Project Liberty reaches milestone, 5,000 sorties

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

01.01.2010

Story by Senior Airman Tong Duong 

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Wheels up and under the cover of darkness, 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron crewmembers piloted a MC-12W Liberty, the Air Force's newest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, reaching a milestone flying its 5,000th sortie Dec. 30.

Circling among the clouds, these eyes in the sky provide ground commanders near real-time ISR; information that is critical to mission success.

"We are breaking new ground in the Air Force by dedicating a platform specifically to tactical ISR. This is the first time since the Vietnam War," said Lt. Col. Kevin Kennelly, 362nd ERS commander, who is deployed from the Pentagon. "We are specifically tasked to work with the ground force to find, fix and finish the target[s]."

The MC-12W Liberty is a special-mission turboprop aircraft that carries communication equipment and a specialized crew of four Airmen. They come from nearly every weapons system platform in the Air Force inventory.

Given a specific target, MC-12 crew members track and locate terrorists, wanted criminals and persons of interest and relay the information to the U.S. Army's ground or helicopter assault force to "roll the guys up."

"We monitor and do force protection overwatch as well. If [the suspects] try to run away, we'll find them and have the soldiers on the ground capture them," the Fredericksburg, Texas, native said.

Seeking a way to better support warfighters on the ground in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates established the ISR Task Force in April 2008, fielding MC-12s to the AOR and thereby reactivating the 362nd.

"The MC-12W is the fastest-fielded major weapons system since the P-51 Mustang of World War II. From concept to having an aircraft on the flightline took less than nine months, which is very unusual as it normally takes decades to acquire. The program is a big thing in the ISR world and it plays an important role in the Air Force community. Everybody is pretty proud of it."

U.S. Air Forces Central commander, Lt. Gen. Mike Hostage, who also pilots the MC-12W, touts it as a "game changer."

The first MC-12W combat sortie flown over Iraq was June 10, 2009, and in the 18 months since the squadron's reactivation, members of the 362nd are ecstatic to play a part in the success.

"Being on the 5000th Iraq sortie flight is an awesome experience, especially for being a non- flyer prior to this deployment," said Senior Airman Nicholas Corbett, 362nd ERS MC-12W airborne ISR operator deployed from Fort George G. Meade, Md. "We've done a lot of good things out here. There have been many great reviews from the Pentagon to distinguished visitors. It's amazing that the Air Force has such an interest in this program and that I get to be a part of it."

A native of Chapman, Kan., Corbett is four months into his six month rotation and has flown more than 500 hours, averaging 27 sorties a month.

According to Kennelly, the squadron takes credit for more than 200 combatants killed or captured and several improvised explosive ordnances and weapons caches found, "that's obviously a good play."

For 1st Lt. Brandon Murphy, 362nd ERS MC-12W first pilot who is deployed from Vance Air Force Base, Okla., being a part of the combat mission is a blessing.

"It's amazing. There is no other opportunity like this - for me to come straight out of student pilot training and contribute to the fight within a few months. Not to mention this aircraft platform directly supports the ground forces," the Kansas City, Kan., native said. "My peers are still being spun up on their specific aircraft, and it may be another year before they can get in the fight."

While the aircraft does not employ a weapons system, the MC-12 features a variety of intelligence systems on board and, along with ground support, serves as a complete collection, processing, exploitation, analysis and dissemination system. It augments other downrange ISR capabilities and helps military leaders make battlefield decisions.

"It's another solution to the ISR problem," Kennelly said. "If soldiers were running an assault and someone crept on the roof with a weapon, that bit of information is important for them to know immediately, as opposed to finding out when they get there. That's where we make our money."

The 362nd ERS' heritage dates to the Vietnam War. The unit was known as the 362nd Tactical Electronics Warfare Squadron and flew the Douglas C-47 over Southeast Asia locating Viet Cong and North Vietnamese radio transmitters. The 362nd TEWS operated from 1967 and was deactivated at the end of the conflict.

• Date Taken: 01.01.2010
• Date Posted: 01.01.2011 09:56
• Story ID: 62853
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ