Top cover: Airpower integral to ground force's success

Published Sept. 30, 2008
By Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
U.S. AFCENT News Team

BAGRAM AIR SPACE FIELD, Afghanistan -- An improvised explosive device had disabled a vehicle. Soldiers were stranded. Their brothers in arms responded to the scene.

"As we got within 200 meters of them, World War III opened up," said Army Staff Sgt. Adam Kern, now assigned to Kapisa and Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team security forces. "The initial ambush was awful."

It was approximately 18 Soldiers against 60 enemy fighters. Small arms and rocket-propelled grenades fire rained down on the team's position. "It was kind of a moving moment, one of our gunners had gone down, so I started shooting the MK-19 in his place. I was just getting into it when all of a sudden the whole thing, I am talking a 100 meters, just exploded in front of us," said Army Cpl. Anthony Jorgensen, now a Kapisa and Parwan PRT SECFOR team leader.

The explosion in the tree line was from Air Force jets coming in to assist the Soldiers, who had five members wounded to differing degrees during the 45-minute firefight.

"I got shot or had shrapnel in my hand - I don't know what it was," Sergeant Kern said. "One of my guys got shot in both legs. One guy got hit in the mouth with shrapnel or something. I have a feeling a lot more people would have gotten hurt without the air support we received."

Saying they have been in a situation or two where they had to call in for close-air support would be an understatement, according to Sergeant Kern, a native of Hughesville, Pa. For a while it was basically everyday, and sometimes a couple of times a day.

"Airpower is unmatched ... it is something you absolutely need," Sergeant Kern said. "Airpower makes a difference; it is like night and day. Most of the times when we took casualties were when airpower was not there during the initial opening of the ambush. When the enemy hears incoming helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, they shut up and try to scatter. The times they did fire, the planes would pick them off right away."

In his 28 years of Army service, Brig. Gen. Mark Milley, Deputy Commanding General, Operations, 101st Airborne Division, has developed a simple philosophy on airpower.

"The infantry's best friend is the pilot," General Milley said. "I will also tell you that from my experience, the pilots are always there, those planes are always there. I have yet to see any United States Air Force pilot not show up; it does not happen. These guys are capable, they are unbelievably skilled and there is no one else like them in the world. If you get them on target, they will fly through anything to get to you."

When a request goes out from troops on the ground in a contact situation for air support, it becomes a priority to maneuver air power assets to their aid.

"We are doing real well with Air Force response times to our troops-in-contact," General Milley said. "If Soldiers get ambushed, they are generally getting close-air support there within minutes, and that is important. It is important because it has an effect on the enemy. It is important because it has an effect on us; there is a tremendous psychological reassurance when the United States Air Force is flying over the United States infantry. When you see an Air Force jet flying over you and you know the enemy sees it that gives you a real boost."

Part of Capt. Vanessa Mahan's job is to provide top cover for ground troops who end up in a bad situation. She is a an F-15E Strike Eagle weapons systems officer deployed to the 391st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

"We are there for them, and that is what makes it really easy to get up every day and fly these missions," she said. "We have an awesome job and knowing that we are supporting those guys just makes it all the better."

To be able to provide this protection pilots and crews must always remain flexible.

"It is a pretty common occurrence for us to walk out the door with a plan, and then for us to do another plan while we are airborne," said Captain Mahan, a native St. John, Ind. "That is something we are used to. Those troops in contact are a priority."

When racing to provide support for those in a TIC situation, the captain said it's important to maintain focus on their objective.

"I can't imagine what it is like being shot at because I have not been," she said. "But talking to the guys on the ground, listening through the [headset] and hearing the background fire, you just have to keep a level head. You have to keep your composure, because keeping your composure helps them keep their composure. I mean that is a pretty tough scenario. You know what is going on the ground and in the air - we have to do our job and put bombs on target.

The Soldiers both deployed here from the 3rd Platoon, Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 103rd Armor, Pennsylvania Army National Guard say they feel tremendous relief when they hear an aircraft racing to provide them top cover.

"It is a great feeling when you hear that thundering around you just leap, you are engaging, getting blasted at, people are dropping and you start to hear aircraft coming over the mountains and you are like, you are about to get it," said Sergeant Kern. "Just to hear the pilots on the radio is like 'Here comes the Cavalry.'"

Corporal Jorgensen, a native of Williamsport Pa., said he feels the same way.

"When we hear the planes overhead, we feel relief because we know it is going to be over, and we are probably not going to die that day," he said.