Photo By Capt. Alicia Lacy | A joint terminal attack controller with the 147th Air Support Operations Squadron,...... read more read more
Subscribe
GILA BEND, Ariz. - Texas Air National Guardsmen played a vital role in preparing Czech Republic forward air controllers for their upcoming deployment to Southeast Asia.
Three FACs traveled to the dry, rocky terrain of Gila Bend, Arizona, for two weeks of close air support training as part of the TXANG’s 182nd Fighter Squadron, 149th Fighter Wing’s annual Coronet Cactus exercise April 13-25, 2015.
Coronet Cactus is an annual exercise that gives student fighter pilots from the squadron an opportunity to exercise what they’ve learned and apply it in simulated combat situations that best mimic an actual deployment by expending live and practice ordnance.
The exercise has a close air support focus, so the partnership with the TXANG’s 147th Air Support Operations Squadron, 147th Reconnaissance Wing’s joint terminal attack controllers and tactical air control party members aids in the pilots’ training as they exercise putting bombs on target and providing that close air support needed downrange.
Though the European controller’s purpose for traveling to the U.S. was for an exchange as part of the Dept. of State and the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, the training with tactical airmen and aircraft like the F-16s and A-10s proved beneficial to gear them up for their deployment.
“We are sending people who are to deploy to get more experience with your air assets and exchange experience with the JTACs and the American aircraft,” said Capt. Petre, a FAC with the Czech air force. “This is the best opportunity to learn from your guys.”
Gila Bend is an ideal location for the FACs to train at prior to a deployment to the Southeast Asia region as the area is comparable to its mountainous terrain. Additionally, the range provided the freedom and flexibility the operators need to practice how they operate in a real-world combat situation.
"The best benefit is the size and capabilities of the range because we can’t do some of those things back home because we are restricted to attack headings,” Petre said. “And we are trying to improve the language barrier by getting real experience with the American pilots on the radio.”
The exchange is a mutually beneficial learning experience for the U.S. and Czech controllers, as each group observed how the other operates.
“We’re able to share tactics with them and train their guys with the most current procedures and the new equipment they’ll be using downrange,” said a technical sergeant and JTAC trainer with the 147th ASOS. “We were able to exercise high-threat environment scenarios, counter-insurgency scenarios, day and night live controls with guns, rockets and bombs and air to ground missiles.”
The JTACs were able to share knowledge with the FACs by working with fourth generation aircraft and precision guided ammunitions, said Lt. Col. Nigel Atkins, 147th ASOS commander.
“For those guys to work with us and train with us and use those types of airplanes with those capabilities is a benefit because they’ll work with those types of aircraft when they deploy,” Atkins said. “As a secondary effect, they were able to complete some requirements for deployment and work with us and improve our multi-national interoperability.”
Altogether, the ASOS and FACs successfully completed nearly 200 controls with 12 different active duty and Air National Guard squadrons and three different air platforms.
The ASOS has worked with the European nation since about 2009, as part of SPP, performing exercises in both the U.S. and the Czech Republic.
Texas and the Czech Republic are linked up as partners to support the security cooperation objectives of the U.S. European Command commander, whether it’s through improving the partner country’s capabilities or increasing cultural awareness and strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and its Czech partners.
From their experiences working with the 147th ASOS, the Czech FACs said they have learned new tactics and techniques that they have started to implement, including the European FACs receiving their accreditation through the Joint Close Air Support Memorandum of Agreement.
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2015 11:19 |
| Story ID: | 163134 |
| Location: | GILA BEND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 56 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Building partnerships: TXANG trains Czech FACs for deployment to Southeast Asia, by Capt. Alicia Lacy, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
