EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- In a room of nearly 200 people at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference, U.S. Air Force Col. Josh Koslov, 350th Spectrum Warfare commander, headed the Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) Panel aimed to spark conversation about the collaboration between military and industry in the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS).
The conference, hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association, brought together top U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force leadership, industry experts, and government officials to discuss challenges facing the aerospace and cyber communities today and in the future.
The panel focused on the structure and workforce needed to achieve the rapid development of lethal EW capabilities to provide warfighters and Air Component Commanders the EW tools they need to dominate the spectrum and win today’s fights and be ready to win tomorrow’s.
“The EW community in the Air Force and in the wing depend on industry to develop solutions,” said Koslov. “The panel opened discussions with industry [representatives] to see what is hampering their success and our success.”
Along with the panel, Koslov met with various companies that work with the U.S. Air Force in the EMS to support the wing and its mission to deliver adaptive and cutting-edge EMS capabilities, which provide the warfighter a tactical and strategic competitive advantage and freedom to attack, maneuver, and defend across the spectrum.
While the panel met the wing’s objectives, it was not the only reason the Crows attended the conference. Sixteen members from the 350th SWW attended this year’s conference, including three of the wing’s Airmen of the year award winners.
“The main impact of bringing Airmen from the wing was to have them understand and see how their contributions fit into the grand scheme of things, and hear our most-senior leaders perspectives on Air Force matters,” said Senior Master Sgt. Stephan Perryman, 350th SWW inspector general superintendent. “The last brief showed how the EMS realm is a top priority which gave our folks the opportunity to see that we matter; our wing is at the forefront of the fight and the Air Force looks to invest in us going forward.”
The conference featured leadership including Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass, and Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force Roger A. Towberman.
After hearing key leaders speak, the 350th SWW Airmen had the opportunity to spread awareness about the wing. Perryman explained how the conference provided an opportunity to not only put faces to the name of the wing, but also strengthen partnerships with helping agencies.
In the future, both Koslov and Perryman agreed they’d like to see a panel showcasing the operational impacts of EMS and an additional panel geared more towards the industry and academia collaboration.
“It was an honor to represent our wing and drive home some of our capability messages,” said Koslov. “I’m really proud of the Crows and seeing how our people took it all in was worth the price of admission to me.”