US Air Force, WASHINGTON: Air Force and Navy top uniformed leaders gathered Aug. 2 in Washington for “Warfighter Talks” to discuss ways the two services can improve upon their legacy of cooperation and interdependence as the strategic striking arms for the nation.
“The Air Force and Navy are complementary strategic forces who do things on a global scale for our nation,” said Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff.
“It's critical for us to leverage each other's capabilities to create effects around the globe,” General Moseley said.
“We'll be talking about the thing I care most about — warfighting,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, chief of Naval Operations.
The services' leaders discussed a variety of topics including command and control of air and maritime forces, future joint electronic attack capabilities, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR. For each discussion item, leaders from both services focused on common objectives and worked to understand and bridge differences where they existed.
“There is great potential to achieve synergies in development, acquisition, operations, and employment of airborne ISR between Navy and Air Force by taking a joint approach,” said Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR. “The joint force has an ever increasing requirement to detect, characterize and prosecute a wide range of targets around the globe and the Navy and Air Force can really leverage each other's (unmanned aerial systems) efforts.”
Leaders from each service left the conference with a view of opportunities to partner on joint solutions to meet common challenges.
“This forum is another benchmark for how the services can attack common challenges by sitting down together and talking through them,” General Moseley said. “I am very encouraged by the frank conversations we had today, the joint solutions we've identified, and the dividends these discussions will pay for national security now and well into the future.”
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