Photo By Master Sgt. Nathan Hutchison | Chief Warrent Officer Joshua Kinnee, Task Force Iron Eagle4th Combat Aviation Brigade,...... read more read more
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When does the mission end as a AH-64 Apache pilot? Once the engines are off? Once all the gear is removed?
In an environment where close air support is a common request, pilots end their missions with reports and briefings to accompany the contentiously recorded data collected on the helicopter and from other locations at the joint operations center.
Legal teams and pilots work together to ensure proper rules of engagement procedures are followed while serving as part of U.S. Forces Afghanistan.
Chief Warrent Officer Joshua Kinnee, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, brigade safety officer and AH-64 pilot, believes the more legal officers know about their capabilities and limitations, the better understanding they will have when reviewing post-operational reports.
“This gives legal teams the opportunity to understand the environment that a pilot is dealing with,” Kinnee said. “The next time they have to do a legal review of an aviation mission, they will have a more accurate idea of the amount and type of information the pilot was dealing with.”
Major Joe Kobs, Brigade Judge Advocate, 4th CAB, Task Force Iron Eagle, organized the training for both officers and enlisted. The training included Air Force Judge Advocates and paralegal noncommissioned officers from the 455th AEW Air Wing, USFOR-A and Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade in Bagram, Afghanistan.
“We wanted to effect as many legal teams as possible with this training; we even had attendees from Kandahar via video teleconference,” said Sgt. 1st Class Charles Cooper, USFOR-A Senior Paralegal noncommissioned officer, who is deployed with 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY. “Rules of engagement connect pilots to judge advocates in a significant way. We have a responsibility to make informed decisions in legal reviews, and this training provides that essential information”
Kinnee, who also works with Task Force Iron Eagle while deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, even brought the group to explore a UH64 inside and out.
“It’s one thing to talk about propulsion and firepower, but to put hands and eyes on the gear and technology, that’s when it sinks in just how much a pilot has going on during flight,” Kinnee said.
Paralegal noncommissioned officer Sgt. Brian Agard, a Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade paralegal, was very impressed with the training, and he said he was surprised by the size of the cockpit. Agard and other legal Troops took the opportunity to sit in pilot’s seat.
“It’s a pretty snug fit in there, and that was without the body armor or any of our gear on,” Cooper said.
Kinnee and Kobs agreed the training was a success and they both look forward to doing more training together.
“The most important thing is opening up these lines of communication,” Kinnee said. “We are all on the same team, and the better we are at understanding how and why others make certain decisions, the better we will be at working together.”
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2016 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 198902 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 430 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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