CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF OPERATION (NNS) -- In the deadly-serious chess game of waging war, the side that can effectively and intelligently plan multiple moves ahead traditionally ends up on top.

To assist in cornering and capturing the opposition via the air campaign is a handpicked Navy team of intelligence and cryptologic professionals, operating out of a desert air base on the Arabian Peninsula.

From their combined air operations center locale, working under the guidance of the Combined Force Air Component Commander, Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael “Buzz” Moseley, they are actively engaged in collecting, analyzing and ultimately disseminating intelligence on the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

“Our naval intelligence team is fully integrated into the coalition air campaign effort,” commented Cmdr. Paul Becker, of Carrier Group 7, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Battle Group, homeported at Naval Base Coronado, Calif. “There are about 20 naval intelligence professionals among the approximately 100 Navy augmentees of us here, with the greatest contribution coming from the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC), Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev. It is only fitting that one of our greatest strengths here comes from NSAWC, for it is the Navy’s center of excellence for strike warfare. We’re doing a lot out here to support the air war over the skies of Iraq.

“Our five carrier battle groups are not the only source of projecting power through the air,” continued Becker. “There are more than 1,700 coalition aircraft involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

The air campaign never sleeps. Aircraft and aircrews are at their assigned missions around the clock. Aircrews get their marching, or flight orders, from the Master Air Attack Plan (MAAP), and Air Tasking Order (ATO), both providing time-sensitive and sequential strategy that provides guidance and tasking instructions for every assigned air asset.

“Like so many others here, the naval intelligence contingent has come from distant time zones to do what needs to be done. We work right alongside our peers in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and from the United Kingdom and Australia,” said Becker. “We have all taken great pains to knock down bureaucratic barriers to ensure our allies and partners are fully integrated into our total effort.”

The mental and professional preparation continues for Becker and others of the Navy Intelligence team. The current campaign is a strategic work in progress. The team will continue to plan ahead, one chess move at a time, until the coalition ends up on top.