Air Warrior II tests aircrews and controllers

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt Nathan Broshear
  • Air Warrior II Public Affairs
FORT POLK, La. (AFPN) --  A-10 Thunderbolt IIs are participating in Air Warrior II, a large-scale combat exercise here.

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., aircrews are helping prepare 10th Mountain Division Soldiers for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, said Maj. Joel Hampton, 548th Combat Training Squadron operations director.

“For the Army, this is a chance to integrate the same aircraft that they’ll use in theater into missions that closely simulate actual combat situations,” Major Hampton said. “For the Air Force, we’re able to practice working with our joint terminal attack controllers to identify and destroy ground targets during the chaos of battle.”

The training includes nearly 4,000 Soldiers who must face an opposition force comprising “enemy” Army units. Villages inside the training area include about 1,200 role players who simulate shopkeepers, politicians and insurgents. Arab-American contractors train role players and help to expose troops to customs and courtesies that troops soon will face when they deploy, officials said.

Role players dress, speak and stay “in character” for the duration of the exercise. Even street signs and graffiti written on buildings inside the exercise area are in languages that units can expect to see during their deployment. To further the realism, TV, radio and newspapers follow the action to train leaders to counter enemy misinformation and propaganda, officials said.

The exercise’s overall goals are to prepare Soldiers and Airmen for urban operations before they deploy and to meet formal training objectives as outlined by Joint Forces Command officials.

While participating in Air Warrior II, aircrews communicate with ground units through JTAC Airmen embedded with the Soldiers. The Airmen are assigned to Army units to control aircraft and assist with targeting during a battle. This elite corps may even wear the newest Army battle dress and are often called “battlefield Airmen.”

A-10s fly here for the exercise from Barksdale Air Force Base, located in northern Louisiana, as many as 12 times per day where they strafe ground targets with their powerful 30 mm Gatling gun.

Part of the exercise takes place over two nearby towns, Leesville and DeRidder, where local authorities opened up their airspace to military aircraft involved in training. JTAC Airmen set up on street corners and in parking lots with Humvees and radios to simulate a deployment to a foreign village. While aircraft circle overhead, the Airmen ask aircrews to track vehicles and locate buildings from high above, officials said.

A-10 crews said the opportunity to work with JTAC Airmen over an actual city that roughly simulates “hot” zones in Iraq is invaluable.

“The people of Leesville and DeRidder are true patriots,” said Capt Frank Scolaro, the project officer from the 354th FS for the Air Warrior II exercise. “It’s great to see a whole community support our military and the global war on terror in this way.”

While flying over civilian cities, A-10 crews take many safety precautions.

“Jets never have ordnance on the aircraft at any time,” said Maj. Richard Collins, commander Detachment 1, 548th CTS here. “We maintain strict altitude limits and safety protocols that we’ve worked out with the city council and local leaders.”

“The goal of this portion of the training is to be able to quickly identify buildings, vehicles and landmarks in an active and diverse area -- something we can’t simulate on our military ranges,” Major Collins said. “JTACs must be able to describe things they see at eye level to someone ... flying at 450 mph, several thousand feet in the sky.”

JTAC Airmen must then relay detailed targeting information to aircraft and translate ground unit commander’s intent into Air Force jargon.

“Headings, distance and (Global Positioning System) coordinates are relayed to the pilot,” said Master Sgt. Jeff Eberlan, Detachment 1 superintendent. “But the most important part of a Joint terminal attack controllers job is to ‘talk’ an aircraft onto the target using a mental picture of an object he may or may not be able to see.”

During a typical mission, JTAC Airmen must carry about 55 to 75 pounds of gear including radios, GPS receivers and food while controlling all aircraft assigned to patrol a typical area. During Air Warrior II, they controlled A-10s, several B-52 Stratofortresses and a B-2 Spirit.