predators’ services in demand the warrior ethos

MAGAZINE OF AMERICA’S AIR FORCE SUMMER 2007

Building a better Afghan armyAirmen help stand up fledging military

The warrior ethosSpirit begins in basic training

High-flying huntersPredators’ services in demand

Departments

Features

14 The warrior ethosThe attitude and spirit that makes Airman warriors begins in basic training.

18 Way of the warriorAir commandos take 60 years of heritage and experience into battle.

38 Lessons in leadershipFor six decades, Air University has steadily shaped Air Force leaders.

26 Building a better Afghan armyHard-working Airmen are helping stand up the fledging Afghan military.

Airmail......2

Xtreme...12

4 High-flying huntersAs the demand for their services grows, Predator crews continue delivering.

CONTENTS

44 Frontline dutyAirmen play crucial role in the war on terrorism.

32 Uncommon AirmenSoldiers rely on Airmen controllers to make it rain bombs on the enemy.

CONTENTS

Basic trainees crawl through a section of the tactical assault course all Air-men must conquer during field train-ing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The half-mile course, which has a va-riety of obstacles, tests the trainees’ newly acquired tactics. The training also reinforces the trainees’ need to communicate with fellow Airmen — their wingmen — and strengthen their warrior ethos.photo by Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons

About the cover

The Portraits in Courage series highlights the honor, valor, devotion and selfless sacrifice of America’s Airmen. Read their courageous vignettes at www.af.mil.

� Airman J Summer 2007 �Airman J Summer 2007

Flying his airplane, unseen and unheard, high above the rug-ged Afghan mountains, Lt. Col. Christopher Plamp felt a fa-miliar adrenaline rush. The kind he gets in combat.

Far below him, insurgents were ambushing a coalition patrol and he could see them firing at the “friendlies.” But the commander on the ground didn’t know who was shooting or from where. So he had his joint terminal attack controller call for help in finding the enemy.

The unblinking television eye of the colonel’s MQ-1 Predator watched events unfold. Close by, a special operations AC-130 gunship also circled, ready to jump into the fight. On the ground, the controller ran the show and kept up a constant chatter with the aircraft overhead.

“Then the enemy split into two groups,” the colonel from Louis-ville, Ky., said.

No matter. With its sophisticated array of sensors, the Preda-tor tracked them both. Then, with a green light from the JTAC, the colonel coordinated an attack with the gunship. The Predator marked one group with its laser so the gunship could find it.

“The AC-130 took one group and I took the other,” the colonel said.

The second group headed for its camp, which took a long time to reach. Maybe the insurgents thought they escaped. Wrong. The Predator, which routinely flies 20- to 24-hour sorties, patient-ly tracked them. Once sure of his target, Colonel Plamp attacked.

“I shot them with a Hellfire (missile),” he said. The gunship also did its job. “We took care of both groups.”

Flush with victory, the commander of the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron felt a great sense of accomplishment. But he didn’t pull a Tom Cruise and snap his Predator into a victory roll.

“You can’t do that with a Predator,” he said of the aircraft he fondly describes as “a big glider with a snowmobile engine.” Its top speed is only about 138 mph. Besides, Colonel Plamp was in his “cockpit” at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

And though he flew his remote-control aircraft via a satellite data link and saw the action on a television screen, engaging the enemy that day was just as intense as when he did it up close and personal with his bomb-laden A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack fighter. He felt the same sense of urgency to make sure the Hellfire went where it was supposed to go.

“Being here and firing a Hellfire 7,000 miles away was just like

More command-ers are requesting the services of the

MQ-1 Predator — like this one taking off

from Creech Air Force Base, Nev. — than any

other aircraft flying in the war on terrorism.

To keep up with the demand for its ser-

vices, the Airmen at this base are training more aircrews, even

as they continue flying combat support mis-

sions over Iraq and Afghanistan.

by Louis A. Arana-Barradasphotos by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson


being there,” he said. “We’re not playing a video game. We’re en-gaged in the war.”

The only difference: The colonel went home to his family that night.

Success = growthThe success of Colonel Plamp’s mission, and many others like it, is why Predators are the busiest aircraft in the coalition’s arsenal. In 2006, squadron aircrews flew more than 40,000 combat hours over Iraq and Afghanistan, more than any other Air Force unit. This year the number could reach 55,000 hours. And aircrews had a 95-percent Hellfire kill rate.

The numbers are impressive. But they will continue to rise, said Col. Chris Chambliss, commander of the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The wing stood up May 1, 2007, to manage Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft systems, and train aircrews to fly them.

Wing aircraft fly daily intelligence, reconnaissance and surveil-lance missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. A few years ago, they flew six sorties, or orbits, a day. Today that number is 12 daily combat air patrols. In two years, the figure will be 21 sorties, the colonel said.

What make unmanned aircraft such a hot commodity is the proven capabilities they give ground commanders, the former F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot said.

“The biggest is persistence. We call it the unblinking eye. We can put a Predator — or as we stand up the Reaper squadron, a Reaper — over a target for hours at a time,” the colonel said. “And we can shoot video, real time, directly to a ground com-mander’s laptop.”

This allows commanders to change strategy during a battle. Or they can “see” what’s behind a hill, around a corner or on a roof-

Training Predator and Reaper aircrews (left photo) is job one at Creech AFB, Nev. Instructors Staff Sgt. Brett Sauerland (left, back) helps Staff Sgt. Jesse Childers (left, bottom) learn the ins and outs of being a sensor operator. Next to them, Rob Cushing (center) instructs Maj. Toby Brallier on flight operations. Predator pilots and sensor operators use a host of computer screens (top photo) to keep track of the aircraft’s systems and video feeds.


top. Predators can mark and direct other aircraft to a target, or take it out themselves. And the data they provide — which a host of sources can view and analyze — lets commanders re-direct troops or aircraft to attack time-critical targets that pop up.

That’s why warfighters can’t get enough of the Predator, Colonel Chambliss said.

“Commanders want more of it all the time,” he said. And in a time when the massive spending to fund the war on terrorism is forcing the military to cut people, equipment, programs and mis-sions, the unmanned aircraft business remains “a growth indus-try,” he said.

Even as the wing ramps up, the demand for its services continues to grow. That will be more evident when its 42nd Attack Squadron goes operational. Those air-crews will fly the Predator’s bigger, bomb- and missile-carrying, hunter-killer cousin, the Reaper. Its 3,000-pound bomb load will give commanders on the ground even more options on the battlefield.

To fly more missions, the wing must acquire more aircrews. That’s its biggest problem, Colonel Chambliss said. But things are looking up. He said there’s a line of people trying to get into the Preda-tor and Reaper trade.

“Guard units that lost aircraft missions have stood up and said, ‘We want to get into the unmanned aircraft business. Make us a part of what you’re doing,’” Colonel Chambliss said.

As a result, Creech has become un-manned aircraft central. The small base, located in the desert 45 miles north-west of Las Vegas, has a total force and multinational flair. Air Force reservists; guardsmen from California, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas; contractors; and British military forces — integrated into the Air Force units — all train and fly from there. The 15th Reconnaissance Squadron will continue flying operation-al missions from Nellis until it can move to Creech.

“We couldn’t do our mission without the Guard or Reserve — just flat couldn’t do it,” the wing commander from Overland Park, Kan., said.

Training warfightersTo meet the demand for its services, the wing increased its training regimen for Predator pilots and sensor operators. The job is one the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron has been doing since 1995 and must continue to increase. The at-tack squadron is training Reaper aircrews as it develops a training program.

The training squadron has increased its output of combat-ready aircrews, said Lt. Col. Micah Morgan, the squadron’s director of operations. A former B-1 Lancer pilot, the colonel from Bryan, Texas, has more than 1,500 combat support hours in the Preda-

tor. He said the squadron has undergone an amazing transforma-tion. When he arrived at Creech in February 2005, instructors were training 40 aircrews a year. Today, the figure is up to 120 per year.

“And next year we’ll train 160 crews. That’s a more than 300 percent growth,” he said.

But the squadron has no choice but boost training because the demand for Predator services has also grown by about 300 per-cent, Colonel Morgan said.

New students, pilots and sensor operators, go through three

months of training, usually as a crew. It’s not easy, especially for the enlisted sensor operators — most who arrive straight from in-telligence school as imagery analysts. Students, even the pilots, know little about the aircraft when they arrive at Creech, the colo-nel said.

“But when they leave us, they’re ready to pull the trigger in combat,” Colonel Morgan said. One student got his chance on his first mission. “Within an hour, he had squeezed the trigger.”

The sensor operator who guided Colonel Plamp’s Hellfire to its

The Reaper, the Predator’s larger, more-lethal cousin, is a new arrival at Creech AFB, Nev. It car-

ries twice as many weapons as the Predator, in-cluding 500-pound bombs, like the one civilian con-tractors and former Airmen Mickal Futch (back) and

Darryl France load on their Reaper.

At Creech, a 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Predator crew chief (top) launches a Predator for a training mission. A Predator pi-lot (above) guides his aircraft on a mission over Afghanistan, from a ground control station at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

10 Airman J Summer 2007 11Airman J Summer 2007

target in Afghanistan had only been on the job four days. Proof the training pays off immediately, he said.

Training instructors — total force, contractors and British Air-man — put students through Predator 101. It takes more to fly a Predator than a traditional aircraft because the pilot is responsi-ble for the aircraft, airspace and operation. In the “right seat,” the sensor operator controls the camera and “the view the rest of the world sees,” Colonel Morgan said. Coordination becomes critical, so crews share duties, like getting a Hellfire to a target or talking to ground controllers and other aircraft.

“It’s a pretty intense course and we mold them for the job,” the colonel said. “We must make sure they’re trained right because they’re going right into combat and lives are on the line.”

That reality, and the promise of having a key role in the war, attracts many Airmen. So getting the people to fill the rising need for aircrews is getting easier. Before, many pilots couldn’t see themselves flying a remote-control airplane. But the ever-increas-ing importance of the Predator mission is drawing pilots. So pilots who have flown virtually every aircraft in the Air Force fleet are now training at Creech.

“Flying Predators used to be a last-resort option,” Predator stu-dent and former F-15 Eagle pilot Maj. Splitz Bermel said. “It was almost a joke to be a UAV pilot.”

Not anymore, the major from Randolph, Neb., said. When he left his Eagle squadron, some of his fellow pilots questioned his move. But now some of those same pilots call him to ask about the program and what he thinks about the Predator and its mission.

“I tell them it’s the place to be,” the major said. “I’m definitely glad I chose this.”

Airman 1st Class Brittany Moseley passed up medical school, and a year into her enlistment, now sits in the right seat next to Major Bermel. The imagery analyst had to learn everything about the aircraft, how it flies and the pilot’s job. Pilots learn the sen-sor’s job, too.

“The training we get is like a crash course in aviation,” the Air-man from Ripon, Calif., said. Once out of training, she won’t be on the battlefield.“But I’ll play a direct role in what’s going on in Afghanistan

and Iraq,” she said. “That’s the best part, knowing I’ll have an impact.”

The first Reaper aircrews finished training in June. And while none of the aircraft have yet to see combat, the Airmen who fly them know their aircraft is already a force multiplier.

Capt. Wilson Lewis, former A-10 pilot, is one of the first Reaper pilots. He said the Reaper flies faster and higher, carries more weapons and has better overall capabilities than the Predator. It’s the next step in the Air Force’s evolution. That’s one reason he switched to flying Reapers.

“The exciting part for me is yet to come,” the captain from Syc-amore, Ohio, said. “This [unmanned aircraft] is going to be the number one way to participate in any future conflicts.”

Shaping the futureThe future of the unmanned aircraft program is taking shape now, and each of the military services has its own program. But the Air Force wants to ensure unmanned aircraft don’t just serve a particular service or mission. And Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley wants the Air Force to be the executive agent for the Defense Department’s unmanned aircraft programs.

The general said the aim is to streamline the program, from acquisition to compatibility and from employment to airspace command and control. His aim is to ensure the aircraft make the joint force more capable.

But the Air Force is already doing that, and has an edge on

the other services. It’s the only service that remotely pilots un-manned aircraft. The other services use line-of-sight controls. And the Air Force has an extensive infrastructure of satellites, uplink and downlink locations, plus a host of other capabilities, to support the Predator and the Reaper.

Those capabilities are unique to the Air Force, Colonel Cham-bliss said.

“That’s what sets us apart from the other folks in this busi-ness,” the colonel said. “We think it’s important that Airmen control the air because we understand it better. That’s what we do. We’re the experts in the organization and employment of airpower.

“Airmen in charge of airpower makes sense,” he said.Others agree. There are nations flying, or that want to fly,

Predators. England wants to buy Predators for the Royal Air Force. France and other nations are asking about the program.

Italy has six of the aircraft and has flown them from Iraq since 2005. Before deploying to Iraq this year, the Italians went to Creech to learn what the Air Force already knows about flying over the country and how to integrate with the structure there.

“This is where people come to find out how we do this busi-ness,” Colonel Plamp said.

British Flight Sgt. Paul is one of those people. The Predator sensor operator with the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron said the RAF wants unmanned aircraft because “we’ve got specialists we can bring into this fight.”

So on the Creech flightline, other British servicemembers are learning about Predator and Reaper operations by working side by side with their American counterparts.

“We’re here because this is where the real UAV capability is,” the flight sergeant from Darlington, England, said. “The Air Force operates UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan. So it’s only logi-cal we train with the experts.”

Airmen at Creech say the Predators and Reapers are help-ing shape the future Air Force. Each day, they add new tactics, techniques and procedures to the way they do business. Many of those are the result of lessons learned while flying in the war on terrorism.

Col. Eric Mathewson, the 432nd Operations Group command-er, said the unmanned aircraft program has come so far so fast it’s constantly introducing new concepts of air and space power employment for the joint fight. A long-time F-15 Eagle pilot, he’s been flying Predators since 2000. He said it’s an exciting time to be in the unmanned aircraft business because at other units there is little latitude to make quick changes.

Not so at Predator central.“We’re rapidly developing and fielding new capability all the

time,” said Colonel Mathewson, of Paonia, Colo. “Where it would take five or 10 years for other platforms to gain a capabil-ity, it takes us six months to a year. We’re going full throttle and everything we do is about the war.”

Colonel Plamp looks forward to firing another Hellfire. And since he took command of his squadron more than a year ago, there has always been at least one Predator flying somewhere over Iraq or Afghanistan. So he knows he could get a chance to fire any day he flies. But he could get a mission like the one where Predators watched a house for almost 28 days.

The type of mission doesn’t matter. Each one is critical. And the goal is to fly each one with the same fervor as one that re-sults in a Hellfire shot, he said. Coalition forces depend on that.

“This is a very personal war,” Colonel Plamp said. “It’s about individuals. About the small numbers of people we look for. So, you need a specialized platform to accomplish the mission.”

The Predator is doing that now. And the Reaper will soon join the fight.

As the Reaper works its way into the Air Force fleet, contrac-tor — and Nevada guardsman —

Bruce Ottenwess puts the aircraft through its paces. Mr. Ottenwess

does a preflight inspection on a Reaper before a morning flight.

12 Airman J Summer 2007

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13Airman J Summer 200712 13Airman J Summer 2007 Airman J Summer 2007

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Staff Sgt. Joseph Deslauriers’ adrenaline erupts like a volcano. Burning through his veins, it races faster with each pump of his

heart. This is no fake Hollywood movie with its red wire versus blue wire. This is real-world Air Force explosive ordnance disposal.

It doesn’t matter that it’s 120 searing degrees or that home is thousands of miles and six months away. And it doesn’t matter this bomb could ex-

plode at any time. What matters is that American lives hang in the balance if the sergeant doesn’t do his job — or fails.

The sergeant must be successful — the first time.“We have the saying: ‘Initial success or total fail-

ure,’” said Sergeant Deslauriers, an EOD robotics NCO with the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squad-ron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. “We have to stay up on (ev-erything) trying to defeat whatever they throw at us.

“This is an IED (improvised explosive device) war,” said the sergeant from Bellingham, Mass, who earned a Bronze Star in Iraq. “It’s us against the terrorists.”

Whether dealing with IEDs, presidential escort du-ties, grenades found by local police or disarming a vest on a suicide bomber in Iraq, the Airmen are well prepared to handle the situation.

“Being in the military, in general, is dangerous. But that’s especially true in EOD,” equipment specialist Airman 1st Class Brian Dunnagan said. “You tell people your main job is to disarm bombs and they always think that you’ve got a screw loose. But, if you’re trained right, the job is not that dangerous.”

Plus, the Airmen have a host of gadgets to help them do their job that helps keep them from harm’s way. They use robots and other devices. And while the training may be as rigorous as the job itself, the battle-field Airmen take pride in knowing each day that they save American lives and disarm terrorism.

Each real mission is fraught with danger. But the well-prepared experts get plenty of satisfaction from the work they do, the Airman from Kankakee, Ill., said. EOD Airmen take pride in knowing people depend on them to do the job right the first time.

“It’s (pride) nothing we have to look for,” Airman Dunnagan said.

“We already have it in ourselves (pride) from every-thing we do,” he said.

by Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine, photos by Tech. Sgt. Larry Simmons

Explosives ordnance disposal team chief Staff Sgt. Samuel McCallister, wearing a protective suit, approaches a backpack full of pipe bombs during training.

An F6A remote disposal robot ap-proaches a simulated bomb.

The robot uses its high-tech arm,

which has a television camera

and sensors, to pick up the simu-

lated bomb.

Far from harm’s way, Staff Sgt. Joseph Deslauriers navigates his robot to pick up a simulated bomb during training. The ro-bot takes the bomb to a secure place for demolition.


People have always glorified warriors. Their heroic deeds inspire and are the stuff of myths.

Art, literature and music recount their deeds, and histories preserve them. This ensures people will con-tinue to marvel at the accomplishments of past and

present warriors.Very few Airmen today have not heard of the exploits of Eddie

Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Billy Mitchell, Hap Arnold, Chuck Yeager, John Levitow or Bill Pitsenbarger.

These are Airmen’s Airmen. Warriors.There’s one constant that binds great warriors like these — the

strong code by which they lived and served. Warriors don’t take lightly their lifestyle and beliefs.

To the Spartans of ancient Greece, being a warrior was every-thing. They centered their entire society and culture on the warrior creed. Sparta’s children went to military boarding school at age 7. A person’s status as a citizen depended on his military service. The Spartans’ unflinching dedication made them one of the most feared and respected of the ancient peoples.

Not unlike the ancient Spartans, today’s Airman lives by a war-rior’s creed — an ethos.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said that ethos is the foundation of what it means to be an Airman.

“The warrior ethos has always been a part of an Airman’s charac-ter,” the general said. “But some people may have lost sight of it.”

To regain the warrior ethos those Airmen must always exhibit “a hardiness of spirit and moral and physical courage,” General Mose-ley said.

To guarantee Airmen know what it means to be warriors, they get a heady dose of warrior training from the minute they enter the Air Force. The process lasts throughout their careers.

That doesn’t mean Airmen are not already warriors. They have always been at the forefront of their nation’s wars since they took

by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larleephotos by Tech. Sgt. Larry Simmons

A basic trainee provides defensive cover as fellow trainees crawl through one of the obstacles of the tactical assault course at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The half-mile course tests the trainees’ defensive tactics and communications skills.

Giving Airmen awarfighter’s mindset


to the skies over Europe during World War I. During World War II, more 8th Air Force Airmen died on aerial missions over Europe than Marines in the entire conflict. Since then, Airmen continued the legacy from Korea to Vietnam and the war on terrorism.

Along that path, they turned the Air Force into the world’s promi-nent air and space power.

It’s a legacy Tech. Sgt. Daniel Wheeler doesn’t lose sight of. He is one of the Airmen responsible for molding tomorrow’s Airmen. A basic military training instructor at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, his recruits are a bit older than the Spartan recruits of old.

But the challenges Spartan instructors faced are much the same Airmen face today. Most important is developing recruits while in-troducing them to the warfighting ethos and the Air Force way of life, the sergeant said.

“We’re trying to change the mindset of our trainees,” Sergeant

Wheeler said. “When they enlist, they have the impression that we’re a ‘chair force.’ So we work to change that assumption and show them we’re warriors like the (men and women in the) rest of the services.”

Recruits get a heavy dose of ethos at Lackland. They learn les-sons at places like Lackland’s tactical assault course. The half-mile course, littered with obstacles, physically and mentally challenges Airmen. Each trainee carries a weapon. And they learn to stick with their wingmen throughout the course. Those who fail to do so receive a loud reminder and extra direction from the cadre of instructors.

Bad weather doesn’t slow training. Sergeant Wheeler, who trav-eled the world with his retired Air Force master sergeant father be-fore settling in San Antonio, said there is nothing better than seeing his Airmen in dirty uniforms and boots.

The course mimics the battlefield. And though there are no bul-lets flying overhead or exploding roadside bombs to contend with, trainees exhibit the same three reactions to the stress of battle com-mon to warriors since ancient times: They freeze, flee or fight.

A student of history, Sergeant Wheeler said the great armies of history trained rigorously. That way, their warriors knew how to react when facing the enemy. He said many Spartan theories, in-cluding the ones used in the 480 B.C. battle of Thermopylae — of Hollywood movie “300” fame — are melded into the instruction Air Force recruits receive.

“To get the trainees not to freeze or flee is the goal,” the sergeant said. “So the ethos we present, like the Spartans did, is to empha-size fighting. We have to get deep into their hearts and minds be-cause that’s where the ethos comes from.”

Sergeant Wheeler sees parallels between the Greek-Persian battle at Thermopylae and the current war on ter-rorism. The Persians, like today’s terrorists, counted on winning by instilling fear in their enemies. But faith in training and maintain-ing the warrior mind-set, like the Greeks did, is the best way to counter fear, he said.

Airman Jeffrey Har-rell is in training to become an Airman warfighter. The future personnel apprentice, from Belding, Mich., admits he underesti-mated Air Force basic training.

“It has been more difficult than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “I didn’t expect this level of intensity. It’s important that I get this level of training because it may end up saving my life, or some-body else’s life, in the future.”

After tackling the tac-tical assault course, the Airman said it made him feel more in touch with the warriors who came before him. Fin-ishing the course also gave him a sense of pride.

“I bragged to all of my friends back home that I was going to ba-sic training,” he said. “I

can’t wait to go back home and tell everyone that I’m an Airman.”It’s that sense of pride Sergeant Wheeler wants all his Airmen to

have when they leave training. It’s why he takes the training of the recruits so seriously. He knows today’s fewer Airmen will have more responsibilities than any other generation before them.

“But it doesn’t matter how big your force is,” the sergeant said. “Through solid training, you can overcome any obstacle. The war we’re fighting is real and these recruits are going to be a big part of it.”

That’s why from the moment they don the Air Force uniform, Airmen must consider themselves members of an elite, warfighting cadre, General Moseley said. Today’s Airmen are disciplined, agile, combat-focused and expeditionary.

Airmen are accomplishing their varied missions, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. They take their role as warfighters to heart — just like the warriors who came before them.

“Every single Airman, every person who walks across the parade deck at Lackland and every person who is commissioned is a com-batant. That is our culture,” General Moseley said.

As members of a fighting Air Force, Airmen know their mission is to fly, fight and win no matter where their missions take them.

“We should embrace the notion the Air Force is a combatant or-ganization,” the general said.

On the plains of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans — through their be-lief in a warrior ethos — managed to fend off a giant Persian attack on their way of life for three days.

Today, Airmen are fending off an attack not much different than the Spartans faced. Whether dropping bombs on targets, pulling convoy duty, finding targets on the front lines, Airmen are knee-deep in the war on terrorism.

It is a task Airmen don’t take lightly. And that is what the new warrior ethos exemplifies.

Instructor Tech. Sgt. Christina Fitzpatrick puts her hands up after basic trainees captured her during a defen-sive tactics training exercise. The sergeant was playing the role of an intruder.

A basic trainee low crawls through a tactical as-sault course obstacle.


warriorWayof the

Air commandos embody a living combat heritageby Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine, photos by Tech Sgt. Larry Simmons

To the enemy, air commandos are faceless de-mons who gaze through mountains and hear whispers miles away on the darkest night. They can halt the wind, rain and lightning. In the breach of the storm, their voices roar across the

sky, shaking the Earth — a call that summons hellfire from the heavens to incinerate their foes.

Smoldering, scorched craters are the only footprints they leave as they fade into nothingness.

To their allies, these special operations forces are enig-matic friends. That’s how an Uzbek Airman described the American Airmen operating from a base in his country a few years ago.

“They’re the boogeyman,” the Uzbek sergeant said. “Of all the American fighting forces, the bad guys are afraid of these Airmen the most.”

These special operators wield awesome power in battle, but seek no glory. Highly skilled professionals, their hands can crush and kill, but those same hands also heal, save and nurture.

These Airmen, forged in the furnace of battle, tempered by the sweat of perseverance and polished by precision training, are some of the nation’s most elite warriors. They’ll stand alone against overwhelming odds. And those who seek their help know they’ll fight with every ounce of their will, even die, so others may live.

Today, these Airmen are bringing fear to the enemy in ev-ery skirmish of the war on terrorism. That’s nothing new. It’s something they’ve been doing well for more than 60 years.

“Their heritage continues. It hasn’t ended,” retired air commando Col. Jim Connors said. “These guys are writing history every day.”

Pararescuemen run to board an MH-53 Pave Low special op-

erations helicopter during a train-ing mission at Hurlburt Field. Fla. The 1st Special Operations Wing

Airmen go through intensive training, often provided by former

air commandos.

19Airman J Summer 2007


A combat controller pulls a 185-pound “wound-ed Airman” dummy as part of the combat stress course special operators go through at Hurlburt Field. The training, which includes a variety of shooting and tactical exercises, prepares Airmen for the rigors and stress of combat.

A pararescueman hoists other members of his team aboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter during a fast-roping exercise at Hurlburt Field. Special operations Airmen are always training to deal with changing enemy tactics.

The colonel once commanded the 16th Operations Group at Hurlburt Field, Fla., home of the 1st Special Operations Wing air commandos. The base on the Florida Gulf Coast is part of that living heritage. Streets bear the names of fallen commandos. And the tales of their deeds are part of local lore.

Born in battleLike all great stories passed from one generation to another, the air commandos’ tale — heritage — began six decades ago. Shrouded by the mist of time and covered in the veil of legend, it’s a tale full of heroic people and memorable events.

The legacy began in the jungles of Japanese-occupied Burma during World War II. The British waged an “unconventional hit-and-run war” there. Their guerilla tactics were to assault commu-nication and resupply lines. But its many missions stretched the British forces thin. So they turned to their American ally for the air support critical to their mission success.

Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold called for an all-volunteer corps of what he coined American “air commandos” to meet the unique challenge. The Airmen were a self-contained force operating


fighter and airlift aircraft. It provided all its own maintenance and support.

On March 5, 1944, Operation Thursday launched successfully and the commandos attacked enemy forces from the air, resup-plied British commandos on the ground and airlifted the wound-ed out of the battle. Twenty-four days later the Airmen were officially renamed the 1st Air Commando Group. This was the foundation of the air commando heritage.

“The importance of the air commando heritage is what we pass on to the next generation,” said Colonel Connors, from New York, who flew AC-130 gunships. “We have been all over the world. We have stories about what we finished and did on past missions. We need to tell those stories to the people who are doing that mission today.”

Colonel Connors served in Somalia. He said what special op-erators are doing today is even more important than what they did in the past. Learning about the past, he said, “the way we did things, the mistakes we made, the good things we did, will help them (today’s air commandos) have the spirit, fire and drive to do what they need to do for the country today and in the future.”

Yesterday’s commandos are preserving their heritage — and its many stories — at the Air Commandos Association headquarters in Mary Esther, a few minutes drive from Hurlburt.

“Our (association’s) purpose, and this was established by (Brig. Gen. Harry Aderholt) in 1967, is to promote special ops. We

honor special people,” said retired Lt. Col. Sam Sambogna, the association’s president, who served in Vietnam. “We have a hall of fame of people who are retired, or on active duty who have done significant things.”

Airmen who visit the hall of heritage will be welcomed with more than bright smiles and firm handshakes from weathered hands. The library shelves are full of books with tales of valor and courage; tales of the secret wars and the Airmen who made them successful.

In the association’s hall of heroes, the faint scents of freshly cleaned glass, old metal and older newspapers fill the air. The walls are a collage of color and black-and-white photos, drawings and memorabilia. The “forcibly taken” sword of a Japanese officer lies partially unwrapped from its brown paper bed on the far side of the room. It sits on top of a glass display case as it waits to find a home in one of the many other cases in the room. And on the short front wall — centered in its rightful place of prominence — is the large wooden plaque whose small golden name plates shine with the engraved names of heroes.

“These people made great contributions to special ops,” Colo-nel Sambogna said.

The association works to keep the air commando heritage vital for today’s Airmen, he said. The “old timers” still regularly visit and support Hurlburt Airmen and their families and host social gatherings to pass on their heritage face-to-face to today’s air

commandos. “We want to continue the link to the past,” said Colonel Sam-

bogna, who is from Manchester, Conn. “We (want to) keep a bond between the old guys and the new folks because it is the same thing, the same mission and the same enthusiasm for spe-cial operations.”

The new warriorsAt Hurlburt, Airmen continue carrying the torch passed to them from the past. Today’s air commandos are still lighting the way for mission success wherever the Air Force — or others — need them.

As the Air Force celebrates its 60th anniversary, Air Force Spe-cial Operations Command and air commandos past and present are reflecting on their heritage, Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley said. The AFSOC commander said today’s silent warriors don’t forget from where they came.

“You look back on World War II, Vietnam, the fighting in Ko-rea, and there are air commando heroes in every one of those conflicts,” the general said. “The folks who wear the uniform of an air commando today really look back and cherish and cel-ebrate those great heroes who have gone before them. We get in-ner strength from them to carry on in this global war.”

The command stays busy. Its special mission is to provide Air Force special operations forces and capabilities around the world.

Airman First Class Morgan Morris and other pararescuemen and combat controllers get ready for another round of rigorous pre-scuba training at Hurlburt Field. All special op-erations Airmen must go through four weeks of scuba training.

Airman 1st Class Sean Goodstein learns to scrunch his nose as part of his pre-scuba training.

As part of their pre-scuba training, all special operations Airmen must demonstrate they can jump into the water with all their scuba gear.


Highly trained and rapidly deployable, these Airmen use state-of-the-art equipment and aircraft. Their missions range from precise application of firepower to infiltration, exfiltration, re-supply and aerial refueling. The command’s 13,000 total force Airmen use the AC-130H/U — Spectre and Spooky — gunships, C-130 Hercules, EC-130 Commando Solo, MC-130 Combat Talon, MQ-1 Predator and MH-53 Pave Low helicopters.

Needless to say, heritage plays an important role in the day-to-day lives of special operations Airmen. Many retired air comman-dos are now serving at Hurlburt as instructors — passing on their hands-on knowledge. It’s part of the wing’s concept of Airmen training Airmen.

One of the courses Airmen go through is the pre-scuba train-ing course. Instructors like retired combat controller Master Sgt. Tom Bevan and retired pararescueman Master Sgt. Bill Lyons run Airmen through rigorous, water-logged hours in the training pool. Students have to “fight off” the instructors who are trying to “drown” them. But as Airmen battle through the fear and exhaus-tion, their instructors, Airmen who were once in their fins, help them succeed.

“There is no one common issue,” said Staff Sgt. James Light, a combat controller and advanced skills training instructor. “Each individual has his own devils to work out under water.”

He said the job is, in part, to play psychologist and help train-ees battle their demons.

“For the most part, we work them up to being as proficient as we can in a four-week period,” the sergeant said.

The Airmen-training-Airmen concept provides constant real-world feedback that benefits the entire air commando community.

“We learn those lessons that are handed down. We do apply them,” General Wooley said.

The general said a good example involves the MQ-1 Predator that air commandos fly over Iraq and Afghanistan. Those who fly the unmanned aerial vehicle will pass on what they learned.

“That is what gives us our edge in this ever-changing war,” the general said.

Tomorrow’s team That also means the role of special operations will continue to evolve, as it has since the Burma days. While most of the Air Force is operationally slimming down, the special operations role is growing and expanding. The 720th Special Tactics Group and the 6th Special Operations Squadron are prime examples.

The group opened its training pipeline to enlisted cross-train-ees from other Air Force specialties. And the squadron is dou-bling in size. This unique team is the only one in the Depart-ment of Defense with an aerial foreign internal defense mission, which relies heavily on operationally experienced Airmen, many of whom possess foreign language skills, the general said. This mission happens when the United States helps support another nation’s internal defense.

“We are in a growth spurt,” General Wooley said. “We are ex-cited about the future of AFSOC.”

The general said the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command realize the command’s need to recapitalize.

“They recognize that we need to have increases in our battle-field Airmen numbers,” the general said. “They agree we should increase the capability of our foreign internal defense squadron.”

The command is also revitalizing its aerial arsenal with a

new aircraft the special ops community can’t stop talking about — the CV-22 Osprey. Currently, the command’s battlefield “work-horse” is the MH-53, a low-level, long-range, battle-tested he-licopter that served for three decades. But the addition of the ver-satile Osprey provides new operational capabilities.

“Bringing on board the CV-22 is a marvelous transformational event for us,” General Wooley said. “To have an aircraft that can fly 250 knots, pull into a hover and land exactly where you need it to on the battlefield — with 18 combat-loaded air commandos, Army special forces or Navy SEALS — is just incredible.

“The future of AFSOC and air commandos is very bright and on the upswing,” he said.

One example of the growth is Hurlburt’s new advanced skills training center. Walking into the building, the importance of heritage is the first thing students, instructors and visitors see. The foyer is simple and clean, from its hard-tile floors to the il-luminated walls and ceiling. The walls divide the room into three separate areas. Each one pays homage to one of the Air Force’s three tactical combat Airmen: Combat controllers, pararescue-men and combat weathermen.

But the importance of heritage doesn’t end at the door; it is a vital part of every training area.

“Basically, we try to show these guys the skills they need to progress in their careers. This also helps keep them safe on the battlefield and shows them as much as possible in a training en-vironment before they have to apply it to a combat situation,” said instructor Tech Sgt. Ryan Stanhope, a combat controller.

“We can induce a lot of things they may not see in combat. The more prepared we get them here, and the more things we can show them in a controlled environment, the better they are going to be able to handle themselves on the battlefield,” the ser-geant said.

Another aim is to prepare Airmen so they can adapt to things on the battlefield they may not have foreseen, he said.

“The training they receive here is phenomenal,” Sergeant Stan-hope said.

Sergeant Stanhope learned this truth the hard way. Like many of the instructors, he has been in war zones on five major de-ployments since Sept. 11, 2001. He has put his special training to use. Now he passes on the significance of training, and what he learned in combat, to the next generation of special operators.

“The training I had was a gradual progression, but it was qual-ity training and it definitely got me ready for a lot of the missions that I was exposed to in combat,” the Bronze Star recipient from Portland, Maine, said. “I had the opportunity to really focus a lot in a training environment before I went to war.

“A lot of these guys could get to their units and potentially de-ploy pretty fast. That is why we are trying to do as much training as we can in the beginning,” Sergeant Stanhope said.

Ultimately the training prepares today’s Airmen and gives them the knowledge, skill, preparation and integrity to carry the air commando combat heritage into the future. The more pre-pared they are, the more versatile they are on the battlefield. And the more fearsome they are to the enemy.

“Anything that is thrown at them, they can take it,” Sergeant Light said about the Airmen he readies for war. “They can adapt and move on. I always tell (my Airmen) it is better to be a wolf than a sheep.”

The bad guys hate that.

In the waning hours of a long day of training, com-bat controller Senior Airman Jake Quigg gets his gear

ready for another extensive day of training.


Afghan armyAirmen mentors help country fend for itself

Buildinga betterby Staff Sgt. Carlos Diaz, photos by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo

Not all the facilities at Kabul’s central maintenance depot have undergone renovation. In this metal shop, Afghan Soldiers and civilian workers still work in a dingy, dilapidated warehouse.

Dodging, swerving and weav-ing through the heavy traffic, Senior Master Sgt. Al Marasse knows just how danger-ous the streets are in Kabul,

Afghanistan.Driving through the capital city’s streets,

the rubble, ash and rebar piercing through the shattered concrete walls of deserted buildings remind him of a suicide bomber’s

deadly intent. He keeps his eyes open for danger.

The sergeant’s precarious daily com-mute is part of his job as a senior opera-tions mentor in an embedded training team helping stand up the fledging Af-ghan National Army. It’s a job he knows will one day help take the burden off NATO forces, which now provide the Af-ghans most of their battle support.

26 27Airman J Summer 2007 Airman J Summer 2007


Just past the hustle and bustle of crowded street markets and hundreds of pedestrians, Sergeant Marasse and fellow team member, Staff Sgt. Falsen Cambre, drive their vehicle into the se-cure compound where they and other members of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan work.

As his bulky frame — wrapped with 40 pounds of “battle rattle” gear — exits the vehicle, Sergeant Cambre gazes through the dusty air at a line of decaying buildings.

The time-tested, 140-year-old structures have endured much — government changes, the savage Soviet invasion and the Tal-iban’s merciless rule. Now they house the Afghan army’s sprawl-ing central maintenance depot. It’s also where the Afghans store the supplies that sustain its military. Other buildings house large machines that manufacture vehicle parts and weapons. It’s a bus-tling place.

Embedded training teamsThe embedded training teams represent all the U.S. services. Like their counterparts, the Airmen are helping ensure the depot func-

tions efficiently as Afghanistan continues fighting the war on ter-rorism and building its armed forces. The teams have a key goal: Help the Afghans build up their military. This will, eventually, allow Afghans to provide their own combat power and security so they can take over the fight against the Taliban and insurgents in their country.

It is not an easy job. They support and improve depot opera-tions. But the Airmen, a baker’s dozen, are playing a key role in the Afghan army’s development into a modern, independent and self-sufficient force. The close-knit group of highly trained and dedicated Airmen redefines the word “team,” Sergeant Marasse said.

“This [effort] isn’t about us as individuals,” the sergeant said. “This is about the whole team, and what we’ve been able to ac-complish together with the Afghan National Army.”

The teams have been able to accomplish quite a lot. The Air-men have been at Kabul for a year. Before deploying, the Air-men received two months of contingency skills training at Camp Shelby, Miss.

“We’re responsible for establishing a process that helps im-prove the ANA’s logistical capabilities,” Sergeant Marasse said. “We’re giving them the tools they need to do the job. They’re will-ing to do anything they can to get the job done and little success-es are contagious.”

When the team arrived, the depot’s austere compound was run-down. The team’s caring approach has helped lay the foun-dation for the future of the depot. The groundwork began with the improvement of the depot’s aging facilities and amenities.

“This place was in dire need of the basics — the essentials,” said Sergeant Cambre, the team’s weapons mentor. “The build-ings had no plumbing, electricity or windows.”

Supplying the basicsAs soon as it arrived, the team began supplying the depot with the basics needed to accomplish the mission. Over the year, many of the depot’s buildings received a 100-year upgrade, facili-ties mentor Maj. Jim Wood said.

“We’ve repaired walls, both structurally and cosmetically, add-

ed windows, doors, roofing and electrical capabilities,” the major said.

The depot is undergoing a complete renovation. With all the work going on, it resembles a boomtown with industrious con-struction workers galore hammering nails and digging trenches for electrical cables. As the upgrade continues, pristine and clean buildings are replacing those that show years of wear and tear.

The massive facelift makes for better working conditions, which hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“I’m so impressed how the (ETT) always pays attention to cleanliness and order,” depot deputy commander Col. Moham-mad Usman said.

The Afghan Soldier said that with time, patience and effort, the mentors have established and fostered a good working relation-

A handful of Airmen help the Afghan National Army devel-op processes to improve the logistical capabilities of its cen-tral maintenance depot in Kabul, Afghanistan. Senior Master Sgt. Alfed Marasse helps Soldier mechanics establish a supply chain for vehicle maintenance.

Afghan Soldiers and civilian metal workers ply their trade in renovated shops and warehouses at Kabul’s central maintenance depot. But the build-ings are 140-years old.


ship with their Afghan counterparts.“They [Americans] are friendly and I’ve enjoyed our effective

relationship,” Colonel Usman said. “They have increased my leadership experience.”

The strong working bond and better working conditions are no-ticeable, in part, because the Airmen emphasize safety first.

“Our team always stresses safety,” team member Senior Mas-ter Sgt. Bill Cole said. “Safety is, without a doubt, our No. 1 priority.”

The team has implemented new safety practices, many that were previously nonexistent. For example, workers now keep manufacturing machines clean and well maintained.

The Afghan officer in charge of the machine shop endorses the new safety processes.

“I’m impressed by this concept,” Lt. Col. Mohammad Asif said. “A safe environment provides the workers with the oppor-tunity to produce good work.”

Production upProducing good work is something in which Haji Abdulraof prides himself. He’s been a machinist for 46 years. The changes are making Afghans at the depot more productive.

“I like standing behind a machine and producing something of value,” Mr. Abdulraof said. “This environment is much better than the one we worked in before.”

The machinist is proud of depot improvements. Each one is another step toward the eventual renewal of his country, he said.

Sergeant Cole said a safe work environment, something in which the Air Force prides itself, not only allows for better production, it also allows taking care “of the most valuable re-sources, people.”

The Airmen — who come from such career fields as civil en-gineering, security forces, communications and vehicle and air-craft maintenance — pride themselves in knowing their Kabul experience will help a nation. And it will leave them an indel-ible impression.

“This [type of experience] stays with you forever,” Major Wood said.

Team leader Lt. Col. Mike Hinz said the deployment also al-lows the Airmen a one-of-a-kind opportunity to establish friend-ships and cement bonds with the Afghans.

“This is by far the most unique assignment in our careers,” Colonel Hinz said. “We’re truly embedded with the Af-ghans. Even with our cultural differences, we’ve been work-ing and training well. We have a good rapport and a trusting friendship.”

Friendship aside, the depot’s compound is overflowing with examples of well-done work. It is the kind of work that is start-ing to make a significant difference for the Afghan army, Major Wood said. Several key projects enhanced the depot’s ability to do its important mission.

On targetOne project was the construction of a new test-firing range. Ma-jor Wood and Sergeant Cambre turned to Air Force instructions to help complete the project. Once done, the range allowed the Afghan military “to test the weapons in a safe environment,” Sergeant Cambre said.

The range is a long cement tunnel that allows two shooters

Discussing what it took to build a new fir-ing range at the Afghan army’s central mainte-nance depot in Kabul are (from left) Staff Sgt. Falsen Cambre, Maj. James Wood and Staff Sgt. Carlos Diaz.

at once to test their weapons. The range has lights, ventilation shafts and deflector plates. It’s this kind of achievement that al-lowed the Airmen mentors to leave an indelible mark on their Afghan brethrens’ commitment to duty.

His depot experiences remind Sergeant Marasse of a major Air Force principle.

“If flexibility is the key to air power, then this job is the epito-me of that flexibility,” he said.

Sergeant Cole said the same ability they demonstrate to modify and adapt gives him faith in the future of the Afghan military and people.

“Our final goal is for the next generation of Afghan children to be able to thrive in their country’s environment and econo-my,” he said.

Because of teamwork — like that taking place at the Kabul de-pot between the Airmen and their Afghan counterparts — the ser-geant believes that goal will one day be a reality.

Establishing good working relation-ships with Afghan Soldiers is an important part of Staff Sgt. Falsen Cambre job as a mentor. The

sergeant is helping establish work procedures at the central maintenance depot’s weapon re-pair shop.


Uncommon AirmenAirmen-Soldiers are

a direct link between ground and air power

by Rich Lamanceopening photo by Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons

It wasn’t only the 70-pound rucksack, M-4 rifle and 9 mm pistol that slowed Tech. Sgt. Shane Palmer to a crawl as he maneuvered through the tight alleys and densely clustered concrete houses. Constant mortar fire, random artillery

shells and rocket-propelled grenade attacks made forward prog-ress almost impossible.

Sergeant Palmer and his Army infantry unit were in a battle between the Mahdi army of militant cleric Maqtada al Sadr in the Iraqi city of Najaf, and Marines and Soldiers in the late summer

of 2004. Sandwiched between one of the world’s largest cemeteries and one of Islam’s holiest sites, the gold-domed Imam Ali Shrine, the Americans were in the difficult position of finding a way to stop the enemy without damaging the sacred landmark.

But on this day it would be Sergeant Palmer, and a handful like him, who would make the difference between mission success and failure. A 500-pound bomb expertly placed from above onto a Mahdi mortar position silenced the enemy, while leaving the shrine intact.

Sergeant Palmer is no ordinary Airman. A joint terminal attack

Diving for cover is something joint terminal at-tack controllers Senior Airman Joshua Issermoyer (left) and Staff Sgt. Francis Lott III do often while training at Fort Hood, Texas. The 3rd Air Support Operations Group Airmen work to provide close-air support for the more than 35,000 Soldiers of the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry divisions.



controller, or JTAC, his job on the battlefield is to communicate the needs of the ground commander to the pilots whose job it is to put bombs on target.

At sprawling Fort Hood, an Army post situated among the expan-sive buttes and sporadic mesquites just north of the Texas Hill Coun-try, Sergeant Palmer is one of about 300 tactical air control party, or TACP, Airmen. They work with about 35,000 combat arms Soldiers of the 1st Cavalry and 4th Infantry divisions. The Airmen represent about a fifth of the Air Force’s 1,500 or so TACPs.

As a part of the 3rd Air Support Operations Group, these tactical Airmen find themselves in a world outside the realm of the Air Force, and not quite accepted by the Army.

“These guys are truly the unsung heroes,” group deputy command-er Lt. Col. Michael Dennis said. “The Army doesn’t realize they’re there. The Air Force doesn’t realize they’re there.

“Their bond with their squadron mates and the bond with their Army partners is something you only read about in literature,” the colonel said. “These guys are out six months in Iraq, six months home, then six months back in Iraq. They simply put on their ruck-

sacks and they go out there and do their missions.” Those missions are in the hands of five operational units — the

11th, 9th and 712th air support operations squadrons at Fort Hood, and the 10th and 13th air support operations squadrons at Fort Ri-ley, Kan., and Fort Carson, Colo., respectively. This group of about 500 Airmen includes not only TACPs and JTACs, but everyone from communications maintenance experts to vehicle maintainers, ad-ministrators and officers who act as air liaison officers at the brigade, division and corps levels. Each unit is responsible for supporting des-ignated Army units.

“Each division has a squadron commander and staff aligned with division headquarters,” the group’s operations director, Lt. Col. David Staven, said. “Then there are flights within each squadron aligned with the various combat brigades within the division. Broken down within each flight, you have elements of TACPs who work with the various battalions.”

Colonel Staven said TACPs can be found in the fight all the way down to the company level where the Airmen live, eat, sleep and fight with their Army unit at some of the most remote forward oper-

ating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s not uncommon to see Air-men alongside combat teams perform cordon searches, work convoy missions or monitor unmanned aerial vehicle flights during combat operations.

The TACP at his most basic level is the ROMAD, or radio operator maintainer and driver. While the role of Airmen controlling the skies from the ground dates as far back as World War II, today’s ROMAD uses satellite and digital communications to make that job quicker and greatly reduce the chances of fratricide, or “friendly fire.”

“As a ROMAD, I have to know each radio’s capability and be able to program the frequencies to effectively communicate between the aircraft and the combat commander on the ground,” said Senior Air-man Jayson McCoy, a TACP with the 11th ASOS.

“I have to be familiar with a variety of computer systems, target-ing systems and other equipment to put bombs on target. I’m also expected to shoot while under fire, know how to clear a building and learn hand-to-hand combat,” he said.

The evolution of the TACP is to become a JTAC. This super-charged TACP is the one who communicates with pilots and the only

one of a two-man team allowed to actually “control the air.”“The road to becoming a JTAC starts the day a TACP gets to his

first assignment after tech (technical) school,” said Staff Sgt. James Barker, a JTAC with the 11th ASOS. “You’re tested on equipment and you need a year of mission-ready status before you can start JTAC upgrade.”

The sergeant said the first phase of training, for airmen first class, lasts about six months.

“During that time, you need four simulator controls, four real-world controls and a whole table of training,” Sergeant Barker said. “Once you go through those requirements, and make senior airman, then you’re ready for the school.”

The school is a three-week qualification course at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Students get four more control missions and learn more about how to work with Army units.

“They guide you on the different ways to talk to the aircraft,” Ser-geant Barker said. “Then, when you get back to your unit, you have four more controls and another table of training. A year-and-a-half later, a TACP will get his evaluation to be a JTAC.”

“Prepping the battlefield” is what joint termi-nal attack controllers call verifying and prioritizing targets on the battlefield. Senior Airman (now staff sergeant) Daniel Nestor (left) and Senior Airman Jayson McCoy prep many battlefields during train-ing at Fort Hood, Texas. Here they simulate calling in airstrikes by a variety of U.S. military aircraft to help Soldiers on the ground.

Donning battle armor before a mission in Baghdad, Iraq, is a familiar routine for Senior Air-man Dan Strom. The joint terminal attack control-ler calls in and directs close-air support missions for Soldiers when they clear insurgents from ar-eas of the city.

by Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.


When the Air Force presented the first-ever awards hon-oring the best Airmen in the tactical air control party career field, it was no coincidence the top winners were

from the same group.

But working with satellite communications and using complex controlling procedures is only the beginning of training required of the Fort Hood TACPs and JTACs. They often insert themselves into military operations on urban terrain training where they learn to kick in doors and clear an urban area of insurgents. At times, the Airmen host Army weapons teams that provide more in-depth train-ing on the 9 mm pistol and M-4 rifles. Other times, the teams find themselves integrated with Army units in the field to learn how to interact.

Like their Army counterparts, TACPs begin each morning with physical training as a group, usually starting with push-ups and calis-thenics and ending with a four-mile run.

“On the days we don’t do PT, we usually put on 70-pound ruck-sacks and march for about four miles or so,” said Staff Sgt. David Galindo, a JTAC with the 9th ASOS at West Fort Hood, an annex to the main post.

“Most of our missions at Fort Hood involve training,” Sergeant Galindo added. “We train on small-arms tactics, patrol procedures, radio and telecommunications procedures and close-air-support planning and execution. A good close-air-support mission can take a whole day to plan. Nothing beats watching an A-10 (Thunderbolt II) unload 30 mm rounds into a target when I’m less than a kilometer away.”

Outside of actual combat deployment, the most intensive training

to constantly be on the lookout. When I’m on patrol, I’m with my JTAC and my job is to watch his back while he’s controlling aircraft.”

Constant training, frequent temporary duty and lengthy deploy-ments make life stressful for the Airmen. Adding to the stress: The closest Air Force base is three hours away at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Most families rarely get the chance to experience true Air Force culture.

“If we were at an Air Force base, my wife would expect Airmen to look, and act, like a TACP,” Sergeant Barker said. “She’s never been around an Air Force base and typical Air Force people. Army life is all she knows.”

Airman Coulombe tries to keep “the bad stuff” about what he does from his family.

“I’ve found that when we’re deployed, and on a combat mis-sion, we have to shut everything else out. When we get back home, we have to block out everything we went through. And, even when you’re not happy, you act happy, because you don’t get much time with your family.”

The Airmen who work with the controllers return to the Air Force af-ter their Fort Hood stint. But controllers know their next post is with an Army combat unit, like at Vicenza, Italy; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Richardson, Alaska; or Camp Casey, South Korea.

For these warfighters who wear Air Force blue, home is where the next action takes them.

for TACPs is among the treacherous ravines and desolate terrain of the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. In this realis-tic setting in the Mojave Desert, Airmen and Soldiers face situations they’re likely to face in combat and work through issues before they get to the actual battlefield.

“Our part was to get involved with convoy operations where we have aircraft scan the road ahead for stopped vehicles, potential hazards or explosive devices,” said Senior Airman Martin Coulombe, a TACP with the 11th ASOS. “We go into town, knock down doors and clear areas with our Army counterparts, all the while keeping in touch with aircraft to keep things safe.”

The training helps prepare the Airmen. But tales of combat expe-riences abound in the group, since its TACPs deploy to hotspots in Iraq and Afghanistan on an average of every six months.

Master Sgt. Shawn Williams, a tactical air command and con-trol superintendent with the 11th ASOS, said TACPs provide direct control to aircraft or pilots. They also provide expert advice to Army ground commanders in the fight.

“If there are Soldiers walking the mountains of Afghanistan, you better believe there is a TACP with them,” he said. “If there is a major operation in Baghdad, you better believe TACPs are involved.”

JTAC Staff Sgt. Brian Tatum has deployed with Green Berets and 1st Cavalry Division units in Iraq and Afghanistan, He has seen first hand the importance of the Air Force in the fight.

“I provided close-air support throughout the battlefield in situa-tions where our own firepower could no longer save us. At that point, I would bring in aircraft to drop bombs on enemy targets without any ‘friendly’ casualties,” he said.

Senior Airman Riley Clark, a TACP with the 11th ASOS, served in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other spots in South-west Asia during his four-year career. The Air Force’s role in combat operations is vital, he said. Controllers call in air strikes from A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and Navy F-18 Hornets; B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress bombers; and attack helicopters.

“TACPs are the most destructive men on the battlefield,” Airman Riley said.

Sergeant Tatum and other TACPs are often the stereotype of Air-men in the field and can give examples of living and working in con-ditions few Airmen or Soldiers ever experience.

“I remember a battle in Iraq where I didn’t get a shower for 30 days,” Sergeant Tatum said.

When the Airmen go on patrols “outside the wire” — off a post or base — with Soldiers, they usually work out of a Humvee. They carry their rucksack, body armor, Kevlar helmet, M-4 rifle, 9 mm pistol and radios.

“We’ll dismount with the Army when they go on patrols. We work with squads of 10 to 15 Soldiers,” Airman Coulombe said. “We have

Staff Sgt. Christopher P. Avalos, Staff Sgt. Francis E. Lott III and Senior Airman Andre Andrews are with the 3rd Air Support Operations Group at Fort Hood, Texas. The group works with two divisions of about 35,000 Soldiers.

That means the Airmen train, live, eat, sleep and go to war with the Soldiers they work along side.

Airman Andrews received the Raymond Losano TACP Award, named after a TACP killed in Afghanistan during Operation Endur-ing Freedom. It recognizes the outstanding TACP apprentice or

journeyman ranked senior airman or below. While in Afghanistan, Airman Andrews fought off

several enemy combatants following the crash of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. He called in air support, saving 12 lives in the process.

“My JTAC (joint terminal attack controller) went out with our company commander because intelligence (analysts were) telling us that there were people watching us,” said Airman Andrews, a TACP with the 9th Air Support Operations Squadron.

“The Army found out where the guys were and started firing mortar rounds at them. We watched them go in, but from where the JTAC was, he couldn’t communicate back to the guys who were firing the mortars to allow them to make the ad-justments,” the Airman said. “The JTAC would tell the B-1 pilot, the pilot would tell me and I would switch over my frequency and tell the Army guys the adjustments.”

Scenes like this were typical for the young Airman who spent nearly eight months working with Army di-

vision and brigade combat teams. Sergeant Avalos, a fighter duty technician, received the Fighter

Duty Technician Award for his actions in Afghanistan. The award recognizes the achievements of Airmen below the rank of master

sergeant who have at least one year in the field, a deployment to an air support operations center for five months or more and their combat mission-ready certification.

In Afghanistan, the sergeant from the 712th ASOS controlled more than 2,000 hours of close-air, electronic warfare and armed reconnaissance support missions to ground units.

“When JTACs are in the muck and they have a request for air, they call us,” Sergeant Avalos said. “We’re basically a 9-1-1 dis-patch center. We find the coordinates and appropriate munitions and get the pilot in touch with the JTAC as quickly as possible.”

No rookie to this kind of work, Sergeant Avalos has been in the TACP field for 15 years, 11 of them as a fighter duty technician.

“I don’t feel that anything I did was out of the ordinary,” said Sergeant Lott, an 11th ASOS joint tactical air controller. He re-ceived the Jacob P. Frazier TACP-JTAC Award, given to the TACP of the year.

The sergeant controlled 556 combat sorties in Iraq. This result-ed in the capture of 170 anti-Iraqi forces and helped clear more than 2,230 miles of road. He also helped train 40 Iraqi police. These are some reasons Sergeant Lott received the award named after a JTAC killed in action.

Sergeant Lott, a five and one-half year veteran, said his biggest challenge is training and fighting — and being accepted — in an Army world, while wearing an Air Force uniform.

“You have TACPs and pararescue jumpers on the frontlines with the Army, but who constantly have to prove themselves. Some Army guys don’t know who or what TACPs are,” Sergeant Lott said. “You have to constantly show what you bring to the fight. But once you do, the relationship becomes very strong.”

That makes for a better team on the battlefield. But it can be confusing at other times.

“I know more about the Army than I do the Air Force,” Sergeant Lott said.

—Rich Lamance

Fort Hood TACPs tops in Air Force

Passing coordinates for airstrikes to aircraft overhead is one of the key missions joint terminal attack controller Staff Sgt. Francis Lott III has on the battlefield.

While Senior Airman Andre Andrews (right) keeps an eye on targets on the battlefield, Staff Sgt. Christopher Avalos calls in a simulated air-strike. The Airmen make up a tactical air control party.


by Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons

photo by Daren Reehl


Air University continues legacy of educating tomorrow’s warriorsby Staff Sgt. Matthew Batesphotos by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

t this school there are no pep rallies. No cheerleaders. No debate team.

Its students do receive free profession-al and academic education. And when

they aren’t in class, some are off bombing stuff.The school is Air University. Airmen — en-

listed, officers and civilians — make up the student body and it’s their job to fight, fly and win whenever their nation calls. For this rea-son, the university has been developing lead-ers for more than 60 years, as the Air Force’s intellectual and leadership center.

“This school gives Airmen the tools to be good leaders,” said Dr. Bart Kessler, dean of distance learning for the Air Command and Staff College.

The university moved to Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Ala., in late 1945. But the school has existed in one form or another since 1920. During most of those early years, the universi-ty’s name was the Air Corps Tactical School. It developed advance doctrine and strategies for the relatively new concept of airpower.

The school closed just before World War II. 38 39Airman J Summer 2007Airman J Summer 2007

A


“In its early days, the vision was the university wouldn’t simply be a command and staff school, but that a range of educational op-portunities would be offered to Airmen of all ranks and responsibili-ties,” Mr. Cully said.

More than six decades later, the vision is a reality. The univer-sity conducts professional military education, graduate education and professional continuing education for officers, enlisted person-nel and civilians to prepare them for leadership and management responsibilities. In addition, the university provides pre-commis-

sioning training, manages the College for Enlisted Pro-fessional Military Education — which includes the Air Force Senior Non-commissioned Offi-cer Academy — and contributes to the development and testing of Air Force doctrine, concepts and strategy.

“A common mis-conception about AU is that it mainly educates officers,” academy comman-dant Chief Master Sgt. Pamela Derrow said. “The university actually provides education and train-ing to Airmen of all ranks. The Air Force has invested a con-siderable amount of resources to ensure enlisted Airmen are well educated and battle ready.”

Today the uni-versity develops knowledgeable, technologically savvy and combat-capable Airmen, she said. That’s because education is a high priority for the Air Force.

“As the most technologically ad-vanced military in the world, the [Air Force] must con-tinue its investment in education if we are to maintain our superiority,” Secre-

After undergoing restructuring, it re-opened as Air University on March 12, 1946 — a little more than one year before the Air Force became a separate service on Sept. 18, 1947.

“Air University is older than the Air Force,” said George Cully, a university historian.

A young Air Force took an infant Air University with it, seeing the potential for making education an integral part of the service. To-day, the university teaches the doctrine Airmen developed over all those years. But it’s a process that changes along with the Air Force.

Officer trainees lis-ten to one of the many lectures they will at-tend before graduating from Officer Training School.

“Flickerball,” with its many, sometimes convoluted rules, is a game that helps Squadron Officer School students de-velop leadership skills.

Providing direction is nothing new to Officer Training School instructor Tech. Sgt. Emilio Garza (left). The sergeant gives 1st Lt. John Toman last-minute pointers before his flight takes part in its graduation parade.

tary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne said. “We need all Airmen to share a common understanding of history, doctrine and air and space power.”

At its heart, this is what Air University is all about — developing leaders, teaching doctrine and making air, space and cyberspace power a useable tool instead of a catchy phrase.

But while these ideas make up the university’s heart, its back-bone is history. History surrounds — immerses — the campus. The spirit of Air Force pioneers still haunt its halls, not free to roam but contained in the black and white photographs and oil paintings that line the walls. They pose now as faces from the past who re-mind today’s students of the sacrifices made to shape the university and the Air Force.

Various statues also grace the campus. Stoic figures cast in bronze or carved from granite stand as silent sentinels pointing to a historic figure or moment. In one, the Wright Brothers’ monumental first flight stands frozen in mid-air, a phantom wind keeping forever alive the event that brought the Air Force into existence.

These images and statues are not simply idle tributes to a bygone era. They are an integral part of the university. From basic officer training to advanced courses, such as the Air War College, history is embedded in the doctrine and values taught.

In fact, history even has a hand in shaping the curriculum, Mr. Cully said.

“If you go back and look, after every war or conflict the Air Force has been involved in, new doctrine, methods and perspectives fol-lowed at Air University to reflect the lessons learned from those events,” Mr. Cully said.

It is this flexibility that allowed the university to grow into adult-hood. At age 61, it has developed into a world-class institution that produces quality, knowledgeable Airmen — commissioned and noncommissioned alike — from the Air Force, sister services and foreign countries. But this didn’t happen overnight. It took many years and a constant re-thinking of the university’s identity.

“AU has always produced three things,” said Lt. Gen. Stephen Lorenz, the university commander. “These are students, faculty and ideas.”

One of the most significant of these ideas was the creation of the Community College of the Air Force. Established in 1972, it is a regionally accredited college that helps Airmen earn an associate’s degree in applied science by giving them academic credit for oc-cupational training they receive while in the service. The college has grown in leaps and bounds and is now the largest community college in the world with more then 340,000 students. As of March


2007, the college has awarded nearly 300,000 associate of applied science degrees.

The school, working with Air Force voluntary education adminis-trators, has just introduced an associate to baccalaureate coopera-tive program that lets enlisted Airmen transfer all their CCAF credits toward a bachelor’s degree.

“These numbers speak to the high quality of Airmen who are in today’s Air Force and the tremendous opportunity CCAF offers them,” CCAF commandant Col. Thomas Klincar said.

There is nothing second-rate about a CCAF degree.“CCAF offers world-class degree programs,” the colonel said.

That includes small class sizes, credentialed instructors and state-of-the art instructional systems. “These combine to offer degree pro-grams without peer among community colleges.”

Air Force leaders know smarter Airmen make a smarter force. And a smarter force is a more effective force, the colonel said.

General Lorenz said the Air Force’s emphasis on education has “contributed to how we fight and win wars.”

“That’s one reason we value education so much in the Air Force,” the general said. “The end effect we want to create is better warrior scholars and better educated Airmen who will make a difference in the world and the air and space fight.

“AU develops Airmen into critically thinking airpower advocates whose ideas can increase the ‘intellectual throw weight’ of our ser-vice in the joint fight,” General Lorenz said.

To the Air Force, education is power, he said. This is a secret it doesn’t keep to itself.

George McCarthy Jr., deputy director of international affairs and education, said, “Today’s Airmen are part of a global war and they are consistently working hand in hand with sister services and in-ternational allies. This institution reflects this concept by including members of our fellow services and allies in several courses.”

The result is a win-win situation. Air Force and other service stu-dents interact with and learn from each other. Military members from other nations better understand the Air Force and how it ac-complishes its mission.

For the international students, this knowledge is priceless.“The information I’ve learned here is invaluable,” said Norwe-

gian air force Maj. Arvid Halvorsen, who is attending the Air Com-mand and Staff College. “I’ve learned more here in 10 months than in my 17 years in the military. If I am assigned to a joint command, I now feel better prepared to work with U.S. military personnel.”

This is one of the university’s key objectives — developing Air-men, NCOs, officers and civilians who can think, lead and fight in a joint environment.

Today, as in the past, Airmen are still flying, operating and devel-oping state-of-the-art equipment and weapons. Educating these Air-men remains a high priority for Air Force leadership. Air University is their biggest tool to ensure this happens.

“And we will continue to emphasize educational opportunities for both officers and enlisted members,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said. “These educational opportunities provide a force of Airmen better equipped to think, brief, write and prevail in the ‘globalized’ world we’re operating in today.”

Air University is leading this educational push. It has evolved over the years to create a school of thought through which many great leaders have passed. It also has developed revolutionary doc-trine and presented hundreds of thousands of degrees.

All this as its students are still dropping bombs and winning wars.


Since its creation in 1946, Air University has evolved into one of the largest academic institutions in the nation. Today it serves more than 50,000 students in residence and more than 115,000 through distance learning each year.

The university has eight colleges and schools and a vast support infrastructure:College for Enlisted Professional Military EducationWrites and develops course material for Airmen leadership schools and eight NCO academies, the Air Force Senior NCO Academy and the Chief Master Sergeant Leadership Course. Air Force Officer Accession and Training SchoolsConducts pre-commissioning training for active and reserve officers, and in-cludes Officer Training School and the Reserve Officer Training Corps.Community College of the Air ForceThe largest community college in the world, it allows Airmen to apply work experience toward college credit and an associate’s degree in their Air Force specialty.Squadron Officer CollegeTeaches the fundamentals of leadership to lieutenants and captains, and in-cludes the Air and Space Basic Course and Squadron Officer School.Air Command and Staff CollegeWhere majors receive the intermediate developmental education necessary to be successful field-grade officers, as squadron commanders and staff officers.Air War CollegeConducts senior developmental education for lieutenant colonels and colo-nels chosen to be group or wing commanders or leaders at the air, joint and coalition staff levels.College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research and EducationConducts airpower research, teaches doctrine and demonstrates tactics through “war games.”Air Force Institute of TechnologyContinuing education and advanced academic programs, including scientific and engineering, leading to technical master’s and doctorate degrees; locat-ed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed LearningPromotes and advances innovation through transformative technologies and processes and provides professional military education, career-broaden-ing technical training and specialized courses, including career development courses.Air University LibraryDesignated the Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center (after AU’s first commander). It is the Department of Defense’s largest library, with more than 2.5 million items.School of Advanced Air and Space StudiesAn 11-month follow-on graduate school. This is for select graduates of inter-mediate-level DOD PME, producing critical-thinking air power strategists.

Medical readiness exercis-es are part of the training regi-men for Air University students

like (left to right) Capt. Samantha Corbin, 2nd Lt. Zack Kalinauskas

and 2nd Lt. Melanie Meier.

The campus of Air Univer-

sity has many historical build-

ings and cen-ters of learning, like the Muir S.

Fairchild Re-search Infor-

mation Center library.

Plenty to choose from

43Airman J Summer 2007

The prop and wings symbolize Air University.


FrontlineAirmen continue warfighting effortDutyDuty

As the war on terrorism continues to test America’s resolve, Airmen in the fight have no time for the politics of war. Without the services provided by total force Airmen, the coalition ef-fort in Iraq and Afghanistan would grind to a halt.

Nobody knows that better than Tech. Sgt. Jeff Yeargan. He and fellow 332nd Expedition-ary Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen keep a fleet of more than 1,200 vehicles running at Balad Air Base, Iraq. It’s a vital job at the base, the Air Force hub for everything in the country.

Without the maintainers, the aerial port flight wouldn’t be able to move tons of cargo. Fuel trucks couldn’t pump fuel for the jets that provide close-air support to coalition ground forces. And the all-important airlift that keeps the war effort rolling would stop.

“Nothing moves unless we’re doing our jobs,” the sergeant said.That’s pretty much the way it is throughout the entire war zone.

A C-130 Hercules transport aircraft makes turns past a ridge of the Hindu Kush Moun-tains on its final approach to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

opening photo by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.


Firefighters enter a building during a con-trolled-burn exercise at

Balad Air Base, Iraq. The Airmen, of the 332nd Ex-peditionary Civil Engineer

Squadron’s fire depart-ment and emergency

services, practice often. It’s how they stay ready

to respond to aircraft and structural fires and medi-

cal emergencies.

After a mission from Camp Victory, Iraq, Senior Air-man Matthew Masciorini removes a machine gun from the turret of a Humvee. The Airman is with Detachment 7, 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, which is helping train Iraqi police.

An Afghan girl holds on to an Airman carrying her at a refugee camp at Dar Ul Aman, Afghanistan. The Airman is in a volunteer community outreach program that helps at the camp. The Airmen routinely donate clothes, shoes and other items to more than 1,000 refugees at the camp.

At a “Bladder Farm,” Tech. Sgt. Adam Giles closes a block valve to a 50,000-gallon JP-8 fuel

bladder at Kirkuk Air Base in Iraq. Sergeant Giles is a fuels supervisor with the 506th Expeditionary Logistics

Readiness Squadron. The facility stores enough fuel for Air Force and Army operations at the base and five

surrounding forward operating bases.

From his Humvee, Senior Airman Ian Ramirez and his security forces team es-cort a vehicle convoy in Baghdad, Iraq. The Airman is with the 732nd Expeditionary Secu-rity Forces Squadron.

FrontlineDutyby Airman 1st Class Nathan Doza

by Staff Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth

by Senior Airman Bradley A. Lail

by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.

by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.


An F-16 Fighting Falcon receives a panel check by Staff Sgt. Justin Johnson as part of

an inspection at Balad Air Base, Iraq. Sergeant John-son, on his fifth deployment, is on a phase inspec-

tion team with the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron.

A C-17 Globemaster III maintainer checks an engine on his transport air-craft before it takes off from a base in Southwest Asia for another mission in support of operations in Iraq. The cargo plane flies both strategic — overseas — and intra-theater heavy airlift missions.

C-130 Hercules me-chanics do a post-flight

check on their turboprop transport after the aircraft flew a leaflet airdrop mis-

sion over Afghanistan. The Airmen and aircraft are

with the 746th Expedition-ary Airlift Squadron at a base in Southwest Asia.

FrontlineDuty

by Airman 1st Class Nathan Doza

by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr. by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.

predators’ services in demand the warrior ethos

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