The Road to Baghdad The 728th Air Control Squadron’s Deployment in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

USAF TPS-75 Mobile Surveillance Radar at Home on Eglin AFB Control and Reporting Center duties and responsibilities Senior “decentralized execution” command and control element in USAF Theater Air Control System Responsible for the execution of “today’s” Air Tasking Order through timely airspace battle management and control of assigned assets Sector Air Defense Command/Commander Directly subordinate to the Air and Space Operations Center for tactical and operational control From September 02 – March 03 squadron “ran the deployment checklist” on 11 locations: Diyarbakir, Turkey ArAr, Saudi Arabia Rafa, Saudi Arabia Mudaysis, Iraq H1 Airbase, Iraq H2 Airbase, Iraq H3 Airbase, Iraq Tallil Airbase, Iraq Al Taqaddum Airbase, Iraq Habbaniyah, Iraq Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), Iraq Each locations unique challenges was researched by the Mission Planning Team Force protection, convoy routes, base operation support, Annex K, SATCOM plan, fuels, medical, etc Thousands of hours filling in blanks by email, tele-conferences, VTC’s, satellite imagery, international airfield management publications, sister services coordination, and forward deployed elements. AM and PM senior staff briefings on “How Goes It” Combat Support was the central repository and owned the site survey checklist “Bible” At all locations tasked to support as self contained unit. All 14 Unit Type Codes to support operations/maintenance missions, force protection, road convoy, long haul communications, power, HVAC, and services were tasked for an expected deployment of 180 days. Big ticket mission support items included two TPS 75 mobile surveillance radars, four Operations Modules, two TSC 94 and one QRSA satellite antenna’s, two JTIDS modules, and all required power and HVAC. Over 100 Hummer, 5 Ton, and 2.5 Ton with tows Over four million pounds of tactical command and control equipment Associated 285 troops to support and maintain At least one from 25 of the 27 different AFSC’s

Sector Air Defense Command/Commander Control and Reporting Center duties and responsibilities Senior “decentralized execution” command and control element in USAF Theater Air Control System Responsible for the execution of “today’s” Air Tasking Order through timely airspace battle management and control of assigned assets Sector Air Defense Command/Commander Directly subordinate to the Air and Space Operations Center for tactical and operational control From September 02 – March 03 squadron “ran the deployment checklist” on 11 locations: Diyarbakir, Turkey ArAr, Saudi Arabia Rafa, Saudi Arabia Mudaysis, Iraq H1 Airbase, Iraq H2 Airbase, Iraq H3 Airbase, Iraq Tallil Airbase, Iraq Al Taqaddum Airbase, Iraq Habbaniyah, Iraq Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), Iraq Each locations unique challenges was researched by the Mission Planning Team Force protection, convoy routes, base operation support, Annex K, SATCOM plan, fuels, medical, etc Thousands of hours filling in blanks by email, tele-conferences, VTC’s, satellite imagery, international airfield management publications, sister services coordination, and forward deployed elements. AM and PM senior staff briefings on “How Goes It” Combat Support was the central repository and owned the site survey checklist “Bible” At all locations tasked to support as self contained unit. All 14 Unit Type Codes to support operations/maintenance missions, force protection, road convoy, long haul communications, power, HVAC, and services were tasked for an expected deployment of 180 days. Big ticket mission support items included two TPS 75 mobile surveillance radars, four Operations Modules, two TSC 94 and one QRSA satellite antenna’s, two JTIDS modules, and all required power and HVAC. Over 100 Hummer, 5 Ton, and 2.5 Ton with tows Over four million pounds of tactical command and control equipment Associated 285 troops to support and maintain At least one from 25 of the 27 different AFSC’s