The Expeditionary Aerospace Force and Distributed Operations for Command and Control.

In the latter part of 1998, the United States Air Force began to institutionalize its post-Cold War expeditionary nature by ushering in its "Expeditionary Aerospace Force" (EAF) concept. A critical component of this concept is a "lean" force which calls for a reduction of the Air Force's forward-deployed footprint of both personnel and equipment. This reduction is supported by and relies on advances in information and communications technologies. These technological advances allow the Air Force to conduct operations from multiple, independent nodes in a teaming manner. This approach, also known as "distributed operations", is becoming standard throughout the U.S. Armed Forces. It allows many personnel to remain geographically separated from the forward-deployed forces which "reach back" to rear locations for required support. The Air Force's transition to an expeditionary aerospace force and corresponding reliance on "distributed operations" poses new challenges to command and control. This thesis examines the changes the Air Force is undertaking to meet the challenges associated with implementing the EAF concept. These changes fit into the three pillars of command and control - personnel, processes, and technology.