Photo By Staff Sgt. Jason Lay | U.S. paratroopers Cpl. Lee Scott (left) and Sgt. Joseph Davino with the 173rd Airborne...... read more read more
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JONOVA, Lithuania – Joint forward observers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Lithuanian Iron Wolf Mechanized Infantry Brigade conducted combined training June 11 here alongside U.S. and Lithuanian joint terminal attack controllers Wednesday in order to improve their ability to provide safe and lethal fire support.
The “Sky Soldiers” of the 173rd and the Iron Wolf troops set up equipment on a building rooftop in downtown Jonova to practice calling in air support from positions on urban terrain. Jonova is located close to the base where the paratroopers have been deployed alongside Lithuanian troops conducting unscheduled land-forces exercise since April.
Soldiers took turn plotting accurate grids to different buildings in the city from their vantage point, helping to improve their accuracy when operating in dense urban environments. JFOs work hand-in-hand with JTACs to plan and execute fire support from aircraft.
Responsibilities of a JFO involve scouting an area and locating enemy targets on the ground by accurately plotting each target on a map. Once the target is located, JFOs call in air support with the exact grid coordinates for the JTAC to ensure no friendly forces are affected during an airstrike.
“Our primary mission is to protect [friendly forces],” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathon Mosley, a JTAC assigned to the 2nd Air Support Operations, which supports the 173rd. “We’re here today in the inner city of Jonova with all of the landmarks and structures to challenge our JFOs and their skills in calling in correct air support locations.”
Mosley, along with Pfc. Ignas Andziukevicius, a JTAC with Lithuanian Land Forces, oversaw the day’s training and assisted the JFOs to help improve their skills.
“We have paratroopers with us today that will be attending the JFO school soon,” said Mosley. “We want them to be ready and able to call in air support in any environment.”
Approximately 600 paratroopers from the brigade are currently deployed to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as part of an unscheduled land-forces exercise to demonstrate commitment to NATO obligations and sustain interoperability with allied forces.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2014 04:34 |
| Story ID: | 133199 |
| Location: | JONOVA, LT |
| Web Views: | 603 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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