Chief of staff announces major total force integration steps Published Sept. 17, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The Air Force's top officer announced the addition of Dannelly Field Air Guard Station, Ala., as well as other initiatives, to the service's evolving set of total force integration efforts at an event Sept. 13 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said the move is part of the service's total force integration effort designed to cement more than 680,000 active duty, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Airmen and civilian employees into an even more capable and efficient Air Force. "While we're fully engaged in conflict on a global scale today, our efforts to revolutionize the Air Force are critical to forging an Air Force with the capability and capacity to dominate all its warfighting domains across the spectrum of 21st century conflict," General Moseley said. The general also announced the historic re-designation of the Alabama Air National Guard's 160th Fighter Squadron at Dannelly Field as the 100th Fighter Squadron. The famed "Red Tails" of the 100th Fighter Squadron, members of the Tuskegee Airmen, distinguished themselves in combat in Europe and the Mediterranean during World War II. The Air Force will create an active association at Dannelly Field with the 187th Fighter Wing, which includes the newly re-designated 100th Fighter Squadron. The wing will continue to have principal responsibility for the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft while incorporating active-duty Airmen into the unit. General Moseley stated the Air Force would continue the active association at the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., and announced the establishment of active associations with the 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., and the 301st Fighter Wing at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base in Texas. He also announced plans to expand the active associate community basing effort with Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing. In the city of Burlington, active-duty Airmen are garrisoned at an Air National Guard location without the support functions traditionally provided on an active duty installation such as housing, medical care, a commissary or a base exchange. Instead, Airmen access these services in the local civilian community. "The Guard has primary responsibility for the aircraft and the active-duty Airmen come in and associate with them to craft and create a unit that will be more capable than either of them could do as cost effectively by themselves," said Maj. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., assistant deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs. General Moseley also announced the Air Force will consolidate Air Force Reserve Command officer commissioning programs with the active-duty Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB. "We see common commissioning programs as another way to cement the bonds between our future total force officers," he said. "By starting them on a path toward a career of service to the Air Force and our great nation, there will be no seams between Airmen of different elements." The last announcement made during the ceremony involved the moving of the Eagle Vision 6 deployable satellite downlink ground station to its permanent home at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. Eagle Vision interfaces with seven commercial imaging satellites downloading high-quality radar and electro-optical pictures used by military, state and national leaders for disaster preparedness and homeland defense. The move is part of a joint venture with a nearby Army intelligence unit to take full advantage of the Eagle Vision 6 capabilities. Air Force personnel will train Army intelligence personnel to derive imagery from the station which can be used to further examine disaster aftermath, battle damage or to aid in rescue operations stateside and abroad. "We are a total force that has been at war now continuously for 17 years in the Middle East and other crisis spots around the world," General Moseley said. "We've learned some tremendous lessons over that time and we're using those lessons to shape the way we organize, train and equip our service."