AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, U.S. Air Forces Central Command Commander, unveiled his mission, vision and lines of effort to commanders from across the 20-nation area of responsibility covering Central and Southwest Asia during the AFCENT Commanders Conference Nov. 7, 2018.
“AFCENT’s mission is to deliver decisive air and space power on behalf of U.S. Central Command for the security and stability of the region,” said Guastella. “We do this mission proudly alongside our international, joint, and interagency partners.”
Wing commanders and senior enlisted leaders from across AFCENT’s AOR gathered to attend the two-day conference at Al Udeid airbase to discuss their efforts in providing airpower in support of regional operations throughout CENTCOM.
Guastella described his vision to best support CENTCOM by “leveraging the unique warfighting capabilities that airpower provides to help defeat violent extremists in the region, defend U.S. and coalition interests, deter regional adversaries, and firmly address great power competitors.”
In order to achieve this mission and vision, he briefed three critical lines of effort for AFCENT:
Provide Deterrence and Stability
- Stability in the CENTCOM area of responsibility demands a credible, capable, and dynamic defense posture to compete, deter, and win against state and non-state actors. AFCENT will leverage multi-domain capabilities to out-match those seeking to challenge the U.S. and coalition interests in the region. We are resolved to deter aggression, maintain security, defend our networks, and ensure access to common domains across our area of responsibility.
Provide War-Winning Air Power
- AFCENT is fully committed to winning the current fight and combatting emerging threats across all domains. As Airmen, we secure the high-ground by providing operational command and control; precision strike; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; mobility; personnel recovery; space force enhancement; and agile combat support. We do these missions in support of the National Defense Strategy and in alignment with the CENTCOM campaign objectives.
Build and Shape Partner Air Forces
- AFCENT is committed to partnering with regional air forces by leveraging the professional expertise of our Airmen to build sustainable capacity, increased capability, as well as interoperability. Across the region, AFCENT Airmen will embrace our train, advise, and assist mission with regional air forces to bolster defenses and increase credibility and lethality.
“Our highest purpose in this AOR is to prevent and deter major hostilities in this region and that is what airpower does really well,” said Guastella. “We don’t always have to drop bombs, sometimes we just have to show we are there. We have to deliver air power on behalf of CENTCOM for this region and we do this with our partners, joint interagency and the rest of the air power team. It’s not just an Air Force effort.”
Chief Master Sgt. Shawn L. Drinkard, AFCENT Command Chief, stressed the value of the NCO corps in supporting the CENTCOM mission.
“Looking at these lines of effort, we wouldn’t be able to do any of these without a professional and empowered NCO corps which translates into Airmen who control and exploit air power,” said Drinkard.
Additionally, Guastella stressed the importance of not only Airmen, but international partnerships, in achieving these lines of effort.
"We need to make sure Airmen know why their job is important, why they matter in the bigger picture, and if there are things we can do to improve quality of life, then that’s on us as commanders,” said Guastella. “It’s also important to build partnerships and relationships with our joint community, host nation, and allies and partners. We wouldn’t be where we are today without their help in the fight.”