thedrifter
01-03-07, 06:37 AM
January 02, 2007
Troops training at Army electronic warfare schools
By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer
Hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are training at two new Army schools to become electronic warfare operators.
The joint training began Oct. 1 at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Fort Sill, Okla., in three- and six-week courses, respectively. The courses were developed by sailors because the Navy has had a longstanding electronic warfare training program.
Soldiers who complete the training will be so designated by an additional skill identifier. The training eventually may be developed into a military occupational specialty, said Col. Laurie Buckhout, chief of the Army’s Electronic Warfare Division.
Soldiers in the grade of E-6 and above will work in electronic warfare at the battalion level, and E-7s or first lieutenants will work on the brigade staff. At the division and corps level, commanders will choose captains, warrant officers and senior noncommissioned officers.
The electronic warfare training is not MOS-specific and soldiers will be hand-picked to attend the courses by commanders of combat arms, combat support and combat service support units getting ready to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The training will be helpful in fighting insurgent forces.Using EW to counter the increasingly sophisticated improvised explosive devices “is just the tip of the iceberg,” Buckhout said.
She noted that on a linear battlefield the Army reigned supreme in electronic warfare by directing its capabilities in a straight line toward the enemy to disable or disrupt weapons systems, communications and navigation equipment.
In an asymmetric war zone like Iraq, however, electronic warfare has to be used more surgically because its broader use could potentially knock out the Army’s own systems.
Ellie
Troops training at Army electronic warfare schools
By Gina Cavallaro
Staff writer
Hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are training at two new Army schools to become electronic warfare operators.
The joint training began Oct. 1 at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Fort Sill, Okla., in three- and six-week courses, respectively. The courses were developed by sailors because the Navy has had a longstanding electronic warfare training program.
Soldiers who complete the training will be so designated by an additional skill identifier. The training eventually may be developed into a military occupational specialty, said Col. Laurie Buckhout, chief of the Army’s Electronic Warfare Division.
Soldiers in the grade of E-6 and above will work in electronic warfare at the battalion level, and E-7s or first lieutenants will work on the brigade staff. At the division and corps level, commanders will choose captains, warrant officers and senior noncommissioned officers.
The electronic warfare training is not MOS-specific and soldiers will be hand-picked to attend the courses by commanders of combat arms, combat support and combat service support units getting ready to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The training will be helpful in fighting insurgent forces.Using EW to counter the increasingly sophisticated improvised explosive devices “is just the tip of the iceberg,” Buckhout said.
She noted that on a linear battlefield the Army reigned supreme in electronic warfare by directing its capabilities in a straight line toward the enemy to disable or disrupt weapons systems, communications and navigation equipment.
In an asymmetric war zone like Iraq, however, electronic warfare has to be used more surgically because its broader use could potentially knock out the Army’s own systems.
Ellie