Airmen here are working on the front lines of the war on terror.

When a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from Balad Air Base, Iraq, a pilot at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., takes control of it. Images from the Predator’s camera are then fed to one of five distributed ground stations, or DGS, where intelligence imagery analysts can process them. Hickam AFB hosts the newest DGS.

“The reach back capability that we represent is amazing,” said Tech. Sgt. Michael Henry. “The aircraft is actually flying in one country, we’re flying it out of another country, and then we’re exploiting (the images) somewhere completely different.”

Imagery analysts like Senior Airman Joshua Stimmel use advanced communication and imagery technologies to make life in the desert a little bit safer for those on the ground.

“I’ve got friends that are over in the sandbox,” Airman Stimmel said. “Knowing that what you’re doing on a daily basis could be supporting them or their unit helps you keep everything in perspective.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles represent a new way of using technology to remotely affect the battlefield, and DGS crews see that in action.

“The first time we’re watching an infiltration or exfiltration and you’re watching our guys go in, it really brings it home.”

It takes a global team to fight the war on terror, and Hickam’s DGS is proving to be a powerful force enhancer.