Analyst eliminates threats faster through innovative targeting

  • Published
  • By Lori A. Bultman
  • 25th Air Force

In the field of missile targeting, Staff Sgt. Sean, mobile missile targeting analyst, 20th Intelligence Squadron, is one of the most innovative and motivated members of 25th Air Force.

As a member of the Ballistic Missile Projects Team, Sean developed mobile missile targeting strategies, led the stand up of a 16-member innovation team and initiated squadron-to-squadron collaborations creating 15 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools. As a result of his efforts research and analysis times were slashed by hours per product and production capabilities were streamlined within the 363rd ISR Wing.

How did Sean and his team make such a dramatic impact? They attended classes and studied hard.

“We attended a course by the National Reconnaissance Office for a tool that allows us to study information from dozens of sources at once and analyze the trends between them,” he said. “It’s like having one analyst attempting to duplicate the efforts of whole shops.  Now, instead of being single-domain intelligence analysts, we’ve adapted to the all-source realm, all with one mission; placing missiles on missiles.”

As the team members spread across the wing, they had multiple mindsets melding together, he said.

“We’ve been developing concepts of operation for different ballistic missile scenarios, all from a targeting perspective,” he said. “How do we most effectively eliminate the threat, before it becomes one?”

Sean recently delivered a briefing to 25th Air Force wing commanders where he described his inputs to improving capabilities, identified missile targeting shortfalls and presented solutions.

“It can be challenging to be the guy within the targeting community with a big idea, but at the same time, I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to brag about what our team has been cooking up,” Sean said.

“Throughout every briefing, meeting or video conference, I’ve appreciated how open the leadership has been to these newer concepts,” he said. “When an O-6 (colonel) personally asks you, “What do you need from me to make this easier for you?” you know you’ve got to be onto something.”

The Airman is also a squadron innovation team member, where he crafted mobile targeting standard operating procedures and assisted in cutting targeting times by 80 percent. He was also key to a 61 percent production increase in 2017, which led the team to three group awards.

Taking down adversaries and eliminating their capabilities more quickly, through better and faster targeting, are key to future operations.

“Targeting only works if the adversary believes they have enough time to operate,” Sean said.  “As the enemies, and threats gets smarter, and quicker, so must the timelines to eliminate them.”

Through learning new tactics and finding innovative, faster options in targeting, Sean and his team are using outside the box thinking to improve capabilities.

“We are refining our efforts, working a target that we’ve never really sat down and dissected until now, and we’re doing it with resources that have never been put to this task,” he said, crediting his success to his commander. “He asked, “How can we do this better?” and we’ve made it our team goal to answer that question.”