Photo By Brian Barbour | Sgt. Chris J. Vaughn, of Fairborn, Ohio, and Sgt. Jonathan K. Duchene, of Lansing,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Since April of 2008, Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery from Fort Campbell, Ky., has kept a watchful eye for the unexpected over the skies of Balad.
On any given day or night, enemy combatants can launch rockets and mortars into the base. When that happens, members of Battery A is standing by.
In a joint effort between the U.S. Army and the Navy, Soldiers and Sailors work together to improve ground security at Joint Base Balad.
"We provide the opportunity for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines as well as DOD contractors and civilians on this base to go about doing their jobs in a little bit of a safer manner each day while not having to worry about indirect fire attacks while they are on the base," said Capt. Trey A. Guy, the battery commander for Battery A, 2nd Bn., 44th ADA.
Battery A, originally an Avenger Stinger surface-to-air missile battery, was transformed into a Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar intercept battery for deployment to Joint Base Balad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The C-RAM is a piece of naval gunnery converted to a land-based platform. The unit consists of both Army and Navy artillerymen.
"Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar capabilities began as a response to the increasing indirect fire threats here and throughout Iraq," said 1st Sgt. Wayne C. Woods, the first sergeant of Battery A.
Battery A is augmented with approximately 60 U.S. Navy personnel on six month rotations. These Sailors, who are from different fleet commands, are sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, where they are combined with Soldiers for training. There they are trained as a joint team, given a mission rehearsal exercise and sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.
According to Guy, this type of unit composition makes C-RAM units better prepared for combat by focusing on the strengths of each service.
Guard posts around the base are manned by two-person teams 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"We have to maintain basic security around the fence line to ensure no one is trying to penetrate it while we monitor the skies to keep track of whether we have in bound," said U.S. Navy Operations Specialist Jeremy W. Boyd. "If it's hostile, we shoot it down."
In addition to providing JBB with C-RAM intercept fires and Wireless Audio Visual Emergency System alerts, Battery A has conducted numerous dismounted counter IDF patrol operations through common enemy launch sites in order to deny freedom of maneuver to enemy forces and to deter IDF attacks.
Battery A's six platoons are manned by both Army and Navy resources.
To accomplish their mission, they utilize a number of effective means to counter indirect fire attacks. One of these systems is the WAVES. This system is designed to alert, warn and inform personnel through a base wide intercom system of what action to take in case of an IDF attack.
"Your chances of surviving a rocket, mortar or small arms attack here increases 80 percent if you follow the instructions given by the Wireless Audio Visual Emergency System here, thanks in part to the dedication and expertise demonstrated by the joint service members and their technical and tactical knowledge of the systems," said to Sgt. 1st Class Kevin A. Bean, platoon sergeant for the engagement operation center here.
Other systems used are the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Forward Area Air Defense computer system and the Close-In Weapon System. The FAAD is designed to prioritize targets and activate warning systems to defeat hostile mortars and rocket rounds while they are still in the air.
The Close-In Weapon System, is designed to defeat insurgent's indirect fire targets on Coalition forces in forward operating bases.
"The United States Navy Close In Weapon System was originally designed as an intercept weapon system for protecting naval assets at sea and was adapted to a land-based weapon system," Woods said.
Currently, Battery A is the only Joint Army-Navy Command on JBB. "I'm very proud of our Soldiers and Sailors," Woods said, "They have performed their mission very well. They are united and have watched over each other while representing the proud history of the 101st Airborne Division."
Scheduled to return home soon, Guy said: "My job is to educate the families of the Soldiers and Sailors who came over here with us, what their husbands, wives, daughters, sons, mothers or fathers did and by getting this story out, it could shed some light on what the great and wonderful things they have done."
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2009 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 33262 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 406 |
| Downloads: | 122 |
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