FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Col. William Watkins assumed command of the 22nd Air Task Force unit of action assigned to Air Combat Command during a ceremony at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Sept. 23, 2024.
Watkins and Chief Master Sgt. Erick Lizarraga, 22nd ATF command chief, now lead the newly established unit located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.
“The new ATF model creates the time and space to deliberately train together as an entire wing prior to deployment,” said Watkins. “This allows us to elevate our game and become highly effective. The ATF structure allows for a teaming model where leaders have the opportunity to nurture trust with their Airmen, a luxury of developing that was not included with previous deployment models.
“Another key aspect is the opportunity this new model creates to allow families to come together and bond,” he added. “Before, some of our Airmen deployed, leaving their families in an isolated situation. With the ATF, it’s not just the Airmen deploying, but the families that are in this together, which provides a holistic level of teaming and support across the unit of action that we haven’t seen before.”
The establishment of ATFs support the Air Force’s endeavors towards a cohesive and integrated unit of action called Combat Wings. The Air Force designed ATFs to be “pathfinders” whose role is to take lessons learned from their AFFORGEN cycle to better optimize the transition to the next unit of action.
“The ATFs are a pathfinding effort that will leverage realistic, high-end training at echelon to develop our MCA to execute mission command in a contested, volatile environment, which will ultimately inform unit of action training and certification,” said Watkins.
The AFFORGEN model improves unit readiness through greater deployment predictability for Airmen, improved pre-deployment training, and the establishment of certification requirements that demonstrate unit preparedness for specific missions. Air Task Forces will allow the Air Force to provide a definable unit of action and establish a sustainable pace for posturing forces. Service members assigned to the ATF will have worked and trained together throughout the AFFORGEN cycle.
“The ATF allows us the time and space, to prepare, by acting, without always having the perfect solution, and to learn from those actions, implement our lessons learned, and become just that much sharper, before committing forces to action,” said Watkins. “The Air Force’s value proposition is found in the ingenuity, creativity, dedication, and professionalism of our Airmen. It’s why we are the best Air Force in the world.”