by Specialist Cassandra Villezcas

     The leadership of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC) hosted an Armywide Tactics Seminar on 7 and 8 May 2009. The seminar was held in the Internal Operations Center located at Fort Bliss, Texas.

     The purpose of the tactics seminar was to assist in developing new techniques to counter current and future air and missile defense threats and to maintain Army Air Defense Artillery’s capability to deploy anywhere in the world against the full spectrum of air and missile threats: theater ballistic missiles, advanced cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems, and rockets.

     “The tactics seminar is allowing us to take some of the experience the Soldiers are having down range so we can share (them) with the CONUS [Continental/Contiguous United States]-based force (allowing us to) get a good grasp of what is happening in the forward deployed theaters,” said Colonel Joseph P. DeAntona, Commander of the 11th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade.

     Leaders from air and missile defense units around the globe attended the tactics seminar to include; Colonels James Dickenson, Commander of the 35th ADA Brigade, US Forces Korea, and James Spangler, the Operations Officer-in-Charge, assigned to the 94th AAMDC at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

     “By sharing the latest intelligence and technical information with all key leaders it will enable us to maintain the ability to defeat a wide variety of countermeasures such as, anti-radiation systems and diverse threats,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jon Randel, the Deputy Operations Officer of  who is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 32nd AAMDC.

     The leaders were briefed on Patriot lessons learned and the challenges of theater air and missile defense systems, such as the Counter-Rocket, -Artillery, and -Mortar, Avenger, Sentinel, Patriot and Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense systems.

     “It is important not only to share the latest information and intelligence, but build better relationships among leaders across the Air Defense Artillery community. With our Army air and missile defense headquarters, we find that we can better deploy, task organize, and integrate air and missile defense task forces wherever they may be needed,” said Colonel Anthony J. English, the Operations Officer-in-Charge, HHB, 32nd AAMDC.

     Air Defenders now have a better understanding of the operating environment and the threat that exists. They can set up improved training scenarios that will better prepare Soldiers for deployment, said Colonel Daniel R. Karbler, Commander, 31st ADA Brigade.

     All key leaders took part in a discussion focused on past and present experiences, positive or negative, allowing them to help solve some of the challenges their units are currently facing and will possibly face in the future.

     “The more knowledge we get out, the better it is for brigade trainers so that they can prepare the Soldiers for any future conflict”, said English. “We hope to conduct a tactics seminar like this every six months.”