FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- From Nov. 5-8, 2019, Airmen from the 23rd Intelligence Squadron organized and hosted Air Combat Command’s Publicly Available Information Working Group (PAI WG). Members from throughout the Department of Defense met to discuss PAI success stories, identify and implement best practices, and determine the way forward for program growth.
Attendees from varying backgrounds and specialties presented real-world PAI success stories, ranging from domestic support operations to combat support efforts across the globe. The career field diversity provided unique perspectives on the application of PAI tools and TTPs. Attendees learned new research techniques and new capabilities to integrate into their PAI skill sets.
With more than 100 attendees representing 25 different DoD organizations, this year’s working group was the largest gathering to date, and attendance is expected to grow in FY20.
The working group opened with remarks from Headquarters Air Force/A2’s (HAF), Ms. Amber Marble. Discussions centered on the development and implementation of DoD Directive 3115.18, which was published on June 11, 2019. The directive “establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for DoD access to and use of PAI, and establishes the DoD PAI Advisory Council.”
Mr. Brad Snyder and Maj. Christopher Brown, ACC/A2, followed with topics related to PAI growth and support over the past year. Despite financial constraints, PAI licensing capabilities grew by 4 percent over FY19, and will grow an additional 65 percent in FY20. The tactics, techniques, and procedures that have been developed for PAI over the past 1.5 years are driving the development of an intermediate training class to grow capabilities and expertise. Additional pilot programs and infrastructure solutions are also being developed in order to answer the high demand and utilization that PAI is facing from across the Air Force enterprise.
PAI was identified by Lt. Gen. Veralinn Jamieson, deputy chief of staff, Intelligence Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, Headquarters Air Force (HAF), as a focus area in HAF’s “Next Generation ISR Dominance Flight Plan,” an encompassing strategy about how the service maintains and enhances decisive advantages amidst the reemergence of great power competition and rapid technological change in the digital era. The Flight Plan states that the use of PAI will flip the legacy paradigm of relying solely on ISR collected via exquisite DoD platforms/sensors upside down. The Enterprise will be able to more deliberately employ exquisite ISR capabilities and PAI.
The 23rd IS is leading the way within Air Force Reserve Command in the development and employment of PAI capabilities and is set to open a PAI Center of Excellence sometime in FY20.
The next PAI Working group is scheduled for April 20-24, 2020, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
(The 23rd IS delivers premiere cyber intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance expertise through Total Force Integration, driving the employment of offensive cyber capabilities in support of Combatant Command objectives and priorities. To learn more about exciting and rewarding career opportunities in the 23rd IS, please contact your local Air Force Reserve recruiter or call 210-977-2671 for more information.)