Odyssey Featured Program

One of the new divisions supported by Odyssey’s C5ISR Group is Kessel Run. Kessel Run is a Division within Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Digital Directorate, and is the System Program Office (SPO) for several Programs of Record (PoR). Kessel Run is an Agile Delivery Organization and sustains the existing Air Operations Center (AOC) baseline while simultaneously building a scalable software factory to architect, manufacture, and operate intuitively designed Wing and Operational level Command and Control (C2) systems to function effectively in highly contested environments.

One Kessel Run application, C2IMERA, was used by Airmen at Anderson AFB in Guam to help respond to the devastating impact of Typhoon Mawar, a category 4 typhoon that hit the island in May.

The typhoon ravaged Guam on May 24, and throughout the night caused destruction on the island, according to an Air Force press release. Airmen at Andersen AFB used Kessel Run’s Command and Control Incident Management Emergency Response Application, or C2IMERA, to assist command and control efforts during the storm and subsequent recovery efforts.

“As an Emergency Operations and Management member, C2IMERA allowed real-time visibility of Andersen’s critical infrastructure and operations,” said Master Sgt. Charlton Nelson, a ground transportation section chief with the 36th Logistics Readiness Squadron. “In regards to interoperability, C2IMERA created a deeper appreciation when responding to real world situations with critical information.”

The application focuses on reporting, planning, force generation, emergency management, and command and control monitoring and execution. It uses a common operating picture and dashboarding capabilities as communication tools, which consolidates and shares information for leaders, and boasts a plethora of features to provide C2 capabilities.

“The use of C2IMERA greatly impacted the collaboration efforts,” Nelson said. “I utilized C2IMERA’s common operating picture to report resources, emergency management, force generating of personnel, monitoring and execution of my C2 duties.”

The application’s tools are customizable and optimized based on the individual needs of the installation. The tools also focus on updating and communicating data in real-time to give commanders a constant picture of their installations, environment, assets and personnel.

“The reporting tools were customized to gain overall success in the demands of recovery operations,” he said. “Simply put, C2IMERA’s higher headquarters reporting tool placed real time communication and awareness of current data. This allowed commanders to make the right decisions for accurate manning, resources, capabilities and limiting factors.”

The C2IMERA application is currently used in more than 70 Air Force installations and more than 100 forward operating bases across the world. Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command have both directed C2IMERA for use across their installations. Plans are currently in the works to continue onboarding the application across all Air Force bases.

“C2IMERA continues to be an operationally tested and proven example of how close government and industry partnerships can provide capabilities that enhance our warfighters’ abilities to execute missions in real time,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Stueckle, Kessel Run’s WingC2 product line chief.

More recently two Air Force major commands designated the application as the standard for developing a common operating picture for their installations. Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command each published “concept of employment” directives that standardizes the operational use of the Command and Control Incident Management Emergency Response Application, or C2IMERA.

“C2IMERA is rapidly becoming the standard installation command and control tool across the Air Force for installation-level command and control,” said Gen. Mark D. Kelly, the commander of Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. “ACC views C2IMERA as a foundational JADC2 (Joint All Domain Command and Control) capability, automating the aggregation of flight-line, squadron, and wing data needed to build and execute air/integrated tasking orders.”

“The commander’s intent is for C2IMERA to be part of the day-to-day business process, normalizing its use throughout AMC,” said Maj. Gen. David J. Sanford, the director of Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. “Per AMC Directive 22-001, C2IMERA implementation, units will use this system to deliver location specific information supporting friendly order of battle data. C2IMERA will provide enhanced situational awareness for the AMC commander and command-wide leaders to make decisions and provide direction.”

Additionally, C2IMERA is a “core program” aligned under the newly established Department of the Air Force Integrating Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management. Core programs are the capabilities needed to build the “DAF BATTLE NETWORK,” an integrated system of systems fusing command and control nodes, sensors, and shooters across air and space.

C2IMERA provides the capability to aggregate base and wing-level information to expedite command-level decisions whether at headquarters, in garrison, or in a deployed environment. The primary purpose of C2IMERA is to conduct C2, allowing commanders and their staffs to issue directives, plan and coordinate operations, conduct and track personnel recalls, accountability and status, and rapidly communicate to C2 personnel through a near real-time live-fed common picture.

The application uses a common operating picture and dashboarding capabilities as communication tools, which consolidates and shares information for leaders, and boasts a plethora of features to provide C2 capabilities. These tools are customizable and optimized based on the individual needs of the installation and also focus on updating and communicating data in real-time to give commanders a constant picture of their installations, environment, assets and personnel.

“C2IMERA continues to expand to more bases worldwide to improve situational awareness for the warfighter,” said Col. Richard Lopez, Kessel Run’s senior materiel leader. “C2IMERA is a good example of how close coordination with users and with our vendor partner leads to delivered operational capability.”

To learn more about Kessel Run and the critical work carried out there, please visit kesselrun.af.mil