JTACs provide ground forces airpower in Afghanistan

Published Nov. 28, 2009
By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
AFCENT Combat Camera Team

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Joint terminal attack controllers conduct their symphony of airpower with radios and field computers.

Their orchestra is an assembly of joint and coalition aircraft, including F-15E Strike Eagles, B-1B Lancers, Navy F/A-18 Hornets and F-16 Fighting Falcons from various countries.

Together, JTACs and aircrews make music that ensures ground forces have the ability to accomplish whatever they need to, whenever they need to.

"The bottom line is that Soldiers don't want to go on missions without a JTAC," said Lt. Col. Mario Bryza, the 817th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron commander. "They know airpower helps get the job done, and we're the ones who bring it."

The JTAC is the linchpin of a tactical air control party. In addition to the controller, the teams include a ROMAD, or radio operator, maintainer and driver; and an air liaison officer, which are usually pilots who offer their airframe expertise to JTACs and function as a go-between for the controllers and higher headquarters leadership.

The JTACs embed with Army units both at home and in deployed locations. This allows the Airmen and Soldiers to know each other's missions better and perform more effectively in the field, said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Langley, a JTAC deployed to a forward operating base in Logar Province, Afghanistan, from Ft. Drum, N.Y.

"We have the training and expertise to operate in both worlds," Sergeant Langley said. "We live and work with the Army, but our chain of command is all Airmen, specifically pilots. The Army doesn't know all the capabilities the Air Force can bring; we do."

The arrangement gives the JTACs the perspective they need to function as Airmen in the Soldiers' arena.

"Having JTACs builds confidence in our ground commanders," said Army Capt. Daniel Sundberg, a fire support officer deployed with Sergeant Langley. "They're not only welcomed, but encouraged to go on patrols with us, and they almost always do. We take for granted how much they have to adapt to us; JTACs are definitely an integral part of what we do."

Operations in Afghanistan are especially challenging because it's both mountainous and urban. Much of the time, enemy forces will be more familiar with an area, so if ten insurgents attack ten coalition troops, that can be a tough fight, Sergeant Langley said.

"But having jets overhead expands our battlefield options and gives us the advantage," Sergeant Langley said. "We bring so much more to the fight than a ground unit would be capable of on its own. I would say 95 percent of the time, when bad guys see a jet fly overhead, all shooting at a patrol stops. The enemy breaks contact and runs for cover.

"It's a JTAC who makes that happen."