Photo By Senior Airman Brenden Beezley | Members of Kessel Run meet with personnel from the Seventh Air Force during exercise Freedom Shield 26 at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, March 10, 2026. The Kessel Run team was embedded alongside operators and planners during the exercise, assisting evaluation and refining how the system supports command and control across the Korean Peninsula. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brenden Beezley) see less
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Seventh Air Force tests future C2 capabilities during Freedom Shield 26
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea – In a unique collaboration, the Seventh Air Force is partnering with software developers to implement and test the future of military command and control during exercise Freedom Shield 26, March 9-20, 2026.
The joint effort centers on the Command and Control Incident Management Emergency Response Application (C2IMERA), a specialized application designed to give commanders situational awareness across their area of responsibility.
“It is a wing command-and-control tool that allows base commanders and wing leadership to understand what’s happening on their installation across the continuum of conflict,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Justin Raines, Kessel Run Wing C2 branch chief. “From daily operations all the way up to full-scale conflict, it provides a local-level C2 structure that helps leaders understand what’s happening in a given situation.”
The Seventh Air Force’s structure and large-scale exercises like Freedom Shield and Ulchi Freedom Shield provide an opportunity to test C2IMERA at a higher operational level.
“We’ve realized that Seventh Air Force has the perfect environment to develop the application,” said David Abrahamson, operations support division chief at the 607 Air Operations Center. “We have a fighter wing, an air operations center and a numbered Air Force headquarters all in close proximity, so we can link those echelons together and effectively develop the system.”
By improving how information is shared between installations and higher headquarters, the system allows Seventh Air Force leaders to maintain awareness across the theater without interrupting operations at the wing level.
“The previous systems depended on wings stopping what they were doing to answer questions or create reports for Seventh Air Force,” Abrahamson said. “This system allows us to get the information we need to help the air bases without interfering with them while they’re doing their job.”
A unique aspect of the Freedom Shield 26 evaluation is the presence of a team of software developers from Kessel Run, a U.S. Air Force software development division based out of Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. The team is embedded alongside operators and planners during the exercise, assisting to evaluate and refine how the system supports command and control across the Korean Peninsula.
“Having the development team here with the operational users allows immediate feedback,” said Master Sgt. Patrick Hayes, Pacific Air Forces A4 installations and contracting branch superintendent. “Airmen working with the system can identify what works well and what needs improvement, and developers can refine the application to better support the mission.”
The continued testing during the exercise will help refine the system’s use across the Pacific Theater while enhancing C2 capabilities for future operations.
“This is really about building the future of how we understand what’s happening across our installations,” Abrahamson said. “As the system continues to grow, it will give commanders at every level a clearer picture so leaders can make faster, better decisions.”
C2IMERA is used across a majority of Air Force installations worldwide and continues to expand as part of the Department of the Air Force’s effort to improve C2 and build a more integrated operational network for the joint force.
