Leaders increase interoperability through Joint Firepower Course

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers listen to a lecture during the Joint Firepower Course April 21, 2015, at Casey Multipurpose Complex on Camp Casey, South Korea. Senior officers and noncommissioned officers from the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Republic of Korea Army attended the five-day course to gain better understanding of integration of joint firepower.  

CAMP CASEY, 41, SOUTH KOREA

04.28.2015

Courtesy Story

210th Field Artillery Brigade

CAMP CASEY, South Korea - Effective leaders are not born; it takes hard work and dedication to reach their true potential. Officers and non-commissioned officers who strive toward that level of excellence are the cornerstones of the greatest armies.

Among the 119 Soldiers who attended the five-day Joint Firepower Course April 20-24 at Camp Casey’s Multipurpose Complex, 15 were excellence-driven senior leaders from the 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

The course, which was conducted by a mobile training team from the Army Joint Support Team at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, provided U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Republic of Korea Army leaders with a fundamental overview of integrated air, surface and naval fires in support of ground operations.

“This course was designed to educate Soldiers on the integration of close air support with both naval, Air Force and field artillery,” said Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Cooper, the electronic warfare non-commissioned officer-in-charge for 8th Army. “We wanted to bring the course here in Camp Casey to educate the Soldiers about the capabilities of joint firepower.”

The purpose of the course is to enable Soldiers to become skilled professionals that are capable of planning and executing operations in joint environments. As a starting point, the first four days of the course focused on theories and instructions as well as discussions with the instructors.

“This is the first time in three years this course has been here and we are pushing to have the course to come back annually, possibly semi-annually,” added Cooper, a native of Huntsville, Alabama.

Teaching artillerymen, aviators, air defenders and foreign observers to integrate all forms of firepower is significantly important in close fights and also in tactical fights, said Lt. Col. Robert Santamaria, the commandant for AJST.

The Korean War of the early 1950s marked the importance of integration among the firepower of the joint partners and ROK Army. That lesson led to the implementation of advanced training like the Joint Firepower Course to boost communication and interoperability among joint and combined assets on the Korean Peninsula.

“We learn the lesson over and over again that if we don’t train together, we don’t fight well and integrate together,” said Santamaria, a Las Vegas native. “The course was started in 1951 to ensure that we bring Army, Air Force, Marines and our international partners together to train together. So when it comes to fighting together, we fight better together.”

The importance of integrating firepower in combat and tactical situation is undeniably significant under the constant threat of the North Korean Army, said Capt. Jonathan Conley, the fire control officer and Maysville, Kentucky native assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 210th FA Bde., 2nd Inf. Div.

By effectively working with joint partners, the brigade may better employ its assets to increase the effectiveness of its combat capabilities, he continued.

“Being that I am stationed in Korea, not only I get a chance to operate on the day to day basis with the Air Force, but in terms multi-national operation, I need to work with the Korean Army and Air Force as partners,” said Conley.

The course concluded with a 75-question examination that tested leaders on the doctrinal concepts and techniques learned throughout the course. Those who successfully passed the exam officially earned the air operations officer additional skill identifier.

“We need to know how to talk to other branches and how to get our assets synchronized from other services and branches,” said Conley. “I think it is very important to understand how all our processes work together to achieve common goals.”

• Date Taken: 04.28.2015
• Date Posted: 04.27.2015 21:55
• Story ID: 161471
• Location: CAMP CASEY, 41, KR
• Hometown: HUNTSVILLE, AL, US
• Hometown: LAS VEGAS, NV, US
• Hometown: MAYSVILLE, KY, US