Photo By Senior Airman Donald Knechtel | A UH-1N Huey from the 37th Helicopter Squadron at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.,...... read more read more
Subscribe
Ellsworth aircrew worked side-by-side with members of the 582nd Helicopter Group and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers from the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, during a joint-training exercise over the Powder River Training Complex from Dec. 4 to 8, 2017.
The exercise provided each unit an opportunity to integrate with Air Force Global Strike Command platforms and improve their strengths and capabilities in the field.
“It’s important that we train with other units, because it not only proves our abilities, but it shows the other squadrons what their proficiencies are,” said Staff Sgt. Travis Akerson, a special missions aviator assigned to the 37th Helicopter Squadron. “When we work together, it paints a picture of what we are capable of accomplishing.”
The combination of JTAC’s in the field created a unique opportunity for the units to conduct realistic training. However, while B-1 aircrews have had extensive training with JTACs in the past, it was a rare opportunity for those in the UH-1N Huey.
“What we are training on is working with high-speed JTACS,” said 1st Lt. Jesse Togawa, the chief of plans and programming assigned to the 37th Helicopter Squadron. “As a unit, we are tactically employing our aircraft in the ways that they need us to in a large-scale operation like this one. We don’t get many chances to work with JTACs, so this is a great opportunity for us.”
During the exercise, JTACs worked with aircrew from both the B-1 bomber and the UH-1N Huey helicopter, providing them with tactical information for targets in the field.
“This is the first time we have worked with the B-1s,” Togawa said. “The training objective in this operation is how to integrate with the other airframes, especially those that are widely different from the rotary-wing aircraft. It’s important to see what would happen in a real world situation with multiple entities working together seamlessly in the field.”
Although this is the Huey’s first time working with the B-1’s, the operation was able to provide experience to Ellsworth aircrew for future missions.
“This training was done because it gave us an opportunity to practice for our next deployment,” said Capt. Julien Adams, a weapon systems officer assigned to the 34th Bomb Squadron. “In training like this, it’s always great to have real JTAC’s instead of having an instructor role play as one in the field. It gave us more of a real-world feel to the training. Having actual radio communication with a guy on the ground was great.”
During the training, the JTAC switched back-and-forth between the different aircraft relaying targets to both of them simultaneously.
“My role during the operation was to confirm the JTACs and receive their targets, whether they were pre-planned, or targets of opportunity,” Adams explained. “From there, we would then coordinate the strike.”
He went on to explain the roles the different platforms used. While the B-1 to scanned the area and neutralize larger targets, the Huey provided close air support, utilizing their weapons to better allow them to take on individual targets.
According to the RAF JTAC’s, every operation is situational. With each scenario, the JTAC could need an entirely different platform to ensure the target is destroyed… Something a WSO knows all too well.
“It’s all task dependent on what’s happening on the ground,” Adams said. “This kind of exercise is definitely a viable training scenario we would like to see continued.”
These Agencies expect to work together again in upcoming Joint-trainings.
“Being the first time we have worked with the B-1, I have to say that it was extremely successful,” Akerson said. “We built relations with the B-1s [aircrew], the British forces and special operations forces. We are going to use those relations we built to accomplish these kinds of exercises going into the future.”
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2017 09:49 |
| Story ID: | 258384 |
| Location: | SD, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JTACs and Aircrews participate in joint exercise over PRTC, by SrA Donald Knechtel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT