U.S. Air Forces Southern/12th Air Force (AFSOUTH) commander and command chief recently visited Recce Town (Beale Air Force Base, California) to engage with intelligence airmen and discuss the critical support provided to the Southern Hemisphere from the Distributed Ground Station-2 (DGS-2) located there.
Major General Barry Cornish, AFSOUTH commander, and Chief Master Sergeant James Clark, AFSOUTH Command Chief, visited the base in late February to speak with intelligence airmen and the important role their efforts in the 548th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group (548th ISRG) have played in his area of responsibility.
“The transformation of the DGS from a platform-centric approach to a problem-centric approach has been a game-changer,” Maj. Gen. Cornish said. “It’s allowed analysts to focus precious resources on our major lines of effort and develop all source products that not only support our campaign plan but are also being published to the broader intelligence community.”
According to U.S. Air Force Colonel Andrew Souza, commander, 548th ISRG, his intelligence airmen provide analytical products in support of AFSOUTH’s efforts to tackle National Defense Strategy threats in the Southern Hemisphere.
DGS-2 airmen at Beale, alongside the 548th ISRG’s detachment at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, have been providing expanded DGS support to AFSOUTH, and the 612th Air Operations Center for over a year.
“Our dedicated airmen are fully imbedded in direct support of the command’s priority intelligence requirements,” Col. Souza stated. “Airmen from multiple intelligence [Air Force Specialty Codes] scour all available sources of information and coordinate with the wider intelligence community to provide timely reporting — enabling senior leader decisions.”
While at Beale, the AFSOUTH leadership also engaged with members of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing within both the Common Mission Control Center (CMCC) and the U-2 mission sets. Both the CMCC and U-2 community offer capability to strengthen and enable the decision-making processes of combatant commanders and leaders worldwide.
“The efforts of these airmen at Beale, both in the intelligence and reconnaissance communities, help us continue to get after [U.S.] Southern Command’s larger lines of effort,” Maj. Gen. Cornish said. “It’s the skills of these teammates who help the U.S. deepen interoperability, enhance capability, and increase intelligence and information sharing alongside our allies and partners — ultimately aiding us in a better understanding of the threats that exist across all domains.”