TOP STORY >>Guard unit eyes battlefield from Little Rock

By MASTER SGT. BOB OLDHAM
189th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

With their eyes focused on computer screens, intelligence analysts from the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 123rd Intelligence Squadron are keeping watch over the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan as they process intelligence live for the nation’s war fighters.

The unit began analyzing intelligence in near real-time for its customers Dec. 15. “This is an awesome responsibility that our Arkansas Air National Guardsmen now have,” said Brig. Gen. Riley Porter, Arkansas Air National Guard commander. “The work they are doing today could be the difference in life or death in real time. They take it very seriously and professionally, and Arkansans should be proud of what they bring to the fight.”

The country is committed to supporting the war fighter, the general said, and that commitment has led to the new capability for the unit. “With the capability here now, we’re able to perform our mission internally,” said 1st Lt. Paul Needham, 123rd IS assistant director of operations. “We also ... bring more experience, typically an older workforce, to the intelligence field. The customer loves it.” While the capability to support live missions is new for the 123rd, it’s something the unit’s members have been doing for years at other bases.

In the late 1990s, some unit members deployed to Europe while others deployed to state-side locations to support operations in Kosovo. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, unit members have deployed to active-duty Air Force units to analyze intelligence, causing a strain on their families and civilian employers while the members were away — some for two years or longer.

With the digital revolution, intelligence analyst Airmen don’t have to be on or near the front lines. Data is collected from a platform, turned into ones and zeroes, sent to a Distributed Ground Station, analyzed and returned to the user, usually within a matter of minutes. The lieutenant’s staff of Guardsmen typically have anywhere from five to 15 years of experience in the intelligence business.

“We’re pretty much providing the full spectrum of support to the war fighter,” he said. “It could be anything from sitting on a house to watching troops in contact (with the enemy).” Currently, the unit has nearly 40 members on Title 10 orders, working around the clock in shifts to do the nation’s work. Members have been on orders since July to support the Air Force’s Air and Space Expeditionary Force. As one set of 179-day orders end, members will be picked up for another set of 179-day orders.
“We’re looking at two to three years, probably pushing the waiver limits,” said Lieutenant Needham of how long he expects his members to be on orders. “That depends a lot on full-time manning issues and growth issues as well.”

While that might be a long time to be on orders for the average Guardsman, the lieutenant said his members are up to the task, and their job satisfaction is extremely high. “You really get to see what level of support you provide, you see the difference that it makes, and it gives you a good feeling that you can go home and say, ‘I really did something cool today,’” he said.

A customer usually has a request of what they are looking for, and unit members will tailor the product they provide based on that input from the customer. “That could be a voice chat report to a textual report,” the lieutenant said. The 123rd is one of four Air Guard units around the nation to provide intelligence analysis. The other units are in Alabama, Kansas and Nevada.