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Clandestine operations have been used by the United States to make and break nations since the dawn of the nation itself. The intelligence and computing technology produced in England by the Allied Powers, which included the U.S., during World War II shortened the war by two to four years and helped ensure its positive outcome, according to the official historian of British Intelligence in 1993.
Make and break.
Though the technology has progressed significantly – from the heat-activated ink of the Revolutionary War, to the first programmable electric computer of World War II, to airborne intelligence platforms over battlespaces today – the mission hasn’t changed.
“I believe in what we do,” said Staff Sgt. Samuel Carothers, a tactical systems operator instructor with the 189th Intelligence Squadron, Will Rogers Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma. “We have a direct impact on the battlefield, not only to bring U.S. service members home safe, but also have an impact on the enemies of our nation.”
As a tactical systems operator, or TSO, Carothers and those like him are trained to operate complex intelligence systems – which include sensors, receivers, recorders and geolocation equipment – to gather actionable information that they then provide to air, ground and maritime forces for real-time decision making. They must also be prepared to solve any in-air emergencies while identifying targets and being knowledgeable of U.S. and allied operations such as: interception, interdiction, close air support, combat search and rescue, combat air patrol, reconnaissance, offensive or defensive counter air, suppression of enemy air defenses and special operations forces.
In order to act as the ‘eye in the sky’ over a wide range of battlespaces and balance the airborne component with the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission, these Airmen must undergo extensive preparation and qualification training, including a formal school on how to be a part of an aircrew, a technical school, survival schools, initial qualification training and finally mission qualification training.
Fortunately for 189th TSOs, the last two courses are collocated at their base in Oklahoma City at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.
“It helps network with people that you're going to be working with,” said Airman 1st Class Christian Angier, 189th Intelligence Squadron TSO who is currently in mission qualification training (MQT). “You know, being in class with people that you're going to be working with, being taught by people you're going to be working with, it helps a lot.”
Before entering MQT, which is typically held at each Airman’s gaining squadron, all U.S. Air Force TSO students – Active Duty, Guard and Reserve – must pass their initial qualification training, or for TSOs, airborne cryptologic certification training (ACCT), an Air Combat Command course that is universally held by the 306th Intelligence Squadron at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.
“It comprises what we would normally refer to as initial qualification training, which is just one part of every aviator’s career field,” said Dean Howell, 306th IS director of operations. “We also feature three additional courses and are adding others as the forces demand them. That’s why we’re here and what we’re all about – making sure that Airmen are qualified to go forward in a real mission.”
ACCT begins with a mix of theoretical work in a classroom and applied scenarios on a tactical systems emulator (TSE), which uses monitors to mimic the systems used in the aircraft, and ends after five or six weeks in a culmination event similar to a check ride.
“In ACCT, we’re teaching them the equipment and technologies,” explained Howell. “There are enough tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) thrown in there to make it all make sense, but they may not be the exact TTPs that they’re going to use when they go forward to wherever it is they are going to go. The location, mission and aircraft may change, but the basic technology won’t.”
Currently, the 306th puts about 60 students through ACCT each year – about 40 of those are active duty, six are Reservists and the remaining are Air National Guardsmen. Class sizes stay small and range from three to six students, which is limited by the nature of the two emulators used in the course.
“Three students is ideal,” said Howell. “There are traditionally three student training positions on the TSE and a fourth position, which is the facilitator. They sort of sit back and run the scenario.”
The facilitator and instructors are hands-on throughout the entire scenario, participating in pre and post mission briefs and role playing the parts of pilot or ground forces. Each scenario has a desired conclusion and objective, but the techniques each student uses to arrive at the conclusion is their own.
“It’s still very intensive training using the emulators,” said Howell. “It’s basically one-on-one with student to instructor while running the scenario; but, this way, it’s in a controlled environment.”
The scenarios prepare students to move on to mission qualification training and then, ultimately, to their careers as TSOs.
“It benefited me well, in a sense that the material in ACCT was directly transferable to the operational side,” said Angier. “I mean, that's what ACCT is for – to give you that skill initially, and then MQT is to take that and transfer it to the aircraft.”
As a both a qualified TSO and a civilian instructor certified to teach ACCT and MQT, Carothers has the opportunity to watch the TSO career field develop with each new Airman.
“I get to raise the next generation of TSOs and help shape and mold them,” Carothers explained. “I get to see them initially, when they come into training, and later as they progress through their careers. It makes it more personal for me when I teach, because I know that I’m going to have to work with these people in the future. It just drives the point home that we need to be imparting the best education and tools that we have so that they can not only succeed in MQT, but give them the foundation to do well the rest of their careers.”
Carothers is an example of the total force effort that goes into all intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance career fields, but especially the ACCT course at Will Rogers.
He began his Air Force career as an active duty Urdu linguist in 2011, working mostly behind the scenes in secured offices. In 2014, he was expeditiously trained for airborne intelligence operations and detailed for a 2015 deployment as a TSO. After returning, Carothers went back to being a linguist and then chose to join the Air National Guard, where he officially cross-trained into the TSO career field. The following year in 2017, he deployed again, this time not in a temporary position, but as a permanent part of the U.S. Air Force’s TSO program.
Though it was his second deployment, it was also the 137th Special Operations Wing’s first mass deployment since converting to a wing under the Air Force Special Operations Command. As part of that conversion, it was necessary for the wing to establish new intelligence units, one of which was the 189th IS. Carothers was a part of that original 189th cadre and watched the unit develop into the fully operational squadron it is today.
“Standing up the 189th was hard work,” Carothers said. “Everyone worked their ass off to get to that first deployment – to get those people initially qualified. Whether you hadn’t been to school yet, or you were the first person to fully qualify, you had two jobs: make sure you were bettering yourself as a TSO and to make sure we had the manning to do our mission.”
This year, Carothers taught his first Airmen in both ACCT and MQT. His passion for deployments and the direct impact TSOs have downrange motivates him to drive the future of the 189th IS and the TSO career field through his students and their successes.
*Story was originally published on Page 34 of the Dec. 2018, issue of the "Air Observer". It may also be found at https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/45482
| Date Taken: | 12.26.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2018 11:57 |
| Story ID: | 305139 |
| Location: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 271 |
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This work, Eye in the Sky, by TSgt Kasey Phipps, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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