Photo By Tech. Sgt. Jared Trimarchi | An E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System returns from a mission at Al...... read more read more
Subscribe
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. - During the past 13 years, the 116th Air Control Wing has supported combat operations around the globe, and with the wing's Active Duty partners, the 461st Air Control Wing and the Military Intelligence Detachment (JSTARS), racked up more than 100,000 combat flying hours in support of the U.S. Central Command.
JSTARS accomplished this feat as the only unit operating the E-8C Joint STARS’ manned, battle management, command and control and intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance mission platform in the U.S. Air Force inventory.
During their time serving in USCENTCOM, the joint and total-force team has provided continuous support for all major operations in this theater since their first deployment in 2002.
Supported operations in USCENTCOM include: Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Inherent Resolve, and Freedom’s Sentinel.
Shortly after being activated in 2002 as the first organization in the U.S. Air Force to operate under the Total Force Initiative combining Air National Guard and Active Duty Airmen into a single unit, Airmen from the 116th Air Control Wing headed to Southeast Asia in what has now been 13 years of continuous sustained deployments in the region.
In October 2011, while continuously serving in USCENTCOM without interruption, the wing further transformed under the Active Associate construct and welcomed the newly activated 461st Air Control Wing as a member of Team JSTARS.
Lt. Col. Christopher Dunlap, now the deputy commander of the 116th Operations Group, as a young captain was among some of the first Air National Guard aircrew members to qualify as a pilot on the newly acquired E-8C.
“I finished training in May 2003 and a month later pushed out the door to support Operations Enduring and Iraq Freedom,” said Dunlap. “It was the first time in my career where I was given orders to deploy with no end date. We didn’t know how long we would be there.”
This same time period saw the largest single deployment push in JSTARS history as three-quarters of the total fleet deployed in two different groups.
Having recently transitioned from the B-1 Bombers in 2002, a huge burden to meet this demand fell on the shoulders of E-8C aircraft maintainers. They were charged with quickly getting up to speed and ensuring the newly acquired, aging fleet of modified Boeing 707-300 aircraft were mission ready.
Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Unch, who has completed 10 deployments to USCENTCOM since 2003 as an aircraft maintenance production supervisor, pointed to experience and the ability to adapt as the greatest factors that have impacted their success.
“At the time we started deploying to CENTCOM, many of our Guard maintainers had more than 20 years of experience,” said Unch.
“For many of us who had been around a while and spent the last 20 years working on aircraft for training, this was the first time we performed maintenance on aircraft that we knew were going to war,” shared Unch.
While many JSTARS maintainers on the ground were experiencing the taste of operating in a wartime environment for the first time, their counterparts in the air experienced their own taste of war for the first time.
“One of the eeriest feelings I’ve ever had was on my first mission as a co-pilot flying directly over Bagdad,” said Dunlap. “It was a night mission during Iraqi Freedom when the American led forces were invading Iraq.”
As the E-8C crew flew over the capital city of Iraq, they came upon an unexpected sight, or lack thereof, according to Dunlap.
“As we were flying over this large, densely populated city, there was not a light on anywhere to be seen,” said Dunlap. “Showing up and not seeing a light on as far as the eye can see was weird.”
“It was like looking at New York City from the air at night with no lights on,” he said.
Tech. Sgt. Mike Farrand, an E-8C airborne radar technician with more than 21 deployments supporting multiple operations in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2002, shared about a brighter experience he remembers from the sky.
“As an onboard radar technician, when everything was working during the flight I would sometimes go up front and watch what was happening below from the flight deck windows,” said Farrand. “I got to watch explosions over Afghanistan lighting up the ground below that happened as a result of the work we were doing with fighters and bombers.”
“That was very gratifying,” said Farrand.
While many Americans have watched the conflict in the Southeast Asia unfold on television during the last 13 years, the men and women of Team JSTARS have lived many of these headlines personally.
Tech Sgt. John Stieferman, an E-8C aircraft support technician, deployed for the first of eight deployments to USCENTCOM early in 2003. He was initially charged with setting up a new support section at Al Udeid Air Base, responsible for supplying all the tools and test equipment required for maintaining the fleet of E-8Cs.
“I was deployed to Al Udeid when many of the major news events concerning operations in Afghanistan and Iraq occurred,” said Stieferman. “I watched these events on TV and realized I had a hand in the events they were reporting. It really brings it home how important our mission is to the overall efforts in USCENTCOM.”
A JSTARS flight engineer recalls an event in 2005 that continues to impact him to this day. It was the second flight of his first deployment.
“We were flying our normal mission when we were notified about a mid-air collision between two Marine F-18 pilots,” said Master Sgt. Paul Rudziak, a flight engineer with the 116th ACW. “Using our wide-area radar, we helped locate the wreckage, directed rescue crews to the area and directed other aircraft to provide top cover during the search and rescue operation.”
“I’ll never forget learning about one of the pilots that lost his life in the accident,” shared Rudziak. “It made me think of my own life and what it would be like for my family to endure that.”
When talking to Airmen of the 116th Air Control Wing; many which have voluntarily deployed multiple times in the double digits, you begin to hear common themes: protecting and saving lives, camaraderie, teamwork, belief and pride in the mission.
Lt. Col. Christina Darveau, an E-8C navigator, echoed these themes thinking back on her 11 deployments since 2004.
“I believe in the importance of our mission and the people we have are amazing at their jobs,” shared Darveau. “We’ve made a difference.”
She recalled a life-saving mission in August 2006 where JSTARS made a difference for four coalition members.
“We were on a routine mission; which happened to be the night of our 20,000-combat-hour mark, when we received a call about a helicopter carrying coalition forces that had crashed and was laying upside down in a lake in Iraq,” said Darveau.
She recalled how she and the pilots of the E-8C began receiving distress signals from the crew who were standing on the belly of the aircraft.
“I was trying to identify who they were and account for all the military flying assets in the area,” she shared. “Once we identified them, we called out and they started communicating with our flight crew. We kept them company and stayed on station for support until they were rescued.”
Keeping troops on the ground safe has been a mainstay for JSTARS during their tenure in USCENTCOM and has made a positive impact on ground commanders.
“When I’m deployed I continually hear from Army and Marine commanders how much they want us everywhere,” said Master Sgt. Curtis Stark, an E-8C flight engineer.
Stark has had plenty of opportunity to hear comments like this with 16 deployments to USCENTCOM under his belt.
“I’ve been on so many missions where we talk to ground troops and provide information that keeps them safe,” said Stark. “It’s made all the deployments and time away from my family worthwhile when we’ve gotten letters from ground troops and commanders thanking us for our support.”
Not resting on their laurels, Team JSTARS has passed through the 100,000 combat-flying hour milestone just like they’ve passed through so many milestones before with no plans of slowing down.
“We have and will continue to deploy as called on to support our team and our country,” said Darveau.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2015 10:09 |
| Story ID: | 165946 |
| Location: | WARNER ROBINS, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 384 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, JSTARS in USCENTCOM: Reflecting on 100,000+ combat flying hours and 13 years of service, by Roger Parsons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT