JTAC: Joint Terminal Attack Controller

17 August 2011

4-4Cav in Combat
Operation Flintlock

We made it off the helicopter landing zone with no fighting. The enemy was not afraid of us, but they must have been taken by surprise.

Two Air Force JTACs were along for the mission, as they nearly always are in deliberate attacks that might involve air power.  In short, the JTACs are skilled technicians who often see significant amounts of combat because many JTACs stay busy bouncing around from unit to unit, from one combat operation to the next.  And so rest assured, if the nightly news is reporting about a serious Army operation, JTACs probably were there.

After landing by CH-47 at 0300, we moved to the compound we would occupy and operate from for the next two days.  The JTACs pored over the maps and into the radios.

Several 4-4Cav Soldiers took machine guns and a sniper rifle to the mud roof, and soon the JTACs crawled up to control the air fight.  Despite having been at war here for almost ten years, we still have a shortage of simple ladders.  And so 4-4Cav isn’t wasting time with paperwork requests; they’re making ladders in the motorpool from parts of vehicles that were damaged or destroyed in combat.  The ladder for this roof was about two rungs short of optimal, and so over the next two days I was convinced someone was going to plummet to the ground and need MEDEVAC.  When troops get shot on the roofs, it can be a challenge to get them down and that is especially so during firefights.

Over the next two days, three of our people would be shot on rooftops nearby.  Two were shot in the face, and one in the right side-SAPI plate in his body armor.  The first Soldier shot in the face has survived, while the second died on the roof, or shortly after he was lowered.  And so, though our people must occupy the rooftops, they are dangerous places.  In this sort of combat, if you can see the enemy, the enemy can see you.  If you can shoot the enemy, the enemy can shoot you, and there is no good in going out there unless you plan to see and shoot the enemy.  4-4Cav did not come bearing kisses and lollipops, and the JTACs were not there to deliver humanitarian aid.

The troops unfolded a bright, orange VS-17 panel.  This would allow the aircraft to see us and avoid an accident.  Though the current pilots knew our locations, other helicopters and aircraft would come and go over the next two days, and so the JTACs had to keep updating the situation.

Morning of the first day.  The enemy has not yet responded to the incursion.

JTACs watching.

The JTACs kept plotting whatever it is that JTACS plot, which probably revolved around likely enemy fighting positions, friendly troop dispositions, and civilians to avoid in the event of airstrikes.  Our people don’t wait for dramas to unfold to start figuring out the playing field.  They make detailed maps with TRPs (target reference points), dead space, and just about anything else you can think of in order to bring fast and accurate fire.

Kiowa Warriors (KW) playing aggressive as per normal.  Everyone knew that the moment the Pink Team (KW and Apache) headed off for gas, the enemy would likely attack us.  This dance would play out numerous times over the next 48 hours.  As the Pink Team disappeared, the Taliban would open up.

The black shield by the door is a bullet-stopper for small arms.

The Pink Team headed off to the FARP (Forward Arming Refueling Point) and a sharp firefight broke out between the Taliban and a nearby platoon.  JTACs called in this Navy jet to perform a SoF, or Show of Force.  The enemy doesn’t really need to worry about this jet, but they need to worry about the one they can’t see who didn’t come down for a low pass.

No telling where he came from to get to Zhary District, but he probably came from an aircraft carrier such as the Ronald Reagan.

The flares may have been intimidating years ago, but today they are just roman candles in the sky.  The enemy has seen it all.  The bombs, missiles and gun runs remain effective and at least on that level, the war remains algebraic: the goal is to suddenly impart great kinetic energy into the enemy then forget about him.  Nothing personal, no hard feelings: we don’t know each other’s names and don’t care to.  A strange thing about this war is that we don’t hate Afghans, and in a general sense they don’t seem to hate us: we are just having a good war.

Another platoon was in a firefight and so our guys were waiting to see if the enemy would make a mistake and move in front of us.

Waiting for the enemy to blunder and take a bullet.

The enemy elected not to fight this night.  The cows, sheep and veloci-chickens were settled in.  They all live in this compound with the family, who chose to stay with us.  There were fourteen kids in this compound.

The enemy here has been using a devastating 82mm recoilless rifle that destroys our vehicles and likely can go through these walls.  RPGs and small arms will not go through these walls, and in fact some of the 30mm ammunition on A-10s and Apaches also won’t penetrate, but that doesn’t make much difference for them because they can shoot into the compounds from above.

The nights are good for practicing with the camera.  The Milky Way Galaxy modeled by drifting across the heavens.

One by one the men fell asleep while the JTACs stayed on the roof along with a few Soldiers.

Switching to the full-spectrum camera, two aircraft using IR strobes can be seen in the darkness.  There was no moon and they could not be seen by the naked eye.

Two nearly invisible aircraft picked up by the specially modified Canon Mark II 5d.

Full spectrum camera picks up another “invisible” aircraft.

Restless night.

A cannon fires illumination that drifts in the night for some unrelated unit in the distance.

More illumination in deep darkness.

The ghost of a Soldier can be seen leaning over the antennae.

Near midnight, a CH-47 delivers resupply just outside the compound.  I had been sleeping on the ground inside the compound and got up to take this photo and it nearly blows me away.  The Kopp-Etchells Effect is very bright, but I am being beaten badly by small stones and debris and have great difficulty keeping the camera still.

Kopp-Etchells Effect.

Morning Twilight and the JTACS are still there.

The JTACs stayed on that roof without a sliver of shade.  They wore full body armor and helmets, in Afghanistan summer sun, for two full days, one full night, and part of another night.  They never complained.

Finally, a JTAC comes down from the roof, and I asked why they never come down.  He laughed and answered, “We are afraid of the ladder.”  Despite all that heat and discomfort, they kept that attitude the entire time.  Much respect for the JTACs.

I told him he needs new pants.

Michael Yon on Facebook.

Iraq: Inside the Inferno 2005-2008 (Order Now)

Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michaelyon-online/~3/9IOWw_y6c4E/jtac-joint-terminal-attack-controller.htm