Photo By Staff Sgt. Brandon Little | Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Peters (left) and Capt. Danielle Medaglia, UH-60...... read more read more
By Sgt. Brandon Little
Task Force XII Public Affairs Office
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Under the cover of darkness, Soldiers seem to appear from thin air, and within seconds, they converge on a house. For the militants targeted by these precision infiltrations, it's a mass of confusion. The Soldiers who came from out of nowhere are now everywhere – and the only sound is the unmistakably deafening roar of low-flying helicopters.
Countless adrenaline-throttling videos and photos show missions like these – ground forces kicking doors open to capture high-value targets and information, but have you ever wondered ... how did they get to that house?
Convoying to these locations can, in many cases, be just as tricky as entering the home of a suspected terrorist because of possible enemy attacks and roadside bombs. Transporting Soldiers to and from these potentially hostile areas by helicopter has become a popular alternative to convoying through unsecured areas.
These "air assault" missions are still extremely dangerous and Task Force XII aviators must meticulously plan their portion of these missions to help ensure the safety of the Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers aboard each aircraft.
"The more you can prepare, the more you're prepared for and the less that's going to go wrong," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Peters, from Mellen, Wis., who is an instructor pilot for Company C, Task Force Storm. "If something does go out of the ordinary, we try to be ready for it."
"We integrate our air-plan into (the ground commander's) tactical plan because everything we do is to support the ground tactical command," added Lt. Col. Jay Macklin, the commander of Task Force Storm. "He says where he needs to be at what time, and we backward plan from there."
The typical planning cycle for an air assault is between 48 and 96 hours after the mission request is received from the ground forces, but it can be done sooner if mission dictates, said Maj. Jeff Gloede, the Task Force Storm operations officer.
"After we receive the (request), we'll do an air-mission brief to begin the coordination between us and the infantry unit we're supporting; then, we'll develop our plan and brief our flight crews," he said. "They pretty much give us all the details like which aircraft will do what, who will be on which aircraft, how they will exit the aircraft, and what they want to achieve with the air assault."
The infantry Soldiers are transported to and from their target's locations by UH-60 Black Hawk flight crews; the flight crews consist of two pilots, a crew chief and an additional door gunner.
Each night, Task Force XII has several aircraft dedicated to supporting various units in MND-B; sometimes they are used for resupply missions, but typically they are used for air assaults, said Gloede, who hails from Glenn Burnie, Md.
Moving the Soldiers by helicopter is not only safer, but it also gives them a strategic advantage, said Macklin, a native of Macon, Ga.
"Normally when (ground forces) are going after a target, they have to drive out of their (base), and sometimes the bad guys can be tipped off that they're coming," he said. "We help give the ground commander mobility because we can fly directly to the target's house and pretty much achieve that tactical surprise."
Speed is essential when trying to achieve the element of surprise, so planning down to the most minor detail can save precious seconds; but more importantly, it can save lives.
"The night of the operation, we'll do a conditions check and have a certain timeline to launch out of here, pick up the troops, drop them off at the target and when to pick them up," said Gloede. "The basic components of every air assault are pretty much the same; it could be a complicated mission, but when you break it down to the basics, it becomes a lot simpler."
Even with all that planning and strategizing, the old motto "practice makes perfect" seems to still apply. Aviators and infantrymen work on synchronization by "cold" loading and unloading the aircraft. This means without engine power or spinning rotor blades.
"(Cold loading and unloading) helps them get familiar with getting in and out the aircraft safely," said Gloede. "The more confident they are getting in and out of the aircraft, the faster they'll go – minimizing our time on the ground."
By the time flight crews get into the air, they will have had several different briefings, to include crew briefings and the rehearsal with the infantry Soldiers.
"If you don't do your homework here, and you don't do the required pre-combat checks and rehearsals, if something happens out there, your Soldiers will pay the price," said Macklin. "Once you take off and the infantry Soldiers are onboard, you can't help but get butterflies in the pit of your stomach; the Soldiers of Task Force Storm love it. If you talk to any of them, they tell you this is the highlight of what they do and this is the reason the decided to join the Army."
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2008 13:57 |
| Story ID: | 20008 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 57 |
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