THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609240425
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 73 lines
It's no longer an elementary school, but a whole lot of teaching still goes on in the one-story building at Fort Monroe Army post in Hampton.
And the first-ever ``principal'' of the Joint Warfighting Center has completed his stint in the old schoolhouse and is headed for university-level teaching.
Air Force Major Gen. Joe Redden, the center's commander since it was created two years ago, was relieved last week by Air Force Maj. Gen. Hal Hornburg.
Redden, recently nominated by President Clinton for promotion to lieutenant general, becomes the commanding officer of the Air University, Air Education and Training Command at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.
He leaves behind an outfit that answers to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and that came about because ``the world sees us operating as part of a coalition,'' said Redden, 53.
``With the development of joint doctrine, our armed services are coming closer together, rather than further competing for defense department dollars,'' he said. ``We'll make the most of joint forces in the future.''
American military forces have different roles now than they did, say 20 years ago, which results in ``a diversity of stress,'' Redden said.``We must prepare for an uncertain future.''
One way to accomplish all this, he said, is by identifying countries throughout the world that share interests with the United States and that see it as a stable partner in a coalition of nations.
Forty-nine military officers from all branches of the service, along with 160 technical communications employees - 98 percent of whom are retired military personnel - work at the Joint Warfighting Center, where they write doctrine that can be used by U.S. armed forces.
Then they share their knowledge with coalition countries in what the center calls ``multinational training exercises.'' They may actually deploy to supervise one of these exercises, or they may conduct them on computer networks around the world.
One example of a deployment is Operation Keen Edge, an exercise held earlier this year in which Americans trained with the Japanese self-defense force to repel a mock attack against Japan and American bases there. In joint training, the two countries saw how they could protect the sovereignty of Japan and maintain stability in the region.
``When nations cooperate together they can promote peace and deter conflict,'' Redden said.
It's the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force's responsibility to organize, train and equip their own people at the service level, he said, but ``it's our responsibility to take training beyond the service level, and all come together.''
Redden said that the Joint Warfighting Center is a result of downsizing.
``It's a fact that the services are busier today than they were 10 years ago. Then, the (commanders-in-chief) around the world would have had robust exercise staffs, in charge of conducting training exercises.''
But armed forces ``no longer have the luxury'' of conducting their own joint doctrine and training programs, he said. That's why the center has deployed people to run 31 exercises this year, involving anywhere from 10 to 120 staff members.
Redden said the Joint Warfighting Center's mission can be likened to offering a post-graduate-level training course in ``how to operate together'' in a major corporation.
The center, he said, offers ``aggressive programs in cooperation,'' not only for major engagements when forces deploy, but also in humanitarian, counter-narcotic and counter-terrorist operations. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARK HEFFNER, The Virginian-Pilot
Air Force Maj. Gen. Joe Redden has directed the Joint Warfighting
Center since it opened at Fort Monroe two year ago. He was relieved
last week by Maj. Gen. Hal Hornburg, and will take command of the
Air University, Air Education and training Command at Maxwell Air
Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. by CNB