TF Falcon hosts Air Threat Conference

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon, hosted the second Air Threat Conference Sept. 3 at Bagram Airfield.

“The goal is to build a common operating picture of the air threats, and we do so by combining, developing and synchronizing aviation and intelligence efforts,” said U.S. Army Maj. Khot Souimaniphan, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon intelligence officer, from Keller, Texas.

“This conference … is a good opportunity to meet other members of the aviation intelligence and operational community and build upon the professional relationships that the various offices and interested parties have. The takeaway is that the audience learns something they did not already know and are able to use and share this information.”

The conference brought together leaders from various task forces throughout Afghanistan to discuss and analyze the air threat from this summer and to predict future threats. The first conference, held in March, covered an analysis of the air threat from the previous winter.

“We’re looking to see how things have changed from last year this time to this year at this time,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Richard Lopez, member of the Joint Combat Assessment Team for TF Falcon, from Dayton, Ohio. “We’re trying to determine how the enemy’s tactics have evolved over the year so we can predict what they will do in the future to help mitigate the risk to aircraft.”

During the conference, participants discussed the differences between the air threat in their various regions of Afghanistan and also discussed how they believed the enemy was targeting aircraft in each area. Other topics included significant events that occurred in each of the area of operations within Afghanistan and how the enemy’s tactics, techniques and procedures have evolved.

“It is vital that we understand the enemy's air threat posture, his TTP
evolution, and know where, when and how he is going to strike us in order
to protect our aircraft and aircrews,” said Souimaniphan. “Also, it is important we, as the intelligence community, create an enhanced predictive analysis capability in support of aviation operations in [Regional Command-East].”