Airmen synchronize airpower with Soldiers

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Shad Eidson
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  Airmen in Southwest Asia must work with other American servicemembers to have synchronized forces support a ground commander's mission objectives. 

In today's joint combat operations, these Airmen work with Army ground liaison officers who are trained in offensive air support activities and translate ground commander air requests into a language coalition aircrews can understand before engaging in joint combat or training operations. 

Army Lt. Col. Scott Mathna, deployed from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard division headquarters, recently finished a year of coordinating the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing's assigned air assets. He was part of a 10-member ground liaison officer team coordinating air taskings throughout the area of responsibility.

"This has been a real unique opportunity to be able to work with the Air Force. I have learned a tremendous amount about the Air Force. Not just the fighter, but the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. It has been a real eye-opening experience," said the native of Watsontown, Pa.

When a ground commander submits a joint tactical air request, or JTAR, it is the ground liaison officers' responsibility to ensure the crews are briefed on what the maneuver commander's intent is for each JTAR submitted.

One of the overall challenges working here is the acronyms, he said.

"It is amazing that everyone has a different way as far as acronyms. They are just a living nightmare," Colonel Mathna said. "I have been here a year and I still have to look up some acronyms."

Translating the different terminology ensures aircrew have a very good understanding of what they are expected to perform, said Colonel Mathna, who was in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm working with A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and F-16 Fighting Falcons as a fire support officer.

"We support security forces, convoys, brigade and company operations. Once we find out what aircrews are assigned, we contact the joint terminal attack controllers or the fire support cells with those units to clarify the intent," Colonel Mathna said.

JTARs do not have as much specific information as aircrews would like, which is why ground liaison officers coordinate with the joint terminal attack controllers to understand what the aircrew needs to do once they get on station. Once on station, the aircrews can talk to the joint terminal attack controllers as the situation can be fluid, Colonel Mathna said.

"This is a joint operation. We work with every branch of the service in one way or another," he said. "Here, we work primarily with the B-1B Lancers because they fly a whole realm of operational support."

Since the ground liaison officers began working with the B-1Bs in 2007, the bomb squadrons have improved cohesion with ground forces compared to when aircrews where only working directly with joint terminal attack controllers, Colonel Mathna said.

"Providing overwatch and identifying hotspots is a vital mission these guys perform. Just in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2008, the IED events increased 52 percent," he said.

"I have heard ... how appreciative the ground forces are of the B-1Bs and their capabilities," said Lt. Col. Craig Fox, a ground liaison officer deployed from the Kansas Army National Guard. "The B-1Bs have been requested specifically for missions because the guys on the ground know they have a great reputation supporting ground elements and working well with them. They like to have them. If they can get them, they will take them."

In addition to working directly with aircrews, ground liaison officers provide the wing commander and his staff an updated situational awareness of overall operations on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We try and keep them abreast of all the current force movements, all the major operations that are going on because there are a lot of other assets in the wing that support different missions," Colonel Mathna said.

The mission here is a little bit different than for ground liaison officers who work in Iraq and Afghanistan because of all the ISR assets that are here, Colonel Mathna said. There is almost no mission here that the ground liaison officers do not touch at the beginning and sometimes following mission return.

"I try to give them additional information as to the area of operation in the past 48 hours. Anything that might help them do their job better," said Colonel Fox, who volunteered for this assignment.

"With the counter-insurgency operations that we are doing now, it is a totally different war," Colonel Mathna said. "We are in the asymmetric battle now. It is not a fixed enemy that we can just go and attack. There have been a lot of changes the Army has had to do since Sept. 11 (2001) to adapt to some of these changing environments. I think the Air Force has done that too. They play a vital role in supporting the guys on the ground. Without all the ISR assets that support the maneuver guys, it would make our fight a lot more difficult."  

"This is not a difficult challenge but a rewarding challenge," said Colonel Fox, who hails from Topeka, Kan. "There is a slight difference from the Air Force to the Army, but everybody wears the uniform and has the same goals." 

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