HomeNewsFeatures

Features
Air Power

FEATURES

Controllers train to put bombs on target, on time

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) --  Joint terminal attack controllers assigned to the 604th Air Support Operations Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, arrived here July 9 to train with 8th Fighter Wing pilots. 

JTACs, who exist in each service branch under different names, are recognized and qualified to provide close-air support to the units they are embedded with, and to direct combat aircraft onto an enemy target.

The controllers performed day and night missions with pilots from the 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons. During the training, the pilots simulated dropping joint direct attack munitions, or JDAMs, as well as laser-guided munitions based on coordinates provided by JTACs and tactical air controllers.

"This mission is important, primarily to provide bombs on target to enemy positions," said Staff Sgt. Wef Bryant, a 604th ASOS controller. "We're a liaison for the ground elements, which are typically Army, but it could be Marines or coalition forces. We also have the ability to coordinate local airspace and ensure the integration of all direct fire."
Preparing for future combat 

Joint controllers are continually faced with adapting to new threats and environments. During the Korean War, many battles were fought in mountainous terrain through valleys and fords. In recent years, the expansion of the Korean economy has led to significant growth in urban areas, making the threat of urban combat more of a reality.

"These guys are ready for all types of environments," said Capt. Christopher Luczun, a 604th ASOS air liaison officer. "As far as the urban environment, the training they've experienced with the 8th Fighter Wing has focused on simulating the pinpointing (and elimination of) smaller-type areas with houses close together, all the while challenging the pilots to do talk-ons (with the JTAC), depending on the weather. This allows ordnance to be used on pointing out specific vehicles or, if need be, support convoy operations. JTACs train for every environment they're subject to or are deployed to."

Air liaison officers, or ALOs, are charged with providing support to ground commanders with Air Force assets available to them. ALOs also have the task of assessing a battlefield situation while at the same time providing minute-to-minute recommendations on the best type of airpower to be used in the quickest amount of time possible.

JTACs in the fight continue to learn to use unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, UAVs have augmented some missions traditionally held by other fighter aircraft. The JTAC is still a required element, to include any contingencies on the Korean peninsula, Captain Luczun said.

"If anything, the Air Force needs more JTACs (on the ground)," the captain said about the use of UAVs in the field. "They are in very, very high demand, especially in today's world. I don't ever see the need for JTACs going away. Once the Army sees the capabilities airpower brings to the fight, they really start to appreciate what the Air Force can do."

Protecting life as bombs drop

Just as important as placing sophisticated weapons on target is saving lives. 

Advancing on an enemy as well as defending one's self are important, but ensuring friendly forces and noncombatants aren't on the receiving end of an F-16 Fighting Falcon's bomb is crucial, said Sergeant Bryant, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.

"As JTACs, the amount of training we go through to get certified was put in place for good reasons," he said. "During the development of forward air controllers, there was a lot more fratricide on the battlefield. A lot of the technological advances we have had with targeting and acquisition systems have come at a price, learning from the past on how to save the lives of friendlies."

Within U.S. Forces Korea, members of the 604th ASOS are assigned to both Army garrisons Casey and Red Cloud in South Korea. There, they train to support both South Korean and U.S. Army Soldiers by providing close-air-support missions in the event North Korean forces launch an assault into the south.

Working closely with elements of the 2nd Infantry Division based at Casey, JTACs train with Soldiers to help provide bombs on specific targets at a moment's notice if an attack were launched against them. Each controller has the ability to coordinate air assets and, in some cases, artillery against an enemy position while being responsible for the lives of a squad or platoon, and in some cases, a brigade. Squads are typically made up of more than 20 Soldiers while a brigade can have up to 3,500.

F-16s from either the U.S. or South Korea would be charged with circling overhead, delivering ordnance directed by a JTAC, and destroying the enemy. Because some ground units have the ability to move quicker than others, Sergeant Bryant said the "fog of war" is a constant concern for any JTAC as they continually keep pilots updated with coalition positions. 

"It's all about people," he said. "The biggest challenge is keeping track of friendly units to keep them safe while having a good read on what's going on around you. Constantly, you want to know if there are friendlies in another town near you so friendly aircraft know precisely where they're at."

Regardless of who an ALO or JTAC is working with, the core of the controller's mission will continue to center on putting ordnance on a specific location to destroy an enemy position. In the Korean theater of operations, more of the JTACs' mission focus is centered on a "force-on-force" model, with JTACs engaging targets such as anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile systems.

"Although there is never any type of theater-specific training, JTACs train for every theater of operations all the time," Captain Luczun said. "You get more of the force-on-force (focus) here versus snipers and insurgents in places like Iraq or Afghanistan. Regardless of the location, the execution of our mission will never change, just the nature of the enemy." 

Comment on this story   (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

Click here to view the comments/letters page