Space Force

DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. — Over the last two years the 943d Mission Support Flight has deployed one third of their personnel to support Air Force and DoD missions both stateside and abroad, from combat operations to facilitating Afghanistan refugees coming to America, the 943d MSF delivers

The 943d MSF functions as a traditional Mission Support Group but with a fraction of the manpower at only 36 personnel. They have four different mission sets: logistics readiness element, communications element, training element, and a satellite personnel office which functions as a small Force Support squadron.

From moving equipment and personnel, maintaining and operating communication equipment, facilitating professional military education, making ID cards and processing retirement and reenlistment paperwork; the 943d MSF is the backbone of the 943d Rescue Group mission of personnel recovery.

There are 400 people assigned to the 943d RQG, but the satellite personnel office and communications element supports over 1,400 Air Force reservist in the local area, providing personnel related program support.

Airmen deployed with the 943d RQG HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and the 920th Rescue Wing’s C-130J Combat King II aircraft to support various training missions around the world.

Master Sgt. Fierro, 943d MSF system administrator, is a traditional reservist that deployed with the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, for six months including one month of pre-deployment training. Fierro supported AFRICOM, Combined Joint Task Force, and our NATO allies as part of Operation Octave Quartz.

“It was a 24/7 flying mission in a combat zone and I was the only communications Airman there, so I had to be available at any moment. The expectations are much greater, so training is very important. Every training opportunity counts,” said Fierro.

One highly visible mission the 943d MSF supported was deploying communications personnel to Operation Allies Welcome, New Jersey, where they stood up a communications center.

“Not only are we called upon to perform missions for our group and our geographically separated wing but we’re doing missions for other services. We also have some people that were sought out by other units because they have such great knowledge of their jobs within their community,” said Lt. Col. Steven Bursick, 943d MSF commander.

In the logistics section six people deployed over the course of a year and three of them were full-time employees. The 943d MSF has a supply troop embedded with the 943d Maintenance Squadron and the position was unaffected, but the supply warehouse was unmanned.

Staff Sgt. Eli Regino, 943d MSF material management apprentice, as a traditional reservist he is embedded with the 943d MXS and deployed twice in 2022.

“The day-to-day operations at home station are similar to a deployed location; the additional change is where to source parts and equipment while downrange. When you’re stateside you’re training but you want to treat it as real world, because when it’s real world you don’t have time to wait on things, you must be able to respond as fast as possible, said Regino.”

While deployed, Regino was one of first to replace the outgoing team and quickly managed to navigate the supply chain and make contacts with other supply entities in the area to find additional avenues of sourcing items quickly. His knowledge, skill and reputation led to senior leaders coming directly to him when they needed supplies.

During this deployment he was able to work at a main operating base and a forward operating site. Under the Air Force’s new initiative for agile combat employment, a MOB is an established facility, and a FOS is a temporary location from which operations are employed and can quickly be relocated.

“I learned how to ration supplies and equipment, hold on to whatever assets you have and reup when you can. You’re in the middle of nowhere; it’s really mission focused,” said Regino.

Regino was responsible for four internal sling abled units and four pallets of supplies and equipment; a total value of 16.5 million dollars.

An additional task came down to forward-deployed personnel to supply equipment in response to potential nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare from competitors that threatened our NATO allies.

“The logistics and supply sides are ready for the new ACE construct. As part of the 943d RQG, our team is used to operating in austere environments with limited supplies,” said Bursick.

The newest opportunity for the communication flight is deploying to a forward location where there is no established base, cellphone reception, computers, internet or electricity. The goal is to have a working communications infrastructure within four hours of arriving.

“The 943d MSF is preparing for the next level fight by engaging in more exercises, training, and deployments. The performance and accomplishments of my Airmen have not gone unnoticed,” said Bursick.

The 943d RQG is a geographically separated unit of the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida, and carries out the wing’s mission to plan, lead, and conduct military rescue operations and missions to deny competitors and adversaries exploitation of isolated personnel. Air Force rescue is the only DoD entity specifically organized, trained, and equipped to conduct personnel recovery operations into hostile or denied areas as a primary mission.

The 52nd iteration of Baltic Operations 2023 (BALTOPS 23), NATO’s premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region, is set to begin from Tallinn, Estonia, June 4-16.

Nineteen NATO nations, one NATO partner nations, 50 ships, more than 45 aircraft, and 6,000 personnel will participate in BALTOPS 23.

Started in 1972, BALTOPS is an annual exercise that visibly demonstrates NATO’s commitment to preserving regional peace and security by exercising a team of international forces that can rapidly respond in a time of crisis.

Participating nations include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Though Finland has long participated in BALTOPS as a critical partner, BALTOPS 23 marks the first incorporation of Finland as a NATO Ally. BALTOPS remains an alliance proving ground, and is vital for honing the leading edge of combined interoperability in mine countermeasures, unmanned surface vehicle operations, and integrated maritime and air operations.

This year’s exercise features, for the first time, robust training in personnel recovery using unmanned surface vehicles. Another enhancement to BALTOPS23 is the collaboration of sixteen chaplains representing three different faith/life stance traditions from eight participating nations. Their focus is to promote the strength of spirit that enables Sailors and Marines to accomplish the mission with honor. These additions – along with others underwater and space domain, will build on last year’s BALTOPS 2022 scenario story lines, including the integration of the NATO Space Center for space domain scenarios.

While the exercise is led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet, it will be command-and-controlled by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal.

Details of BALTOPS activities and imagery are available at http://www.c6f.navy.mil. Media interested in covering the exercise should contact the U.S. Naval Forces Europe Public Affairs Office at mail to: [email protected]

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The U.S. Army’s air and missile defense integrator said the Department of Defense has moved away from the concept of “global missile defense,” and is now implementing the concept of trans-regional missile defense.

Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler, commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, was a keynote speaker during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Greater Los Angeles Chapter’s 2023 Symposium on June 1. This year’s theme was “Space: Enabling Multi-Domain Operations.”

Following publication of the 2019 Missile Defense Review, the 2021 Unified Command Plan, and the establishment of U.S. Space Command, Karbler has led efforts to properly assign missile defense responsibilities.

Working with the commanders of U.S. Strategic Command (Adm. Charles Richard), U.S. Space Command (Gen. James Dickinson), U.S. Northern Command (Gen. Glen VanHerck), and the Army Chief of Staff (Gen. James McConville), Karbler forged what became known as the “16-Star Memo.” This memo ultimately led to publication of the April 25, 2023, Unified Command Plan, assigning USSPACECOM responsibility for “trans-regional missile defense.”

As stated in the UCP, the commander USPACECOM, conducts trans-regional missile defense planning and operations support in coordination with other combatant commands, the services, and as directed, appropriate U.S. government agencies, allies and partners; supports assessment of missile defense operational capabilities; and ensures continuity of operations, as required.

Karbler emphasized that the new UCP acknowledges the missile defense mission is trans-regional versus global in nature and that U.S. allies and partners are contributors.

Another notable result of the UCP is moving the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, the Army unit responsible for protecting the United States against ballistic missile attack, from the operational control of USSTRATCOM to USNORTHCOM, which has the mission of defending the homeland.

Introducing the concept of “missile defeat,” which has been under development by USASMDC, Karbler said it is the next logical step, evolving from missile defense to missile defeat.

Missile defeat encompasses whole-of-government activities to counter the development, acquisition, proliferation, potential and actual use of adversary missiles of all types, and to limit the damage from such use. It has two parts:

Trans-regional missile defense – providing attack operations; active defense; passive defense; and battle management/command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to the regional combatant commands.

Left of launch – providing deny, delay, disrupt and degrade missile defeat effects in coordination with global combatant commands, the intelligence community, joint staff, interagency, and Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Karbler said all missile defense intercepts are regional. There are no global interceptors; they belong to regional combatant commanders. Left of launch on the other hand, requires a whole-government approach.

Karbler proposes making USSPACECOM the missile defeat effects coordinator for the Department of Defense. The Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense will become USSPACECOM’s missile defeat effects coordinator to integrate space, cyber, special operations forces, and strike effects (with interagency coordination). JFCC IMD would allow USSPACECOM to provide:

• Presentation of cohesive, mutually supportive solutions to Supported combatant commanders

• Integrated effects applied across multiple domains to gain/maintain advantage

• Leverage left-of-launch to mitigate need for difficult, costly hit-to-kill defense

• Explore novel active, passive and attack ops across all warfighting domains

• Visibility/coordination on Non-DoD Missile Defeat activities

Karbler said JFCC IMD will have its first opportunity to exercise this concept in support of USSPACECOM’s first tier one exercise, Space Sentry 23, next week.

“We’re going to exercise the heck out of this integrated missile defeat effects coordinator and missile defeat concept with the USSPACECOM staff,” Karbler said.