Rivet Joints gather intelligence for war fighters

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cassandra Locke
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  A crew from the 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron flew a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with crewmembers from every operational Rivet Joint Squadron in the Air Force. 

The flight included crew members from Kadena Air Base, Japan; RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom; and Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. 

"This mission showed our ability to flex for conditions," said Maj. Mohan Krishna, 763rd ERS Operations Officer who is deployed from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. and a native of Rockville, Md. "The professionalism of our crew force enabled this nonstandard crew to perform as if they had been flying together for many years." 

The 763rd ERS, assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, provides worldwide reconnaissance, real-time intelligence, command and control, information warfare and combat support to national leadership and war fighting commanders. The squadron flies the RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, which supports theater and national level consumers with near real time on-scene intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. 

From the initial intelligence requirements to the real-time cross-cueing with other assets while on station, to the post mission processing and analysis, the squadron provides signals intelligence to the war fighter, theater planners and U.S. leadership. 

"When the crew members arrive at the jet to fly, they all merge into one crew, truly epitomizing 'one team one fight,'" Major Krishna said. 

The major also said it's not unheard of to work with Airmen from the Guard and Reserve components. 

"Standardization, training and core competencies allow us to get the mission done," he said. 

According to the major, the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance crew includes 10 different specialties providing signals intelligence directly to troops combating terrorists and to national intelligence agencies to support the decision process of U.S. leadership. 

"The Rivet Joints vacuum up signals intelligence and provide intelligence to the action elements of the war forces," said Major Krishna. He said their information fills intelligence gaps, highlights current enemy activity and reinforces information from other sources. 

"We are also able to combine our intelligence with information from other sources to provide a more complete picture of enemy activity, "said Major Krishna. "Our intelligence supports operational and strategic decision makers in the Air Force, DoD and the U.S. government." 

The Rivet Joints use communications and surveillance equipment to detect, identify and locate signals within a given range. The 25-person crew can then up channel the information they receive to those in need of it in a variety of formats to a wide range of consumers via Rivet Joint's extensive communications suite. 

The mission, and the Airmen who make the mission work, is why the Rivet Joint program is such a hot commodity in the desert. The unique intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities that the Rivet Joint program brings to the fight make it a priceless asset in operations around the world - including fighting the Global War on Terrorism. 

"I love the camaraderie of the crews and the other platforms in theater," said Major Krishna. "In my job I get to interact with many other platforms and agencies to get the signals intelligence job done." 

Aircrews on the multi-squadron flight were from the 82nd Recon Squadron and the 390th Intel Squadron from Kadena; the 95th Recon Squadron and the 488th Intel Squadron from Mildenhall; 38th Recon Squadron, 343rd Recon Squadron, 338th Combat Training Squadron, and the 97th Intel Squadron from Offutt.