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      U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hartranft, 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron ground liaison officer, stands in front of the 9th EBS T-Wall at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Feb. 6, 2019. The GLO translates the ground units’ intent into action in the air, also known as green to blue. All GLOs within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are supplied by the 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment which is a unit under U.S. Army Central. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Travis Beihl)Army GLO connects ground intent to air action
                        
                        
                        Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hartranft, 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron ground liaison officer, stands in front of the 9th EBS T-Wall at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Feb. 6, 2019. The GLO translates the ground units’ intent into action in the air, also known as green to blue. All GLOs within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are supplied by the 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment which is a U.S. Army Central Command unit. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Travis Beihl)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Army GLO connects ground intent to air actionPublished Feb. 21, 2019
                    
                    By Senior Airman Travis Beihl
                    
                    
                    U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs
            **AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AFNS) --**Communication between the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard is similar to trying to understand a different language because each service uses different lingo and acronyms in their daily operations.
The U.S. Air Forces Central Command hosts a specialized Soldier from the 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment known as a ground liaison officer. The GLO translates the ground units’ intent into action in the air. This translation between Army and Air Force is also known as green to blue, and is used to achieve the ground commander's mission objectives.
Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hartranft, 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron GLO, fills this key role within the AFCENT mission. His job is to translate green to blue and blue to green between ground commanders and the combined forces air component commander; integrating and synchronizing air and ground operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
“The 9th is a 24/7 operation that spans a 20-nation AOR,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Lord, 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander. “We are launching sorties throughout the day and we will have flown hundreds of combat sorties before we head back home.”
Hartranft’s work schedule is based on supporting the squadron’s close air support mission and the only bomb squadron to touch both Operation Resolute Support and Operation Inherent Resolve.
“My day to day is anything but predictable because I can be called in at any time of the day,” Hartranft said. “Prior to the mission I’m contacting the ground units down range to get the products I need to translate and hand them off to the pilots.”
Working that schedule daily can be daunting for almost anyone. However, Hartranft has had his fair share of unique schedules through his previous five deployments.
“I’ve been deployed three times to Iraq and two times to Afghanistan and was part of the initial push into Iraq,” Hartranft said. “It’s good to see it on this side of things. It’s nice to be a part of the pre-execution side and seeing it all put together.”
GLOs are deployed from the various BCDs across the globe, assisting selected operational functions as the senior liaison between army forward commander and the air component commander.
“The 4th BCD is responsible for supplying all GLOs within the CENTCOM AOR,” said Army Maj. Nathan Gunter, 4th BCD GLO manager forward. “We work with the 5th and 19th BCDs to ensure CAS squadrons have the support they need.”
That support takes a variety of forms.
“Hartranft will reach out, knowing what we plan to do and who we plan to support, gather that data and merge it with our unit so we are all on the same sheet of music,” Lord said.
Hartranft is also one of the few GLO’s who is deployed with the squadron to which he is assigned. Being deployed with his squadron brings a multitude of benefits for not only Hartranft, but also the pilots.
“We always have a GLO that works with the bomb squadron and in my four (U.S. Central Command) deployments, this is the first time the squadron assigned GLO was able to deploy with them,” Lord said. “I’ve been able to see the benefit of not only the work relationship but the personal relationship with the members of our bomb squadron. So in terms of my experience, this one has been the best because he really knows his squadron.”
Lord said Hartranft has touched every single sortie the 9th EBS has flown and they are a better joint team because of his expertise.
“Being attached to the 9th EBS has been phenomenal,” Hartranft said. “This is the best job I’ve ever had and I would do this for the rest of my life if I could.”AFCENT 



GLO 



Army 



ground 



Intent 



air 



action 



Al Udeid AB 



Marines 



Navy 



Coast Guard 



AF 



Air Force 



4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment 



ground liaison officer Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                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 fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                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 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM 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