Multi-National Division-Central

Story by Master Sgt. Eric Reinhardt

By Master Sgt. Eric Reinhardt
Task Force 49 Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – To hear an unmanned aerial vehicle take off is to wonder how it could be an effective surveillance tool. Its ripping, buzz-saw rasp seems like a dead giveaway to the enemy.

But just a few seconds after takeoff, the Shadow Unmanned Aerial System is thousands of feet in the air, out of sight and earshot. At cruising altitude, it speedily delivers crisp images and video of the battlefield. It can even extend the range of radio communications by hundreds of miles, keeping commanders in touch with troops on the battlefield.

Those capabilities have made it an indispensible part of the battlefield commander's toolkit in Iraq, according to Capt. Michael Goodwin, commander of Task Force 49's UAS unit, Quicksilver Troop 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based at Forward Operating Base Kalsu.

Goodwin assumed command of the company in July, when TF 49 took over as MND-C's Combat Aviation Brigade. A Black Hawk pilot by training, he headed TF 49's Air Movement Request cell for eight months before taking the reins of Quicksilver Troop.

His team of 40 Soldiers keeps its flock of 12 planes in the air around the clock, ready to zoom in on any part of the MND-C area of operations, a region about the size of West Virginia.

The tiny aircraft help patrol the highways to thwart improvised explosive device attacks, perform reconnaissance missions, link radio communications across the miles and give ground troops detailed views of their objectives.

The UAS operators launch the aircraft and fly them to points where operators at any of TF 49's forward sites can take the controls and guide them to specific missions.

At the forward sites, Goodwin explained, "Commanders and battle majors can literally go to the operator and say 'hey, this has happened. I need to see this area,' and they can change the mission accordingly."

When the missions are complete, Quicksilver Troop recovers the aircraft to perform maintenance and get them ready for the next flight.

UAS transition to Aviation Branch

TF 49's operational control of the unit is part of the Army's recent emphasis on applying Aviation Branch standards to the UAS field, which is currently a military intelligence discipline.

The UAS Military Occupational Specialty, 35K, is slated to transition to 15W later this year, making its Soldiers part of the Army aviation community and eligible for flight badges.

"We have a lot of the same requirements as aviators," said UAS operator Spc. Kevin Hedrick. "We work crew rest and flight endurance into our operations and we have to have regular physicals."

Quicksilver Troop's maintainers now perform scheduled and preventative maintenance on the aircraft, based on the same standards as aviation units.

"Anything that doesn't involve flying the aircraft is our job – launching, recovering refueling and maintenance." Spc. Ryan Groat, a UAS maintainer, said. "It can get a bit repetitive, but that's a good thing, in a way."

Aviation oversight has sharply reduced the number of aircraft accidents and mechanical problems, according to Goodwin.

"It's what we do all the time for aviation," he said. "It's not that we're any smarter or anything like that, but that's our area of expertise – dealing with aircraft operations."

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