Travis set to launch Mobility 2000 mission

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (USTCNS) --- A test mission scheduled for Oct. 11 will usher in the next generation of command and control for global mobility flying operations at Travis.

The Mobility 2000 program and test mission were explained Wednesday morning at a briefing attended by Air Mobility Command Commander Gen. Charles T. "Tony" Robertson.

During the phased approach to Mobility 2000, or M2K, AMC will integrate Tanker Airlift Control Center-based flight managers into flying operations.

The concept - "One Team, One Flight" - is similar to the dispatch service used by major airlines around the world. In fact, AMC has partnered with Arthur D. Little and Delta Airlines to develop the new flight management structure.

The new dispatch service is designed to enhance operational flexibility and improve combat capability, according to Robertson.

"We should be capable to reach out and touch any aircrew at any time, regardless of what part of the world they are in," Robertson said.

The new service is already being tested during selected regularly scheduled airlift missions to Europe. A Federal Aviation Administration-certified flight manager from the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., is assigned to each mission and serves as a single point of contact for aircrew command, control and support requirements.

The flight manager will be available six hours before a mission's estimated departure time through one hour after the aircraft arrives at its destination. Besides in-flight assistance, the flight manager issues departure papers for the crew and performs pre-arrival coordination at the destination.

The departure papers include a pre-filed flight plan, computer flight plan, applicable weather documents and charts, notices to airmen, fuel plan, load plan, diplomatic clearances and Form 59 mission schedule. The pilot in command will sign for the departure papers indicating it has been reviewed for accuracy, and then the crew can step to the jet.

Project officers in key organizations at Travis will modify systems and create new operating processes to support changes to flight operations brought on by M2K, according to wing officials.

"As with any major change, we'll need a team effort and a good process of planning and collecting feedback from all levels to help the command implement M2K," said , 60th Air Mobility Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Thomas P. Kane. "This is an exciting program that promises to greatly improve in-flight visibility and support of our aircrews, so I think the effort will be well worth it."

Process changes will be made to operations in aerial port, current operations, command post and aircrew operations, Kane said.

In some cases, crewmembers and base agencies may be required to provide less local support for mission planning. For example, the weather shop will not need to create a weather package for crewmembers, since TACC flight managers in the crew's departure package will provide this information. Also, the crew no longer needs to file a flight plan at base operations, since the flight manager accomplishes this task.

Throughout the test phase, these changes will be refined and improved, as necessary, to ensure safety and effectiveness, according to command officials.

Following the October test mission, AMC will slowly add additional M2K missions to Travis's flying schedule. Eventually, flight managers will replace TACC's current "east" and "west" command and control cells, and all AMC operational missions will be overseen by a TACC flight manager.

For more information, visit the M2K web site at http://m2k.scott.af.mil. (Maj. Phil Iannuzzi of the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron, McGuire AFB, N.J., contributed to this article.) (FROM 60TH AIR MOBILITY WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS).