Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Anthony Palumbo, wheeled vehicle mechanic, of Sterling, Ill., 3rd STB, 3rd AAB,...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Nathaniel G. Johnson
CAMP ADDER, Iraq – In response to threats against U.S. troops deployed to Iraq over the last eight years, the Army deploys small tethered blimps, or aerostats, equipped with surveillance equipment for force protection. As a result, the Army has had to train soldiers from a variety of military occupational specialties to operate this equipment.
Today, six soldiers of 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, operate the aerostat as it hovers over Camp Adder in support of base defense. They provide surveillance data, enabling the protection of the U.S. and Iraqi forces on Camp Adder and the surrounding Iraqi bases and local villages.
“It’s a great asset because it’s similar to a guard tower with a huge advantage. It’s a few hundred feet in the air giving us a much better view,” said Sgt. Michael Milsap, Bradley mechanic, from Abilene, Texas.
Without a designated military occupation specialty to maintain and operate the aerostat, this group of mechanics, fire supporters and communications specialists had to learn an entirely new skill set to keep it flying.
“It’s a very useful skill because it’s also used in the civilian world,” said Spc. James Williams, of Virginia Beach, Va., a fiber optics specialist, “It’s a skill I may be able to use later on.”
Once selected to operate the aerostat, the team attended a 28-day training course to learn the theories of lift and how the system works, said Milsap.
“From helium operations to launching the blimp, soldiers are evaluated in the classroom and hands-on exercises, to operate the system proficiently,” he said.
After two-weeks of classroom instruction, they took a written exam and then moved on to two-weeks of hands-on training that required them to learn launch and recover techniques.
“The training was really good because you learn a lot more when you train hands-on like we did for more than 14 days,”
According to Williams, some of the soldiers do get the opportunity to apply the skills learned in their chosen military occupational specialty.
“There’re two of us fiber optics specialists here,” he said, “so we are able to take care of most of the problems with the cables without calling the field support representative.”
Designed to carry communications and surveillance equipment, operating at altitudes of several hundred feet, the aerostat provides a bird’s-eye view across the area of responsibility.
“With the eye in the sky, we help deter the enemy,” said Williams.
To some, the aerostat is not only a great deterrent, but also a reassuring sight when it’s flying in the air. The team tries to keep it flying as often as possible, because it gives people on base a greater sense of security, said Sgt. Anthony Palumbo, wheeled vehicle mechanic, of Sterling, Ill.
The aerostat team has provided valuable data to the base defense operations center which uses the data to advise and assist Iraqi security forces in response to threats near Adder.
“The [base defense operations center] calls when they want us to look as something suspicious and we swing the camera in that direction. We provide a real-time surveillance feed so everyone sees what’s going on,” said Palumbo.
Even though the aerostat has been a part of military operations for several years, few people know about the training and hard work that is required to operate it.
“To some people it’s just a blimp tied to a cable with a few gadgets,” said Williams. “But it’s important to force protection and I’m proud that I can contribute to troop safety.”
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2010 14:11 |
| Story ID: | 60512 |
| Location: | CAMP ADDER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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