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Media event showcases Air Force airpower

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mareshah Haynes
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq --  The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing hosted four major media outlets, three print and one television, in an unprecedented media event here Jan. 30. The event was the first time major media outlets visited the base for one specific event.

NBC news, The Associated Press, New York Times and Los Angeles Times sent correspondents to spend the day at Balad AB and see the mission and Airmen of the 332nd AEW in action.

Each outlet got the opportunity to interview Maj. Gen. David Edgington, the director of the Air Component Coordination Element, Multi-National Force-Iraq, and Brig. Gen. Burt Field, 332nd AEW commander, about the contributions Airmen are making in fighting the Global War on Terrorism.

"We have people constantly airborne 24/7/365, 366 this year," General Field said. "And it's not just the airplanes and pilots here at Balad, it's Airmen all across the theater.

"All of the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance combined with the forces we have here, are used to work with our Army brothers and sisters to come up with the right way to integrate and synchronize and come up with the right plan of action," he said.

Following interviews with wing leadership, the media crew ate lunch at the dining facility with some of the Airmen they would be interviewing later in the afternoon.

Topics of discussion included the means the Air Force coordinates its assets with those of the U.S. Army and coalition forces, recapitalization of the Air Force's aging fleet, and the Air Force's ability to precisely target enemy forces.

The first stop was at the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, where Maj. "Chris," 46th ERS commander, gave the group a tour of an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle and its "cockpit," which is separate from the remotely-controlled aircraft.

Major "Chris" answered questions about the capabilities the Predator brings to the fight.

"Our key role is precision analysis," he explained. "We provide a lot of support to base defense. We're out there scanning, looking for folks trying to bring harm to the base. We have a pretty good system in place to relay information quickly and get the situation taken care."

After learning about the ISR capabilities of the Predator, the reporters learned about the fire power of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Subject matter experts to include pilots, a weapons officer and a crew chief from the 22nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron were on-hand to answer the questions reporters had regarding the air power the Air Force employs throughout Iraq and the synchronization efforts taken to suppress collateral damage through precision targeting.

"It's all about integration these days," said Maj. Danielle "Burn" Willis, 22nd EFS F-16 pilot, to a media representative when asked about them working in a joint environment. "The F-16 isn't just there to drop bombs. We can provide another perspective to the Army of what's going on in the battlespace."

Armed with more information about the Air Force mission and the capabilities of air power, the media members returned to Baghdad.