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Indo-Pacific

Advice for the Pacific Region

July 8, 2020
By Kimberly Underwood
Air Force Lt. Gen. Ken Wilsbach performs preflight procedures in his F-22 Raptor before his final flight as commander of the Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Region and Eleventh Air Force, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in August 2018. Gen. Wilsbach takes the helm as commander of the Pacific Air Forces, succeeding Gen. Charles Brown, who is moving to be the next chief of the Air Force. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña

After two years as the commander of the Pacific Air Forces, or PACAF, Gen. Charles Brown Jr., USAF, moves on from guiding airmen and operations in the complicated region. During a time of growing near-peer competition from China, Gen. Brown leaves advice for the new commander of PACAF, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, USAF. Gen. Wilsbach, who also will receive his fourth star, takes the helm at PACAF today.

Previously, Gen. Wilsbach was the commander of the 7th Air Force and the deputy commander of U.S. Forces in Korea.

When asked what advice he would give to the new PACAF commander, Gen. Brown, speaking virtually to AFCEA International’s Hawaii monthly chapter meeting last week, suggested that, “relationships really matter.”

Access to Data is Key for Indo-Pacific Operations

July 2, 2020
By Kimberly Underwood
Speaking to the AFCEA Hawaii Chapter on June 30 during a virtual luncheon, Gen. Charles Brown, USAF, who is the outgoing commander, Pacific Air Forces; air component commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; and executive director, Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, advises the industry to help quickly field capabilities to the warfighter, rather than delivering a solution "late to need."

The vast Indo-Pacific region is not well understood. And given the rising threat from China, the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) operating in that area of responsibility has focused on working closely with U.S. allies and partners to improve interoperability through exercises, experimentation and innovation. The other key priority is increased communication and information sharing, advised Gen. Charles Q. Brown, USAF.

Holding Back China’s Conquest of the South China Sea

March 3, 2020
By Robert K. Ackerman
Panelists at WEST 2020 examine how to stand up to China's South China Sea aggression. Photo by Michael Carpenter

Carefully crafted actions on the part of nations respecting international law may be the solution for countering China’s maritime territory grab in the South China Sea. These actions could prevent the Middle Kingdom from bullying its way into areas it claims unilaterally, or they might be the key to preventing the region from erupting into armed conflict.

These issues were the focus of discussion in a Tuesday panel at WEST 2020, the conference and exposition in San Diego March 2-3 co-sponsored by AFCEA International and USNI. A collection of warfighters and academics weighed the consequences of potential actions as well as inaction.

Coast Guard Expands Its Indo-Pacific Presence

November 20, 2019
By Robert K. Ackerman
Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, USCG, commander, 14th Coast Guard District, describes the service's expanding mission in the Indo-Pacific region. Credit: Bob Goodwin Photography

The U.S. Coast Guard has increased its activities across the Pacific theater, including a national security cutter deployed under the control of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet. Concurrent with these efforts are increased efforts in cyberspace, with a special focus on personnel.

These points were emphasized by Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, USCG, commander, 14th Coast Guard District, at the keynote breakfast opening day 2 of TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 being held November 19-21 in Honolulu. Adm. Lunday described an expanding mission that includes serving the maritime security needs of small Pacific nations.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Confronts Growing Regional Dynamism

November 1, 2019
By Robert K. Ackerman
U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft join ships of the USS Ronald Reagan in a multiservice exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) seeks expanded capabilities to counter new and growing threats across a region that comprises more than half the Earth’s surface. MC2 Kenneth Abbate

More crisis points are challenging U.S. goals in the Indo-Pacific region, and the combined command in charge of that vast theater is gathering resources and partners to maintain an effective military and diplomatic presence against rivals and other threats to peace and security. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) is building new coalitions, acquiring innovative technologies and adding greater capabilities while continuing to carry out its mission.

Connecting Communications Across the Indo-Pacific

November 1, 2019
By Kimberly Underwood
An HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan, flies during a recent recovery training. Any command and control solutions have to reach airmen across the Indo-Pacific region, leaders say. Pacific Air Forces.

Operating across the great distances of the Indo-Pacific region requires robust communication solutions. To meet the technological demands of airmen in the region, the U.S. Air Force, and in particular the Pacific Air Forces, are considering resilient network architecture, advanced software, battlespace command and control center solutions, new high frequency capabilities, low-earth-orbit platforms and decision-making tools, among other innovative solutions.

Knowledge Is Power for INDOPACOM

November 1, 2019
By Robert K. Ackerman
U.S. Marines with the Marine Rotational Force in Australia conduct a bilateral exercise with the Australian Defence Force. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) is expanding its reach for intelligence information that can be applied across the spectrum of military and civilian uses. U.S. Marine Corps

Making more intelligence available to a wider range of customers, including the general public, is a major goal of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s intelligence directorate. This represents a bit of a departure from the traditional role of limiting intelligence information to only decision makers and warfighters, and it acknowledges the strategic importance of information in the public realm.

Chinese Threat Dominates INDOPACOM Intelligence

October 23, 2019
By Robert K. Ackerman
U.S. Navy cryptologic technicians stand watch in the combat information center of the USS Milius in the East China Sea. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) intelligence experts are addressing the long-expected emergence of China as a regional adversary with global intentions. (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Taylor DiMartino, USN)

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) harbors no illusions about China’s capabilities and intentions, its officials say. Experts who long have followed the Middle Kingdom’s official publications and statements have understood the nation’s aggressive nature and threat to peace and security, according to the director of intelligence (J-2) for INDOPACOM. These issues are now front and center for INDOPACOM as China expands its military and political reach to disrupt the peace and security of the entire Indo-Pacific region.

Air Force Leader Looks to a 5th Generation Mindset for the Indo-Pacific

July 31, 2019
By Kimberly Underwood
The United States is keeping a close eye on adversaries in the Indo-Pacific Region, says Gen. Charles Brown, USAF, commander, Pacific Air Forces, speaking at yesterday’s Mitchell Institute event in Arlington, Virginia.

The U.S. Air Force’s role in the Indo-Pacific region of the world is complex given the current atmosphere and threat environment. The region is host to 44 percent of the world’s trade and 60 percent of the world’s population. And for the United States, four of the five major challenges and threats identified by the National Defense Strategy and the National Security Strategy are in the Indo-Pacific region, including revisionist powers China and Russia, said the commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, Gen. Charles Brown. The four-star general, whose area of responsibility is the Indo-Pacific, is also air component commander for the U.S.

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