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LeMay Center holds first Service Core Function Symposium

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jennifer Lovett
  • LeMay Center
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  As Airmen continue to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, they work side-by-side with warfighters from the Army, Navy and Marines as well as coalition partners from around the globe.

The developers at the LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education here concluded a symposium July 28 that helps define the new service core functions enabling Airmen to accomplish the full gamut of missions the Air Force provides to the joint force.

"The Air Force's first Service Core Functions Symposium works to provide everyone from a new Airman to the most seasoned Pentagon veteran an understanding of where they fit in the Air Force enterprise," Mr. J.P. Hunerwadel, LeMay Center symposium director said.

The list of service core functions was recently approved by the Air Force to support its core mission areas. They are broadly defined as activities mandated by Department of Defense as requirements to achieve the strategic objectives found in both the National Defense and National Military Strategies.

Each function is accompanied by an initial list of underlying elements intended to tie the SCFs to specific missions and tasks accomplished by Air Force units.

"But those elements required further development and refinement," Lt. Col. Fred McNeil, LeMay Center Doctrine Development division chief said. "This symposium brought together leaders and experts from around the Air Force to gain consensus on those missions and definitions."

There was a real need for common language between the Air Force's warfighters - the usual audience for doctrine - and those on the "corporate management" side of the Air Force - the programmers, planners and "budgeteers," Mr. Hunerwadel said.

The two groups lacked common terminology and have sometimes worked against each other, he said. The symposium brought together many of the key players in both communities allowing them to decide on common terms and frames of reference.

"We were able to define the missions for the benefit of the warfighter, which should help Airmen better communicate airpower with our joint partners," Colonel McNeil said. "Unfolding those capabilities for the Air Force enables us to speak a common language and articulate our mission in a joint environment in a succinct manner across the spectrum."

Once the chief of staff of the Air Force approves the symposium's results, the Service Core Function missions will be incorporated into Air Force and joint doctrine.