Sheila Vemmer / Defense News Media Group Brig. Gen. Francis Mahon is commander of the 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Artillery Command at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Changes to how the Army and Air Force handle missile threats has cut the planning cycle from hours to minutes, Army Brig. Gen. Francis Mahon said on April 28.

Instead of focusing on a pure Army or Air Force response to a missile threat, Mahon wants a joint solution, using the best assets on hand.

“We don’t care whose steel is landing on the target, we just want steel on the target,” the commander told military and defense industry representatives attending the 2006 Cruise Missile & IED Defense Conference: Joint Engagement of Time-Critical Air & Ground Targets, sponsored by the Defense News Media Group, in Arlington, Va.

An important doctrinal change was assigning high-level Army missile defense officers to Air Force air operations centers, said Mahon, commander of the 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Artillery Command at Fort Bliss, Texas.

At the air operations center, Army officers from Mahon’s “attack operations” section would be on the staff of the air component commander and on the floor of the operations center working face-to-face with their Air Force counterparts.

At the same time soldiers are in the air operations center, there are also Army missile defenders working on the staff of the land component commander at his operations center, Mahon said.

Having missile teams in the air and ground operations centers allows the missile defense team to quickly find the best way to counter the missile threat, the general said. In the old organizational model, the missile defense staff was focused at the ground commander’s operations center.

The new command structure was tried out in the spring 2005 Joint Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and in Korean exercises. This year, Army missile defense representatives will have a role in an Air Force Blue Flag command and control exercise.

As missile defense commander, Mahon said the work to stop an attack starts with accurate intelligence and understanding the battlefield. With good intelligence, the missiles can be destroyed before they leave the ground or kept out of range.

Destroying a missile already rocketing towards its target can be the most difficult part of the equation. During the invasion phase of Iraqi Freedom, there was just a 40 to 45 second window to respond, Mahon said.

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