Just winding down from its command and control function following Hurricane Katrina, officials at US Northern Command say they are gearing for requests for assistance for Hurricane Rita. NORTHCOM’s Joint Operations Center at Colorado Springs, Colo., is still in 24-hour mode from Katrina. The command already established Homestead ARB, Fla., as its primary staging area to pre-position food, water, and ice and has pre-positioned heavy and medium lift helicopters at Patrick AFB, Fla.
The Air Force kicked off one of its biggest exercises this week with the latest edition of Bamboo Eagle, featuring combined virtual and live training scenarios focused on test the command-and-control “nervous system” leaders need to operate on a complex joint battlefield spread over vast distances.
