JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Registration is now open for the Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference, the main innovation and collaboration forum for installation and mission support to the Air and Space Forces.
Now in its fifth iteration with a year off in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center-hosted I-WEPTAC examines challenges to identify deficiencies, shortfalls and developmental gaps that limit the Air and Space Force’s ability to execute and operate efficiently.
Register at the link here.
“I-WEPTAC has proven to be a great platform for innovation and critical thought. The solutions these Airmen and Guardians provide come from their own experiences in garrison and downrange, so they’re addressing real-time challenges and future needs,” said AFIMSC Commander Maj. Gen. Tom Wilcox. “I’m looking forward to what this year’s teams bring to the fight.”
Cross-functional Mission Area Working Groups have met since December to study and develop courses of action for this year’s problem sets. Those teams will present their recommendations virtually to Air Force senior leaders April 6.
“Over its six year history, we’ve evolved the week’s events to ensure the conference remains viable and value-added to continue to meet that same intent,” said Col. Lance Clark, AFIMC’s Expeditionary Support and Innovation director. “Perhaps no other I-WEPTAC evolution has done more to cut the timeline from innovation concept to fielded capability than the I-WEPTAC Review Board.”
The IRB is chaired by Headquarters Air Force Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection Directorate and includes I&MS leadership representation from across the Department of the Air Force, as well as advisory members with equity in the topics being discussed. The IRB meets quarterly to review MAWG recommendations and oversee their adoption, ensuring continued progress on improvements. In the past year alone, IRB oversight has ushered more than a dozen MAWG-developed I&MS improvements into the DAF portfolio.
Despite the in-person meeting restrictions due to COVID-19, the 2021 I-WEPTAC took advantage of virtual meeting platforms to maximize the conference’s reach.
“After having to cancel I-WEPTAC 2020, we debuted virtual out-briefs for our MAWGs in 2021,” Clark said. “Last year’s virtual MAWG out-briefs broadcast to an audience of over 800 Airmen and Guardians, I-WEPTAC’s largest ever. We’ll virtually broadcast our MAWG out-briefs again this year and are looking forward to reaching an even larger audience.”
I-WEPTAC 2022 will focus on I&MS challenges at the tactical level in response to input from stakeholders. Each of the four teams will address an issue installation leaders are currently struggling with by exploring opportunities at all levels, strategic to tactical, to resolve these challenges.
This year’s event will also debut the I&MS Summit, an evolution from previous years’ separate mission support and general officer/senior executive service-level summits.
“We’re excited about this new forum as it will host a dialogue amongst stakeholders at the GO/SES level on current I&MS programs and issues,” Clark said. “While both targeted a similar audience, the GO/SES Summit was more of an update on AFIMSC activities and capabilities. AFIMSC and our I&MS enterprise have matured beyond the marginal benefit gained from a mere information update, and we’re looking forward to working together to make progress on the I&MS challenges facing our enterprise.”
The theme for I-WEPTAC 2022 is “Adaptive Operations through Expeditionary Combat Support,” and its topics and MAWG chairs are:
- Transition the Agile Combat Support Deployment Model from the Air and Space Expeditionary Force to Air Force Force Generation, chaired by Capt. Randi Brown, Expeditionary Engineering Branch Chief, Air Combat Command Headquarters, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
- Mission Risks Associated with IT Support Transition to Cyber Operations, chaired by Donald Lewis, Cyberspace Systems Support Branch Chief, AFIMSC, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
- Leveraging Remote Sensing and sUAS for Installation and Mission Support, chaired by Capt. Kristin Ober, Operations Branch Chief, AFIMSC Detachment 4, Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
- Passive Defense for Adaptive Operations, chaired by Maj. Kendall Benton, Policy Branch Action Officer, Headquarters Air Force Security Forces Directorate, Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.
“Our installations are the weapon systems that set our Air and Space Forces apart from other services,” Clark said. “They’re the platforms from which all our Airmen and Guardians operate; the better they are, the better we are. As such, I&MS innovation doesn’t come from just a limited audience. We need everyone to play a part to ensure our Airmen and Guardians have the finest installation weapon systems from which to operate.
“Come be a part of I-WEPTAC and our yearlong innovation cycle. We’re eager to partner with you.”
For more information about I-WEPTAC and to register, visit: https://www.afimsc.af.mil/News/I-WEPTAC-2022/.