Bravo Company STB Soldiers Watch the Skies

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

08.28.2008

Story by Spc. Jessica Dahlberg 

382nd Public Affairs Detachment

By Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg
382nd Public Affairs Detachment

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - Down a hazy runway on a forward operating base in Afghanistan, a hanger houses Task Force Duke's unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Soldiers of Bravo Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, work 24 hours a day to keep the Shadow RQB7s in the air.

According to its fact sheet, the shadow aircraft was first selected for use in 1999 to fill the tactical UAV requirement for the military. The first time it was used in Afghanistan was 2001.

"The Shadow is the eye in the sky for the troops," Spc. Errol Williams, a maintenance worker from Bronx, N.Y., said. "We use the aircraft to see troops while they conduct dismounted patrols, convoys and to scout the area ahead."

Since the Shadow is a complicated aircraft, the training for the Soldiers does not stop once they graduate the UAV school at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

"We are always cross training the operators so they can help out with the maintenance," Sgt. James Thompson, an instructor operator, said. "They also have to go through continuous training here because at Huachuca they only get basic knowledge."

The training has three levels that the instructors call readiness levels.

Readiness level three is the basic level and the Soldiers have an instructor with them who goes over basic tasks. Readiness level two is performing mission tasks and operating the camera, while working with the pilot to stay on target. Readiness level one is the Soldier doing continuation training on their own without the help of an instructor.

Besides the extra training, a lot of work goes into operating and flying the Shadow, Thompson said.

The maintenance crew keeps the aircraft operable, and the operators are the Soldiers behind the controls keeping the aircraft in the air and manipulating the camera.

"We all work together," Sgt. Bill Parris, a maintenance non-commissioned officer from Pickens, S.C., said. "It is a joint effort on everyone's part to get the aircraft in the air for the Soldiers who need the surveillance on the ground."

Once the Shadow is flying, two Soldiers are in a booth controlling it. One Soldier flies the aircraft while the other mans the camera. The video feed is sent to the tactical operations center.

The video feed that the TOC receives is real-time footage of what is happening on the ground.

"The Soldiers from Task Force Spader [1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment] get attacked constantly, and they find the Shadow's presence as a comfort," Thompson said.

As a prior forward observer, Thompson said he understands the confidence the Soldiers on the ground have in the Shadow.

"It was a pretty good feeling knowing that the Shadow was flying above you," Thompson said. "It made you feel like someone was watching your back."

When the aircraft comes back from its mission, the Soldiers all participate in the post flight checks the aircraft has to go through.

"At the end of the day, it is all about the benefits of the job," Pfc. Greg Latka, an operator from Colorado Springs, Colo., said. "It's about knowing you helped the Soldiers on the ground; that is the real reward of this job."

• Date Taken: 08.28.2008
• Date Posted: 08.29.2008 10:18
• Story ID: 23009
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF