thedrifter
11-07-08, 07:01 AM
New idea submitted to support forward Marines
11/6/2008 By Cpl. Travis J. Crewdson , Marine Corps Base Quantico
QUANTICO, Va. —Continually seeking greater opportunities to improve close air support and artillery fires to infantry in the attack is a hallmark of Marine warfighting capability.
Recent successful efforts at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory to support this capability have resulted in a comprehensive training program that may soon arm squad leaders with an ability to act as observers for close air support in scenarios where the joint terminal attack controller is not required to visually acquire the target, and the authority to call artillery fire on enemy targets.
The drive for experimentation with this squad fire capability are repeated lessons learned from the current fight that pointed to a serious gap between maneuvering elements on the ground and fires assets from the air or from artillery.
A 2004 report from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit serving in Afghanistan exposed the critical need for squad fire capability. The report cites: “The shortage of forward air controllers was apparent throughout the operation: There was often more maneuver elements at one time then there were FACs to support them.”
As a result of this report and by direction of the Commanding General of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Captain Sharif Sokkary and other air and ground veterans with the Laboratory’s Experiment Division focused resources on building a solution that trained squad leaders as Squad Fires Observers.
According to Sokkary, these SFOs can now be the eyes on the scene during fire support operations and work with the JTAC, a certified military service member who directs the action of combat aircraft engaged in close air support and other offensive air operations, without him needing to be present on the mission.
Capt. William Elliot, an artillery officer with the Experiment Division’s Field Testing Branch explained that most battalions only have three to five JTACs and may operate out of several Forward Operating Bases at once.
“There isn’t enough structure to support the wide variety of operations that the battalion is currently conducting,” another report from 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment from Operation Iraqi Freedom cites. “Experience has shown that based on the wide number of maneuver elements within the battalion battle space and the flexibility of our enemy with regards to engagements, JTACs will very rarely be present when the fight begins.”
In 2006, the Laboratory conducted its first limited objective experiment designed to test Squad Fires at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. The experiment, which tested the Squad Fires Observer Period of Instruction led to several conclusions.
First, that the POI needed to be revised to lessen the focus on air specific material, and second, that a target location device or laser range finder should be provided to Marines to assist them with target location.
Sokkary, who has a background as a rotary wing attack helicopter pilot, said a simulation-based training program was introduced to the training package so that squad leaders could adequately prepare to act as an observer for certain types of terminal attack control and give them vital communicative practice so they can deliver clear, calm radio traffic. The simulation training also eliminates the need for live aircraft training that is already in short supply due to operational commitments.
The most recent experiment in July showed that using a laser range finder by itself was not necessarily the answer the Laboratory was seeking. More importantly, the experiment discovered that 60 percent of the Marines were deemed as capable of the skill set on their first live run. Also, even with a poor target location, a CAS engagement was possible by the observer providing a talk-on to the aircraft. A talk-on consists of the observer talking the pilot’s eyes on to the target using terrain features and standard terminology. By the final live-fire event, all the Marines who participated in the experiment were deemed qualified.
Sokkary also said one of the best parts of their SFO training plan is that it is possible for unit JTACs to teach at a pace that fits into the operational tempo without sending squad leaders away to a formal school. Based on experiments, the full course takes about five days to complete with a class of 16 Marines.
The results of the Squad Fires effort is still being critiqued by the Atlantic and Pacific Expeditionary Warfare Training Groups, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One, Aviation Plans and Policies, and Training and Education Command – who will certify the training and execute the implementation. Marine Corps Plans, Policies and Operations is also the lead for developing a similar program for a Joint Forward Observer capability at the platoon level.
While not finalized, Capt. John Rutherford, a Marine aviator and integral part of Sokkary’s team, said the effort for Squad Fires is not to put JTACs in every squad, and it is not eliminating the JTAC from CAS operations, however, the Squad Fires effort is a valuable enabler in improving the lethality of squads who need fire support right now.
Ellie
11/6/2008 By Cpl. Travis J. Crewdson , Marine Corps Base Quantico
QUANTICO, Va. —Continually seeking greater opportunities to improve close air support and artillery fires to infantry in the attack is a hallmark of Marine warfighting capability.
Recent successful efforts at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory to support this capability have resulted in a comprehensive training program that may soon arm squad leaders with an ability to act as observers for close air support in scenarios where the joint terminal attack controller is not required to visually acquire the target, and the authority to call artillery fire on enemy targets.
The drive for experimentation with this squad fire capability are repeated lessons learned from the current fight that pointed to a serious gap between maneuvering elements on the ground and fires assets from the air or from artillery.
A 2004 report from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit serving in Afghanistan exposed the critical need for squad fire capability. The report cites: “The shortage of forward air controllers was apparent throughout the operation: There was often more maneuver elements at one time then there were FACs to support them.”
As a result of this report and by direction of the Commanding General of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Captain Sharif Sokkary and other air and ground veterans with the Laboratory’s Experiment Division focused resources on building a solution that trained squad leaders as Squad Fires Observers.
According to Sokkary, these SFOs can now be the eyes on the scene during fire support operations and work with the JTAC, a certified military service member who directs the action of combat aircraft engaged in close air support and other offensive air operations, without him needing to be present on the mission.
Capt. William Elliot, an artillery officer with the Experiment Division’s Field Testing Branch explained that most battalions only have three to five JTACs and may operate out of several Forward Operating Bases at once.
“There isn’t enough structure to support the wide variety of operations that the battalion is currently conducting,” another report from 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment from Operation Iraqi Freedom cites. “Experience has shown that based on the wide number of maneuver elements within the battalion battle space and the flexibility of our enemy with regards to engagements, JTACs will very rarely be present when the fight begins.”
In 2006, the Laboratory conducted its first limited objective experiment designed to test Squad Fires at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. The experiment, which tested the Squad Fires Observer Period of Instruction led to several conclusions.
First, that the POI needed to be revised to lessen the focus on air specific material, and second, that a target location device or laser range finder should be provided to Marines to assist them with target location.
Sokkary, who has a background as a rotary wing attack helicopter pilot, said a simulation-based training program was introduced to the training package so that squad leaders could adequately prepare to act as an observer for certain types of terminal attack control and give them vital communicative practice so they can deliver clear, calm radio traffic. The simulation training also eliminates the need for live aircraft training that is already in short supply due to operational commitments.
The most recent experiment in July showed that using a laser range finder by itself was not necessarily the answer the Laboratory was seeking. More importantly, the experiment discovered that 60 percent of the Marines were deemed as capable of the skill set on their first live run. Also, even with a poor target location, a CAS engagement was possible by the observer providing a talk-on to the aircraft. A talk-on consists of the observer talking the pilot’s eyes on to the target using terrain features and standard terminology. By the final live-fire event, all the Marines who participated in the experiment were deemed qualified.
Sokkary also said one of the best parts of their SFO training plan is that it is possible for unit JTACs to teach at a pace that fits into the operational tempo without sending squad leaders away to a formal school. Based on experiments, the full course takes about five days to complete with a class of 16 Marines.
The results of the Squad Fires effort is still being critiqued by the Atlantic and Pacific Expeditionary Warfare Training Groups, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One, Aviation Plans and Policies, and Training and Education Command – who will certify the training and execute the implementation. Marine Corps Plans, Policies and Operations is also the lead for developing a similar program for a Joint Forward Observer capability at the platoon level.
While not finalized, Capt. John Rutherford, a Marine aviator and integral part of Sokkary’s team, said the effort for Squad Fires is not to put JTACs in every squad, and it is not eliminating the JTAC from CAS operations, however, the Squad Fires effort is a valuable enabler in improving the lethality of squads who need fire support right now.
Ellie