General Gives ISR Overview

In March, the chapter partnered with the Tennessee Valley Air Force Association, the National Military Intelligence Association and the National Defense Industrial Association for a speaker event with Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.). Gen. Deptula served more than 34 years of distinguished service as a combat pilot with more than 3,000 hours (400 in combat); the principal attack planner for the air campaign in operation Desert Storm (1991); and the director of the Combined Air Operations Center for operation Enduring Freedom. He is currently the chief executive officer of Mav6 LLC—a high technology company providing increased situation awareness capabilities.

Gen. Deptula gave a thought-provoking lecture on the history of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). He discussed the creation of ISR during the Civil War, when balloons were first used for ISR purposes, and he detailed its evolution from World War I and World War II to the modern era, where ISR was generally a “stove pipe” solution. This continued until recently, when Gen. Deptula and other U.S. military leaders realized that commanders across all branches and coalition forces should share the same information. While the armed forces are moving in this direction, budgetary hurdles and concern over secure information dissemination require careful planning and consideration. The value of accurate and timely information was emphasized, especially in the era of global communications and mass media, where any unintended loss of life is unacceptable and politically damaging. Timely and accurate ISR has become paramount for a country's world image. Gen. Deptula presented a cross-domain approach to ISR, where all branches of service and coalition forces, in certain circumstances, would have access to the same information. “ISR is indivisible; separation destroys the synergy created by combining items,” Gen. Deptula stated.

Gen. Deptula also discussed the benefits of a new Joint Forces ISR instance at the U.S. Air Force. “Intelligence and operations become a single task,” Gen. Deptula explained. He closed with a statement to enforce the continued importance of ISR, saying, “The only certainty with the future is that it is uncertain.” More than 300 individuals from the Tennessee Valley area attended the presentation. All proceeds from the event will be used to provide scholarships to graduating seniors from several Huntsville area high schools.

Event Photographs: