JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
C2IMERA, Command and Control Incident Management Response Application, is rolling out across Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, which creates a Common Operating Picture for both parts of the greater installation.
Creating an effective COP has been a challenge commanders and emergency responders have been tackling for years, which is where C2IMERA comes in.
“C2IMERA provides enhanced situational awareness through an integrated picture of installation resources available for planning, force employment, emergency management, C2 monitoring, and reporting, as well as situational awareness of incidents and events affecting JBLE,” said Ken Kurtzhals, JBLE Office of Emergency Management planning and operations chief. “It has features such as an interactive COP mapping function, ability to distribute staff directives, a built-in alert and notification system, automated checklists and events logs, personnel accountability, and a wide variety of resource pages.”
C2IMERA’s implementation came after Gen. Mark D. Kelly, commander of Air Combat Command, directed the use of the application across all ACC installations. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Detachment 12, known in the colloquial as “Kessel Run,” developed the capability. The unit, dedicated to software acquisition and development, has implemented the program throughout several Air Force installations already, with JBLE’s own rollout now in full-swing.
“Once C2IMERA is integrated into C2 nodes across JBLE, it will provide installation leadership with a near real-time system interface that links multiple legacy systems, providing enhanced C2 capability to commanders, staff, and mission partners across both installations,” said Kurtzhals. “By connecting people, automating daily operations, and integrating data from a myriad of systems, we will be able to improve decision speed and quality, while focusing on making better decisions and allocating resources to the most important mission needs.”
The app itself is cloud-based and accessible on any device with a CAC-enabled web browser. The user interface is a customizable dashboard designed for intuitive accessibility allowing users to view near real-time details related to any kind of on-installation operation, be it real world or exercise. As an example, C2IMERA was one of the components the Combined Air and Space Operation Center used during the Afghan evacuation in Aug. 2021.
The C2IMERA JBLE rollout is a phased approach. C2 stakeholders are wrapping-up their initial training, which includes personnel with the crisis action team, command post, emergency operations center, base defense operations center and fire department.
“We have also started the online training portion for unit control center and group control center personnel,” Kurtzhals said. “Members of the OEM and command post are also hard at work integrating response checklists, importing and updating installation mapping functions, building dashboards and condition boards, events logs, as well as developing standard operating procedures and business rules for operators.”
The goal is to have C2IMERA’s initial incident management capabilities and processes up by mid-February. The C2IMERA team will also continue to work the aircraft tracking and maintenance tools and processes, as well as unit accountability features, all of which will be implemented at a later date.
“There is still a lot of work to be done here at JBLE, but the OEM and command post teams are dedicated and working hard to implement C2IMERA, with the goal of making it a benchmark program for other installations to follow,” said Kurtzhals. “It will take a true team effort across the installation to reach full operational capability, but with the efforts of the entire JBLE team, we will achieve success together and fortify the response capabilities of our installation.”