EADS Sgt. Graduates from Advanced Weapons Course Published June 14, 2013 By Tim Jones EADS Rome, N.Y. -- Tech. Sgt. Matthew Cummings of Rome recently graduated from the prestigious Advanced Weapons Director Course at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The 16-week course featured nearly 200 hours of classroom instruction, 10 written examinations and a series of graded exercises that required detailed planning and the control of multiple aircraft. One of the most difficult Air Force courses to be selected for - only 10 percent of the weapons directors in the service have completed the course - Cummings was the only Air National Guardsmen in his class. "On behalf of the entire unit, I want to congratulate Tech. Sgt. Cummings," said Col. Dawne L. Deskins, EADS Commander. "Graduating from a school as selective and difficult as the Advanced Weapons Director Course is an impressive achievement and it's indicative of the highly-professional, highly-trained force we have here at EADS." The Eastern Air Defense Sector is headquartered at Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome. Staffed by active-duty New York Air National Guardsmen and a Canadian Forces detachment, the unit supports the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) integrated warning and attack assessment missions and the U.S. Northern Command's (USNORTHCOM) homeland defense mission. EADS is responsible for air sovereignty and counter-air operations over the eastern United States and directs a variety of assets to defend one million square miles of land and sea.