Photo By Master Sgt. Jeffrey Duran | A Georgian soldier with Company A, 31st Georgian Light Infantry Battalion, scans for...... read more read more
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan—Fifth Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company from Okinawa, Japan, is putting an emphasis on “liaison” in what they do in Helmand province as they support the 31st Georgian Light Infantry Battalion.
The ANGLICO units usually have a difficult enough mission as it is, but with Marines at Patrol Base Eredvi supporting the Georgian Army, things get a little more complicated because few of the troops they support speak English.
“ANGLICO is designed to provide fire support for units that can’t provide it for themselves,” said Capt. Garick Lue-Chung, team leader. “We provide close air support and mainly artillery for units that don’t have their own air or their own artillery support.”
The same is true for the junior enlisted troops in the field. Lance corporals direct fire in from multiple sources: aircraft or big guns, at the same time as working through surveillance feeds from aircraft. All this while being in contact with the enemy.
“I find out where they are shooting at us from and then we drop any kind of ordnance we can on top of them,” said Sgt. Christopher Francis, the ANGLICO team chief.
“Understanding battle space is a three-dimensional thing,” said Francis. “It’s trying to do all these different things and know what’s going on.”
With Company A, 31st Georgian Light Infantry Battalion, this means ANGLICO must be ready to support their mission.
“Alpha Company’s mission here is the security of Route Red, which is the main link from Leatherneck,” said Lue-Chung. “It is a major supply route that is traveled very frequently.”
The security of Route Red is maintained by an aggressive patrol schedule and constant operations. The Taliban have tried to impede progress at every step and constantly watch the Georgians’ actions said Lue-Chung. Lue-Chung’s detachment has more than 100 patrols here and he admits it can be frustrating at times combating the Taliban.
“This is their battle space. They know it better than we ever could. They know where to hide, they know all the nooks and crannies and it’s hard,” said Lue-Chung. “When we get attacked we rarely see where it is coming from.”
Although being a liaison between tracking aircraft or artillery and the Georgian army is the key to success, Lue-Chung must track everything in the battle space. They have to.
“It’s crucial. In order for me to employ artillery or air, I need to know where everyone is at,” said Lue-Chung.
This is even truer when under direct fire. In this part of Helmand province, when the action comes, it usually is coming from an unknown source. Finding out where the incoming fire is coming from is just another part of the task on the ground.
“When things get confused on the ground during contact, even with ANGLICO embedded in patrols we still have to use multiple air assets to ensure who is friendly,” said Lue-Chung.
“Sometimes that tactical patience is key,” he said.
Understanding patience while under fire or in contact with the enemy is never easy, but a requirement for ANGLICO Marines.
“Sometimes the maneuver unit, be it Georgian or Marines, are pinned down and they have no way to escape. The only way we’re getting out of it is get some aircraft in the sky, find out who’s shooting at us,” explained Lue-Chung.
ANGLICO does have a lot of technology at their disposal to make things happen. It is a great plus to be able to see the situation firsthand from the air.
“That allows us to go ahead and identify the enemy, go ahead and neutralize or destroy,” said Lue-Chung. “That way we have a safe egress of all our soldiers and Marines.”
There was an added benefit in that 5th ANGLICO was able to do pre-deployment training with the Georgians. This helped to build bonds and bridges as well as enabling them to share tactics and strategy.
“You do a lot of liaison,” said Francis.
Francis takes the liaison portion extremely serious. He believes in it so much, he and a number of other ANGLICO Marines volunteered to come back for a second deployment with this unit of Georgians.
“All these guys, we came back. You just don’t learn overnight how to do the liaison side. You don’t learn overnight how to build those relationships,” said Francis. He added that his job isn’t just air control. His position is also to build positive relationships with the relatively new Georgian military.
“One of the defining things is when you go out with a squad of Marines you know each and every one of them has got your back,” said Francis. “Working this liaison piece, it is the same way with the Georgian soldiers. But it is building that up, building that relationship so you can learn to trust in them the same way.”
Lue-Chung concurs with that assessment and said the liaison isn’t just about ordnance.
“They ask for our advice all the time even though we’re here just for fires which are our main mission,” said Lue-Chung. “We’re always in there to help them with things that don’t necessarily go with fires.”
As both the Georgians and 5th ANGLICO, prepare to end their respective tours, they have made a difference but at a cost.
“Route Red has freedom of movement now,” said Lue-Chung. “Alpha company has held it down. The only downside is that we’ve had a lot of casualties. We’ve definitely paid our price in casualties out here. But in terms of securing Route Red, hands down they did that.”
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2012 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 87315 |
| Location: | CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF |
| Web Views: | 501 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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