By Spc. Jerome Bishop
1st COSCOM Public Affairs
LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq -- A mission conducted by an F-16 fighter pilot is more complicated than just taking off, dropping a few bombs and landing. To succeed in the mission of supporting the ground commander, the pilots rely on information and preparation from the Army just as much as they do from the Air Force.
"We support the ground commander," said Air Force Maj. John Bosone, the 510th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron assistant director of operations. "We are very reliant in the intelligence and planning because without that we'd be almost useless. That's where a lot of help comes in with the Army."
During training back in the states, Air Force pilots train regularly with Soldiers to prepare for operations conducted in theatre.
"We're deployed in a non-traditional way," Bosone said. "We don't normally work this much with the Army. Most of our training isn't part of a large scenario with a large number of troops moving into a big town. [However], we train, exercise and tactically integrate with our Army counterparts every day back home."
The Army, on the other hand, is responsible for most of the pre-flight preparation.
"With our mission planning and preparation we have Ground Liaison Officers, who are the point of contact," Bosone said. "About 90 percent of our pre-mission planning goes though these guys. They know what we need and filter what we don't need.
"Say I'm without intelligence," he added, 'they work directly with the ground liaison officer and make assignments on the course of action."
"In the air we talk to a Joint Terminal Air Controller, who is normally an Airman on the ground with the Army giving us real time information," he added. "He'll be working with the ground commander as far as directions and instructions on where to drop."
"We brief the pilots on the ground missions that they're going to support and we paint a picture of what they're going to see on that operation," said Army Lt. Col. Shawn Ball, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing ground liaison officer. "These guys are flying high above the ground units and can see very clearly what's going on.
"It's vitally important for the pilots to know the ground position," Ball said. "If the GLO team wasn't there, what they'd have to rely on is someone with a frequency and a JTAC on the ground painting a picture for the pilots verbally."
Support from F-16s assist Soldiers in various types of missions.
"We provide force protection over the bigger cities, convoy support, raid support, and close air support. It's basically whatever [the troops on the ground] need from the fixed wing to help them out," said Air Force 1st Lt. Christopher Jones, F-16 fighter pilot. "Part of that is a show-of-force mission. If one of the Army units on the ground need it, we launch and use show of force."
The pilots have trained for conducting operations which allows them to work more closely with the Army. Helping the Soldiers on the ground is just as educating as it is gratifying.
"For me it's the first time working with the Army. Something might seem routine to me, but [it might] be something new for the Army," Jones sad. "Some of the guys out there say just being out there and making noise helps them out. We've had a lot of positive feedback from the Army."
With the success of the inter-service cooperation, the pilots are humble in the support they provide for Soldiers all over Iraq.
"We make a lot of noise but we're really a small part of a very large operation," Bosone said.
"It's a pretty concentrated effort to make sure the pilots have the best information when they fly," Ball said.
The need for the F-16s patrolling the skies of Iraq aren't going to disappear anytime soon, but until then, both Army and Air Force will make sure they're ready.
Editor's Note: Spc. Bishop is a member of the 1st COSCOM Public Affairs Office deployed to Iraq in support of units at LSA Anaconda.
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| Date Taken: | 07.28.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2005 15:20 |
| Story ID: | 2575 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
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