Photo By Capt. Daniel Yarnall | Dave Chirdon, a senior field engineer for the Persistent Threat Defense System and...... read more read more
Baghdad – Whether on Victory Base Complex or on a joint mission with Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad, service members can look up and see the aerostat blimp hovering overhead. However, many of them don’t know that that crazy-looking balloon is actually greatly enhancing the safety of troops
The aerostat is equipped with a high-tech surveillance system and is part of the Persistent Threat Detection System, allowing U.S. forces to have an aerial view of operations.
Lyford “Lin” Marr, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, is the PTDS manager on Camp Victory. He’s in charge of the Loyalty, Justice, and Lost Lake PTDSs. It is commonly referred to as the aerostat blimp.
The aerostat or PTDS allows U.S. forces the ability to have eyes on an area to provide a quick response to dangerous situations and also allows the opportunity to prevent troops from entering into hazardous situations, Marr said.
“Our team will look down on a mounted or dismounted patrol and provide an added situational awareness that they can’t get other places,” he said. “We have a 360 degree view of where troops are.”
Information collection manager 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, said that PTDS is crucial to keeping his Soldiers safe while conducting missions. He provides the link between units on the ground and Marr’s PTDS team.
“The PTDS informs us of possible threats, such as an ambush or possible IED, so we can react to them prior to them becoming a problem,” he said.
It takes a team to run and maintain the PTDS. Marr said that 12 people are assigned to each aerostat site, working six people per shift.
Each member of the team may have a specific job, but they are often required to perform a task outside of their specialty while on duty.
“Everyone does everything. A subject matter expert might specialize in hydraulics but he may have to perform camera work,” he said.
Marr and his team agree that the job is demanding overall as the crew often works as much as 16 to 20 hours a day, but they agree it’s definitely worth it.
Mark Haughton, a PTDS engineer from Houston, Texas, said, “What we do protects service members and gives them a better way to defend themselves.
“It’s rewarding doing something great for the troops, and it feels good knowing that we’re part of a team with them.”
Johnson said that every time they have a unit go out, they request assistance from the PTDS because they know the eye in the sky can help keep the soldier safe.
“I cannot say how important Marr and the members of the PTDS team are to our safety and operations,” said Johnson.
| Date Taken: | 08.07.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2010 05:18 |
| Story ID: | 54097 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 912 |
| Downloads: | 101 |
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