on a typical day, TACC has command and control of roughly 450 aircraft across AMC and the Guard and Reserve components, as well as missions to and from the U.S. Central Command area of operations. The planning for these missions is usually strategic in nature, often coordinated with multiple services and unified commands over the course of weeks. However, there are always the short notice, or no notice, missions that need to be coordinated immediately, a testament to the value of air mobility.

"There will always be a higher demand for air mobility than available assets. In the CENTCOM AOR, two-thirds of the sorties flown are either airlift or air refueling," General Ladnier said. "Most Airmen know about the Combined Air Operations Center [in the CENTCOM AOR], but what some people fail to realize or forget is that the 618 TACC is the other air operations center at war."

After the professional development speech, General Ladnier touched on how heavily TACC relies on the professionalism and dedication of Airmen across AMC, Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and Guard and Reserve components.

"If air mobility were a football game, TACC would be on the sidelines calling the plays," he said. "The Airmen at the wings are the quarterbacks and players on the field who win the game."

He left by thanking the Warriors of the North for their service and professionalism.

"From my position in the 618 TACC, I am so proud of what our Airmen do every day in Air Mobility Command, you just cannot help but be impressed," he said. "I have every expectation that Airmen will continue to impress us all, regardless of where we are."