For a few weeks during this deployment,
Michael is working at the Combined Air and Space Operations Center (CAOC) in Doha, Qatar.
"Located in the Air Forces Central theater of operations, the CAOC provides the command and control of airpower throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and 18 other nations. Serving as the operational bridge that integrates and synchronizes strategic decisions to tactical level execution, the CAOC is comprised of a vast array of people, programs and processes that execute day-to-day combined air and space operations and provides rapid reaction, positive control, coordination and deconfliction of weapons systems.
Functioning as the nerve center of the air campaign, the CAOC plans, monitors and directs sortie execution, close air support/precision air strike; Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance; airlift; air refueling; aerial evaluation; air drop, and countless other mission critical operations. The CAOC is a true joint and Coalition team, staffed by U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and Coalition partners.
-Info and Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force: http://www.afcent.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=12152
On one of Michael's first days at CAOC,
he had the opportunity to meet
Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead:
Admiral Roughead and CAOC staff. (Michael is far left)
Snowshoeing at Mount Baker with friends and marathon-training-buddies Janine and Terese
With Mickey Mouse at the 2nd Happiest Place on Earth
