Communication vital to ORI success

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Joseph Marcinkevich
  • 35th Civil Engineer Squadron
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Communication is vital to mission success at all levels. Most importantly, communication is the link between all organizational levels and outside agencies. The Operational Readiness Inspection will test and strain our ability to communicate. The ORI inspectors, just like real-world adversaries, will use various means to disrupt our operations and critical communication nodes.

Preparedness is the first step to maintaining communication. We must establish primary, secondary and tertiary means of communication. We must document and practice our procedures to ensure that all friendly forces know how we intend to communicate so they can obtain the resources necessary to connect into our "system of systems." Typical communications systems include unsecured phones, secure phones, unclassified computers, classified computers, land mobile radio, theater battle management core systems, Link-16, television, radio, and the oldest of all ... person-to-person runners.

I do not think you can over-communicate during a catastrophic event. However, I do think you can miscommunicate. That is why we establish organized reporting systems, publish them and practice them. It allows our experts to analyze, filter, prioritize and share information in the most efficient means possible. If you rely heavily on one form of communication, you should take it upon yourself to practice not having it available. You should also practice operating and communicating from an alternate location. Be proactive and don't wait for the exercise evaluation team to test you on what you know needs to be done.

As director of the 35th Fighter Wing Survival Recovery Center (SRC), I am proud of the functional experts that make up our SRC. They are truly the best of the best and know how to process information and enable our wing leadership to make the most effective decisions. However, these experts are only as effective as the information they receive. There were times during past operational readiness exercises that I was disappointed at the long periods of silence in the SRC. We tended to get complacent and fall into a "wait for the next attack" mode of operations. These down times are when our wing should be the most busy as we perform systems checks, patrol areas, inventory supplies, account for personnel, inspect equipment and vehicles, review past checklists, prepare for future checklists and practice alternate forms of communication. For example, when was the last time your unit control centers called all numbers on its phone rosters to ensure the numbers are still valid?

Communication down the chain is as important as communication up the chain. Senior leaders must ensure current intelligence, mission priorities and expectations are distributed. Battle staff directives must be easily understood and quickly distributed. Directions must be clear, consistent with established procedures and efficiently distributed. Message recipients should not hesitate to request clarification if information is questionable.

If the Airmen in the field believe they need more information, they should request it. If Airmen in the field need resources, they should request them. All levels of command must inform their chain of command, up and down, about what actions they are taking at all times. A seemingly unimportant piece of information, such as an Airman driving across base, can be critical if a mortar attack happens along the route. Another example is that the SRC must know the current inventory of supplies in order to make informed decisions about operations requiring such supplies. The bottom line is that if you have information, share it. Don't wait for someone to ask for it. One Airman's insignificant "trash" might be another Airman's treasure.

We should be most worried when we have done everything possible to improve our communication processes and feel as though we can't do any more. The Inspector General will know all our processes and will do everything within their power to disrupt our command and control. They will attack us where we are most vulnerable or where we will least expect it. The best advice is to expect the unexpected and communicate any anomalies to normal operations. The sooner the SRC is apprised of an anomaly, the sooner they can dedicate resources to the problem and hopefully correct it before any damage is done. This is especially true in computer cyberspace, where we may see the first signs of enemy infiltration.

During the ORI, I encourage every person to over communicate information both up and down the chain of command. If successful, I am confident we will overcome every IG challenge in outstanding fashion. One team...one mission...one victory!