Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force landing zone safety officers from the 9th Operations Support Squadron ,...... read more read more
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CAMP ROBERTS LANDING ZONE, Calif. – The California National Guard showcased the Army’s premier West Coast Landing Zone (LZ) designed for rapid troop mobility during contingency scenarios Aug. 6-9. The 9th Operations Support Squadron’s Airfield Operations Personnel, from Beale Air Force Base, were invited to conduct the LZ operations, consisting of both fixed and rotary wing assets in support of the Camp Roberts LZ showcase.
The primary objective of the operation was to validate the LZ by showcasing its use to a delegation consisting of members of the U.S. Congress, California State Congress, U.S. military generals, and members of the defense industry. The operation proved the LZ was useable, while also displaying the California National Guard’s capabilities.
The operation allowed the 9th OSS team to practice Agile Combat Employment (ACE) schemes of maneuver to prove the feasibility of “Hub-and-Spoke” operations in a permissible environment. They set up a Mobile Tower System to display their Air Traffic Control abilities, overcoming the issues of an austere environment such as heat, jet blast erosion, rutting, dust and loose materials.
“We have been tasked by Air Force leadership, and inadvertently our adversaries, to employ ACE strategies into our core specialties across the Air Force, and figuring out how that looks in real-time for our specific mission,” said Master Sgt. Cameron Piontek, 9th Operations Support Squadron landing zone controller. “We train members from four different Airfield Operations Air Force Specialties in small teams tactics, mission planning, tactical communication, landing zone safety officer and drop zone control operations. At Camp Roberts, and other training missions we’ve been on, we are aggressively pursuing and executing this training for members whose core functions is Airfield Operations to be ready to carry out their mission in any environment”.
Landing zone controllers successfully instructed a Navy C-V22 Osprey, a 146th Airlift Wing C-130J Super Hercules, a 126th Aviation Regiment CH-47F Chinook, two 144th Fighter Wing F-15C Eagles, and two 129th Rescue Wing UH-60 Black Hawks to land, taxi, and take off again. Each of the aircraft’s capabilities were also explained to those observing the LZ showcase and validation.
“Our goal is to demonstrate expeditionary skills that are typically carried out by small, specialized units, while delivering a proof of concept for “Hub-and-Spoke” operations in real-time by safely assessing and operating semi-prepared and unprepared landing zones for joint air forces.”
The 9th OSS team worked with the California National Guard’s 19th Special Forces Group and the U.S. Army Tactical Air Traffic Control Battalion to complete 17 separate operations over two days.
The entire operation opened used of an LZ on the West Coast for contingency operations, while overcoming the challenges of an austere high heat environment, and landing aircraft on a semi-prepared surface.
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2024 15:45 |
| Story ID: | 479683 |
| Location: | CAMP ROBERTS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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