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.
M: I think as an airfield manager, having the broadest base of
experience that you can have is beneficial. Also, having an
intimate knowledge of the aviation mission is necessary.
Lots of experience in command and control, airfield
operations, the ability to establish relationships with the
host government, establishing relationships and the
knowledge of maintenance operations are vital. Close
coordination with the Director of Operations, the wing
commander, the FIDO [Fighter Director Officer], is
essential; and I also say SRC experience is very helpful.

I would get a real good assessment of the weather and
climatology of the area. I would make sure that there is
very good weather interface. I would assume that the
weather will just go to WOC [Wing Operations Center] ops
quickly. I would have a method to transmit the current
observation, even in layman's terms, to the Tactical
Coordination Center and to AWACS and to whoever is
controlling folks; and that is to prevent fighter aircraft
from coming in here when the weather is just too detrimental
to their health.

We had a lot of emergency fuel aircraft to come in here.
Probably half of all our emergencies were emergency fuel.
That is to be expected in a combat scenario. In those
situations, the flow must be working. All the pieces of the
puzzle from the initial notification to hot pit refueling or
transient alert operations has got to be honed to make all
that work in a combat scenario. Surge operations--
understanding how surge operations go and how they operate
and how they can be stymied by weather and other operational
redirections. It is very helpful to know the big picture.



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