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Airmen play vital role in Army ground movements in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sanjay Allen
  • Air Component Coordination Element-Iraq Public Affairs
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq --  Editor's note: This is part one of a five part series highlighting the Air Force's involvement during the Responsible Drawdown of Forces in Iraq.

Tactical Air Control Party teams assigned to the 4/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team have been keeping their convoys safe by being a liaison to the eyes in the sky when convoys are on the move.

A TACP team consists of two Airmen: a JTAC, Joint Terminal Attack Controller, and a ROMAD -- or Radio Operator, Maintainer and Driver -- who is essentially a JTAC in training.

The team provides air coverage; close air support; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to the 4/2 SBCT during their deployment to Iraq.

"Whenever there is ground operations outside the wire we provide close air support, and we provide overhead or top coverage for the ground units as they're moving around," said 2nd Lt. Dennis Seay. "We basically keep the guys on the ground safe with aircraft by trying to drop bombs on the bad guys as soon as we can identify them."

The TACP team doesn't just grab their gear and roll out in their specialized Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, Humvee or Stryker -- the vehicle they use depends on the mission -- until they plan the operation with the ground forces commander before heading out.

In the planning stages, they show the commander where air power can help. In a certain situation they may want bombs instead of guns and the controllers can advise the commander as the situation warrants.

Lieutenant Seay, who is deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., said they advise in the beginning and they'll go out on the convoy with them or they can stay back and provide support from the Tactical Operations Center by working with ISR aircraft flying above the convoy.

"Typically we like to roll with them in their convoy or whatever they're doing," he said.

"For normal convoy ops we have the close air support ... then we will watch certain points that the Army wants us to watch," said the Lieutenant who is native to Franklin, N.C. "Then we task the air units out and as soon as a threat is identified, as soon as something happens, we try to pop on that threat, ID the threat and then ultimately neutralize the threat however we can."

This is a mission the TACPs will continue to do as U.S. Forces continue to draw out of Iraq this month on their way to approximately 50,000 troops by the end of August. The TACP teams will be along for the ride as U.S. Forces convoy out, just as they had been during the deployment all while keeping the future of Iraq in mind.

"It's actually pretty cool to be able to say that I'm part of the last combat unit in Iraq," said Senior Airman Donald McKee, also deployed from JB Lewis-McChord and a native of Wheatland, Calif. "It's definitely a different mindset when you think about it. Every JTAC when they think about going, they want to drop bombs and blow stuff up. But with the new mission and the stuff we're trying to accomplish here in Iraq, we've got to keep in mind that we that we have to keep U.S. Forces safe and the threat low."