Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Tech. Sgt. Cody L. Canfield, tactical air control party specialist with the 169th Air Support Operations Squadron, Illinois Air National Guard, uses an LA-5 to illuminate a target while, from left, state Rep. Michael Unes, R-Ill., state Sen. David Koehler, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., watch during a demonstration of the Air National Guard Advanced Joint Terminal Attack Controller Training System at the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria, Ill., Oct. 5, 2015. Peoria’s TACPs teamed up with the QuantaDyn Corporation to help create the AAJTS, which is expected to potentially save the government $95 million through fiscal year 2018 by reducing the cost of qualification and continuation training by 48 percent. (U.S. Air National Guard photo/Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer)Battlefield Airmen unveil combat simulator
                        
                        
                        Tech. Sgt. Cody L. Canfield, tactical air control party specialist with the 169th Air Support Operations Squadron, Illinois Air National Guard, uses an LA-5 to illuminate a target while, from left, state Rep. Michael Unes, R-Ill., state Sen. David Koehler, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., watch during a demonstration of the Air National Guard Advanced Joint Terminal Attack Controller Training System at the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria, Ill., Oct. 5, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo/Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Lt. Col. Scott R. Twesme, air liaison officer with the 182nd Air Support Operations Group, Illinois Air National Guard, pilots a close air support aircraft during an Air National Guard Advanced Joint Terminal Attack Controller Training System training session at the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria, Ill., Oct. 5, 2015. Peoria’s TACPs teamed up with the QuantaDyn Corporation to help create the AAJTS, which is expected to potentially save the government $95 million through fiscal year 2018 by reducing the cost of qualification and continuation training by 48 percent. (U.S. Air National Guard photo/Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer)Battlefield Airmen unveil combat simulator
                        
                        
                        Lt. Col. Scott R. Twesme, air liaison officer with the 182nd Air Support Operations Group, Illinois Air National Guard, pilots a close air support aircraft during an Air National Guard Advanced Joint Terminal Attack Controller Training System training session at the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria, Ill., Oct. 5, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo/Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Illinois Airmen unveil combat simulator for tactical air controllersPublished Oct. 9, 2015
                    
                    By Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer
                    
                    
                    182nd Airlift Wing
            **PEORIA, Ill. (AFNS) --**Airmen with the Illinois Air National Guard unveiled a combat simulator they helped create for tactical air controllers during a ceremony with lawmakers Oct. 5 at the 182nd Airlift Wing.The Air National Guard Advanced Joint Terminal Attack Controller Training System allows tactical air control party specialists to practice coordinating airstrikes while deployed overseas with ground forces. The AAJTS will potentially save the government $95 million through fiscal year 2018, by reducing the cost of qualification training by 48 percent, according to an analysis presented to the Air Force.Maj. Jason Clifford, commander of the 169th Air Support Operations Squadron that launched the simulator, said while nothing can replace the experience of controlling live aircraft, the simulator is a cost-effective alternative.The system is a realistic way for tactical air control parties to train and maintain proficiency, especially in a time of financial restraint when resources are not always available, Clifford said.The AAJTS also provides an enhanced training environment not available in a live training range.“We can stop and start events so that guys can learn where they failed or where they did well in their training,” he said. “We can pause the mission, pause the aircraft, give a quick debrief, steer them back in right direction and have them pick up right where they left off.”Matt Hruska, simulator operator and maintainer for the 169th ASOS, said that the end result of incorporating simulator training will be Airmen equipped to provide close air support to ground troops in danger.“I’ve been that grunt that never had air support, so I’ve been in situations where you’re getting shot at and you’re like ‘This is it, I’m dying,’” Hruska said. “With this, we give hope. Once you hear that (aircraft) come in, it’s like ‘Yes!’ So motivation goes up. They know that Air Force is watching their backs, and that’s the biggest thing -- just watching that guy’s six.”The simulator is comprised of a 270-degree dome projection screen, a control station and an aircraft simulator station. The dome contains 14 high-end projectors that immerse the user in wartime scenarios. It can be networked with other AAJTS simulators, allowing TACPs and pilots to train together worldwide without leaving their bases.State and federal legislators experienced the simulator firsthand after they participated in its ribbon cutting.State Rep. Michael Unes, R-East Peoria, said he was amazed at the simulator’s realism and its applications to real-world operations.“I heard about it, but it’s one thing to hear about it and it’s another thing to actually see it in action and how real it is from the ground to the air,” Unes said. “It’s great that we’re able to have this type of training to bring our guys home safely.”The Peoria TACPs teamed up with the QuantaDyn Corporation in 2012 to help create the AAJTS by ensuring it emulated the battlefield, from the sound of being shot at to equipment malfunctions.U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., said she was impressed that the concept originating in Central Illinois has now spread throughout the country and overseas.“I’ve very impressed with that, and I think it shows ingenuity,” Bustos said. “It shows that the folks here are not giving up on making sure that they’re always viable, always moving to the next step, and I’m just very, very impressed with the whole operation here.”To date, TACPs with Peoria’s 169th ASOS have completed 101 combat deployments, during which they controlled more than 1,500 aircraft missions. The unit’s Airmen have earned 29 Bronze Stars, 69 commendation medals, 26 Combat Action badges and one Purple Heart.TACP 



JTAC 



Air National Guard Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil