TYNDALL AFB, Fla. -- With Super Bowl 51 only days away and the security of that event under the eye of news media, representatives from across the Aerospace Control Alert enterprise gathered for a two-day workshop held at Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Region -1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) Jan. 31-Feb. 1 to address matters affecting the ACA mission.
The forum provided the CONR-1AF (AFNORTH) leadership team an opportunity to address advances in tactics, techniques and procedures as well as capability enhancements for the air defense mission. Senior leaders in the ACA enterprise and a diverse group of subject matter experts from numerous agencies attended to provide updates and discuss initiatives to improve the defense of the homelands.
“The professionals within the CONR-1AF enterprise communicate daily about ongoing operations. The benefit to this working group is that it gives ACA leaders direct interface with the commander, the senior staff and the team at-large here at CONR-1AF,” said Canadian BGen Paul Ormsby, deputy Commander of CONR. “This is a great opportunity to pool the thoughts of the ACA enterprise at one place, at one time to identify ways we can continue to strengthen our professional relationship and explore opportunities to enhance our ACA mission."
The CONR deputy commander emphasized that this workshop would continue to build on progress from previous years and is an essential forum used to strengthen relationships both inside and out of the homeland defense community.
"This working group serves a valuable purpose in providing all of us across the enterprise, to include our interagency partners focused time together in the same place to discuss topics of interest to all ACA experts," said Ormsby.
Participants attending the working group included approximately 90 representatives from each aerospace control alert unit, the Eastern and Western Air Defense Sectors, along with representatives from: the Joint Air Defense Operation Center; North American Aerospace Defense Command Headquarters; the National Guard Bureau; the U.S. Coast Guard; Air Combat Command; and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Briefings throughout the working group covered a slew of issues to include manning, equipment and funding topics, as well as current events, trends and the way ahead for the CONR enterprise to meet its ever-evolving mission.