LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
The phrase "short burst" has been a part of the air power lexicon for decades. It typically describes a type of aerial gunnery in which a few quick rounds are fired at a target. However, one of Langley's intelligence squadrons has added another meaning to the phrase. Monday through Thursday, the Analysis Flight of the 15th Intelligence Squadron produces a short, two-page summary of intelligence for Air Combat Command.
The product consists of six articles written in short, long-bullet format with each article summarizing the key intelligence facts regarding a topic of interest to the command.
After the bullet summary, each article concludes with an assessment describing the impact of the issue on ACC along with hyperlinks to the original source material and related graphics.
"Readers can get a dose of current and strategic-level intelligence each day without spending a lot of time having to surf the web," said Lt. Col. Mike McClung, commander of the "Fight'n Fifteenth." McClung explained that as part of his below-the-line headquarters squadron, INA's mission is to provide intelligence to the commander of ACC, his staff and the dommand on behalf of the ACC A2 director of intelligence.
However, when McClung assumed command last summer, he noticed most of the flight's intelligence production was limited to a Top Secret Information Network which few have regular access to.
"As part of an Air Force Smart Operations 21 initiative, I asked my director of operations, Maj. Rich Vasquez, to come up with a way to get intelligence to the command at the "Secret" level. Major Vasquez and the team came up with the 'Short Burst.'" The ACC A2 'Short Burst' is e-mailed to hundreds of customers throughout ACC via SIPRNET, the Department of Defense's secret information network.
As a strategic assessments analyst in INA, 2nd Lt. Michael Quinn recognizes that most intelligence consumers on ACC staff and at ACC wings have some sort of SIPRNET access at their fingertips.
"Now they can get a daily intelligence product, tailored for the command, pushed right to them," said Quinn.
"It definitely changed the way we do business," said Capt. Kareen Hart, acting INA flight commander when "Short Burst" was first introduced. "We had to get used to using SIPRNET more, and it was an adjustment to daily turn six complex topics into short bullets with a quick assessment to explain the 'so what' for a wide variety of tactical and strategic consumers in a timely manner."
The flight has been producing the messages for eight months, which have been well received, said Hart.
"The feedback is good so far, but we continue to tailor the focus of the articles to meet the changing intelligence needs of the command," she added.
If ACC members would like to receive the Short Burst, they can email the INA organizational box on SIPRNET at acc.inwatch@langley.af.smil.mil or check the SIPRNET ACC A2 intelink website at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/sites/acca2/ under 15 IS Briefings for the 2010 eBook.