Weapon systems video vital to wartime mission

  • Published
  • By Capt. Mae-Li Allison
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Amid the hustle and bustle of people walking to and from intelligence briefings in the fighter operations building at a forward-deployed location, Airman 1st Class Michael Edwards sits quietly behind a computer monitor and watches videos, and nobody minds.

Airman Edwards’ deployed duties have taken him far from his usual job as a graphics artist working at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., multimedia center. Here, he works for the fighter operations intelligence cell, organizing weapons systems video footage for distribution to the Combined Air Operations Center.

“I really like this type of job because (I) can see firsthand what’s going on in the war, and how the Air Force is contributing to the mission,” he said.

Airman Edwards splits the 24-hour operation with two photographers from the Illinois Air National Guard’s 183rd Fighter Wing, packaging video taken from air strikes so that viewers can quickly gather pertinent information like date, time, aircraft and location.

As soon as they process the footage, the video specialists send the images to the center to be posted on a “strike page,” a resource evaluators use to determine the effectiveness of air strikes. Prompt posting of the video is essential for mission evaluation and planning, officials said.

“If the (video) isn’t provided in an efficient manner, we might not be able to determine if a target needs to be struck again,” said Capt. Christopher Gentry, the chief of unit support and air defense analysis at the center. “This could allow insurgents to escape unscathed. Also, it allows our operators to evaluate and improve their tactics, techniques and procedures.”

Captain Gentry said that the video he receives from Airman Edwards’ office is one of the highest quality videos in the theater. Even though producing strike videos is a duty these skilled graphic artists and photographers only get to perform when deployed, they said they are confident in their abilities.

“We know this is the meat and potatoes of what’s going on,” said Tech. Sgt. Shaun Kerr, one of the office’s photographers. “That’s why we do our best to get a quality product to them fast.”