By Staff Sgt. Jessica Montaño, 55th Wing Public Affairs / Published June 29, 2020

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. — The Glass Titan Mission team was on the crew bus headed to their jet to conduct a mission, when their mission commander flagged them down and said, “change of plans; you have two hours to prepare.”

It’s flexibility like that as well as rapid global mobility, unwavering endurance, precise mission execution and expedited data analysis that helped this team earn the Air Force’s Nuclear Deterrence Operations Professional Team of the Year.

The 45th Reconnaissance Squadron and Air Force Technical Applications Center’s Detachment 1’s Glass Titan Mission team is a crew that operates the WC-135W Constant Phoenix, which is an aircraft that collects particulate and gaseous effluents and debris from accessible regions of the atmosphere.

“The Constant Phoenix mission is a highly specialized resource in the Air Force’s and DoD’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise that is capable of providing atmospheric radiological data analysis,” said Lt. Col. Sean Orme, 45th RS. “There are only two manned aircraft in the U.S. military’s inventory capable of conducting this type of atmospheric research.”

“The detachment fields the mission compartment, sensor maintenance technicians, and scientific field analysis crew, who all have a seemingly-impossible task of working with an aging airframe, equipment well-past its advertised shelf-life, limited resources and sparing,” said Maj. Justin Guy, AFTAC Det. 1.

Recently, the crew executed a no-notice deployment that included a variety of surveillance missions from three different locations and countries across the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

“The team flawlessly executed operations with a partner nation we have not operated out of in over 15 years, said Lt. Col. Andrew Maus, 45th RS commander. “In the midst of that deployment, they picked-up and redeployed within three hours to respond to an international nuclear incident, maxed out their weekly flying hours, and accomplished the first positive collection of its kind in over 20 years for the Air Force.”

“Recognition for the excellent work they put forward in challenging conditions was long-overdue, and when put to the test short-notice (the team) proved ready,” Guy said. In the last decade, the Air Force contacted the Royal Australian Air Force to expand a valued ally partnership, and update and expand the scientific knowledge of an area that has not been researched.

“We conducted a site survey with our RAAF partners proving that our mission could be successfully conducted from their facilities, and subsequently were able to operate from their locations for several missions,” said Capt. Kyle Redfern, 45th RS. “This allowed us to collect samples in locations that had previously been beyond the aircraft’s range.

The Constant Phoenix mission strives to have the most accurate data on effluent debris in the atmosphere at any given time.

“Accuracy in data is what enables leadership at the Air Force level and above to make the best-informed decisions on behalf of the nation,” said Orme. “The Pacific accounts for 63.78 million miles of its surface area, which leaves a large area unanalyzed, so, to close the gap we worked with the RAAF.”

All of the missions at the 55th Wing are vital to national security by giving the President, National Security Council, and combatant commanders the ability to make informed and time critical decisions based on the most current and accurate information available.

Using our diverse ISR capabilities, we are able to provide data that allows decision makers to see through enemy deception and better anticipate likely adversary tactics, weapons and intent prior to engaging in any kinetic form of warfare,” said Orme. “This increases the likelihood of a US victory.”

The results of the no-notice tasking were immediately briefed to the President during his daily presidential briefing.

“I’ve never before experienced a no-notice tasking that carried this amount of weight with it, but the 55th Wing made sure we had the resources and skills necessary,” said Redfern. “So, we kind of just looked at each other, took a deep breath, and went after it.”

Without the Constant Phoenix mission, the Air Force would lose a large portion of their ability to hold adversaries accountable to the obligations of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.

“Without this mission, the DoD and our nation as a whole, would find themselves less informed, less equipped and therefore less prepared to holistically and confidently confront future challenges in the nuclear arena,” said Orme.

This article originally appeared here.

On a weekend historically dedicated to tailgate parties, million-dollar TV commercials, puppy bowls and halftime extravaganzas, members of the Air Force Technical Applications Center hockey team traveled to Washington, D.C., Super Bowl weekend to face off against the Canadian Embassy, a first for the Florida-based club.

Read more here.

After taking off from Roswell, Walter Singlevich’s military helicopter flew across the dusty New Mexico plains to his top-secret Cold War-era target: a silvery balloon equipped to detect nuclear detonations that lay sprawled atop a knoll near a rural ranch house.

By Susan A. Romano, AFTAC Public Affairs

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. —

Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson paid a visit to the Air Force Technical Applications Center here Dec. 4 to meet with nuclear scientists and engineers about their role in global nuclear deterrence and nonproliferation.

Wilson was accompanied by Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration and escorted by Col. Brande H. Walton, Vice Commander of the 45th Space Wing.

The purpose of the visit was to give the visiting Air Force senior leaders an opportunity to discuss future operations and algorithmic warfare – the method by which battles are fought using artificial intelligence and machine learning as a weapon system – with members of the Department of Defense’s sole nuclear treaty monitoring center and the U.S.’s technical surveillance center of excellence.

During an in-depth classified mission briefing, the generals sat down to hear from AFTAC experts who discussed their advanced modeling capability and how environmental modeling and simulation plays a critical role in how the center provides direct technical, analytical and evaluative scientific data to national decision makers.

The briefers talked how they are taking steps to master the digital environment through what AFTAC calls its “Algorithm Factory.”

“AFTAC is making every effort to modernize and improve our capabilities,” said Col. Chad Hartman, AFTAC commander.  “Whether it’s through strategic integration, development ops or cloud architecture, we are setting the pace and leading the way.  To accomplish that, we let machines do what machines do best so we can free up our Airmen to do what they do best – innovate, think critically and effectively, and address our nation’s wicked problems.”

Wilson was impressed with what he heard and saw from the center’s top scientists.

“AFTAC has some really smart people here who have come up with solutions to some very hard problems,” Wilson said.  “You think differently.  You’re driven.  You develop novel ways to get after the tough challenges we face, and I am really impressed with your innovative spirit.  AFTAC is on the cutting edge of all things nuclear and my words of wisdom to you are simple:  push it up!”

At the conclusion of the briefing, the general recognized two members of the AFTAC team as outstanding performers and coined each of them for their work:  Master Sgt. Ryan Doss and Tech. Sgt. Alissa Garnett.

Wilson also held a “State of the Force” Town Hall meeting for all base personnel and took questions from Airmen.  Much of his briefing focused on who senior defense officials believe is the United States’ biggest foe:  China.

“We have never faced an adversary like China,” Wilson said.  “We must continue to deter and compete against this near-peer adversary, whether that be economically, academically or militarily.”

An Airman asked the general for an update on “The Air Force We Need” initiative, and the vice chief spoke about how the Air Force is executing the initiative.  “One of the ways we’re addressing our challenges,” he said, “is how we recruit, retain and encourage our single most important weapon system, our people.”

Wilson continued, “When Congressional leaders ask me what we need as a force, I never hesitate with my response.  I tell them we need more people – bright, innovative young minds willing to carry us well into the 21st century.  We’ll always need more ‘stuff’ – aircraft, equipment, materiel, etc. – but it’s the people who are our number one priority.”

As he closed out the Town Hall, Wilson said, “What you’re doing here is incredibly important and I want you to know that your dedication is recognized and appreciated by Secretary (Barbara) Barrett and (Air Force Chief of Staff) General (David) Goldfein.  You’re all doing a fantastic job for our Air Force and our nation, so go out there knowing that we’ve got your back.”

In an effort to foster the betterment of underserved minority middle and high school students, members of the Air Force Technical Applications Center here traveled to Georgia recently to serve as mentors at STEMversity. Read more here.

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE
Inside a secretive Patrick Air Force Base laboratory, Airman 1st Class Cynthia A. Schroll prepares batches of complex chemicals alongside futuristic-looking fume hoods and a white cabinet labeled “Acid” in large red letters. Read more here. 

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla.
With the assistance and expertise of explosive ordnance disposal Airmen from the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron, AFTAC’s Systems Development Directorate personnel tested a new system to determine if their creative ingenuity could be operationally deployed in the field. Read more here.

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.

Three members of U.S. Rep. Bill Posey’s (FL-8) office visited the Air Force Technical Applications Center March 4 to learn more about the center’s rich history and heritage. Read more here.

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.

Finalists from the 2019 Air Force Spark Tank competition visited the Air Force Technical Applications Center here March 1 to meet with members of the center’s Innovation Lab and observe how failure has led to success for the nuclear treaty monitoring organization. Read more here.

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.

A molecular biologist assigned to the Air Force Technical Applications Center here represented the Air Force at the Society of Women Engineers’ annual conference Oct. 18-20, 2018 in Minneapolis.

Julia Ignacek, deputy director of AFTAC’s Strategic Integration Directorate, was invited to serve as a panelist during a session entitled, “Leading Innovation in the Public Sector: Perspectives from NASA, the Army and the Air Force.” Read more here.

AFTAC Public Affairs Office
Staff Sgt. Terica Clewis has been assigned to the Air Force Technical Applications Center performing various roles for the past three years. Her current duties include designing innovated software systems that assist center personnel (as well as the rest of the Air Force) efficiently manage, store and process large-scale data. Read more here.