thedrifter
02-22-09, 07:19 AM
Posted on Sun, Feb. 22, 2009
About surviving, not flying
By Edward Colimore
Inquirer Staff Writer
When his convoy entered the village, Air Force Staff Sgt. Sean Hunt wasn't sure what to expect. A group of friendly civilians in Arab garb waved as the six humvees as passed by. Everything seemed fine.
But the 27-year-old Philadelphian knew things could change in an instant - and they did.
A few feet ahead, a roadside bomb knocked out a humvee amid clouds of smoke from grenade and mortar explosions and the piercing pop-pop-pop of insurgents' AK-47s.
Airmen transferred the wounded to Hunt's vehicle, returned fire, and pressed on.
"It was a little hectic, but everyone reverted to their training," said Hunt, the convoy commander.
The realistic training exercise, staged in a mock village at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Fort Dix, is part of new combat preparedness received by airmen who perform the ground duties that keep planes flying.
The convoy's 25 members passed their test Tuesday: They learned to "shoot and scoot." They were among 187 airmen at the center to receive advanced training before deployment to Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
President Obama last week authorized sending up to 17,500 troops to Afghanistan in the coming months to thwart an expected spring offensive by the Taliban and stepped-up attacks before the country's presidential election in August.
The role of the Air Force in Afghanistan is crucial, especially as Taliban forces try to close a supply route through Pakistan's Khyber Pass and Kyrgyzstan seeks to shut a U.S. air base in that country.
Nearly 600 airmen have been killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since the 9/11 terrorist attacks - and 96 percent of them have been on the ground, according to Air Force officials.
The service members are trained to load, unload, fuel, and maintain aircraft. They tend to the base buildings and runways and perform administrative, medical, and food services.
Their mounting losses - partly due to expanded duties off base - prompted intensive training, begun three years ago, to help the ground airmen survive combat.
"Who's responsible for making them mission-ready? That's us," said Maj. Gen. Kip L. Self, commander of the Expeditionary Center.
"The Air Force made a great leap in the last few years. . . . We need to make sure they have the same professional background and training that our aviators have."
Ready to go
In a classroom on the center's 34-acre campus, Tech. Sgt. Jason Marsh gave final instructions to the airmen before sending their convoy on its mission.
After two weeks, their final test would be to transport a noncombatant between bases, through a village believed to contain insurgents.
"It's important you stay on track," said Marsh, 35, who lives in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township and manages the course. "Don't do something above and beyond what you're supposed to do."
The airmen gathered their M-16s and gear and hopped into their humvees.
"I never thought I'd be doing this," said Hunt, of Philadelphia's Olney section. The civil engineer expects to be deployed to Iraq within weeks.
"When we go downrange" into combat areas, he said, "we might be needed. And if we are, we'll be a positive asset."
The Expeditionary Center also was a change for Airman First Class Johnathan Conner, who usually loads passengers and cargo.
"It's fun and different from the regular job," said the 20-year-old from Pittstown, N.J. "I've been looking forward to deployment. I'm the kind of person who likes to explore."
After hours of classroom and field training, most of the airmen were confident.
"I know what to do," said Senior Master Sgt. Tom Chatburn, 42, an aircraft maintenance worker who lives in Ocean City, N.J., and is heading to Iraq.
"If you said I'd be doing this in 1985, I'd say, 'You're crazy,' " remarked the 23-year veteran. "This is the kind of training you hope you never have to use."
'Here they come!'
The "insurgents" saw the humvees bearing down on them from afar and darted for their AK-47s.
"We want them to know what to expect," said Tech. Sgt. Clinton Ackerley, 38, an instructor who lives in Browns Mills and helps coordinate the explosions. "Here they come!"
When the convoy got to the middle of town, it was stopped by explosions and small-arms fire. Smoke obscured the vehicles as airmen shot blanks from their M-16s.
The staccato fire of a real 50-caliber machine gun on a nearby Fort Dix range added to the chaos.
"We've got to go! We've got to go!" an airman shouted. "Move, move, move!"
"If you stay in one place, you're dead," explained Master Sgt. Joseph Kazimer, 45, operations superintendent for the center's combat training squadron.
If the airmen "felt they were too disabled, they could try to clear a house, hole up there, and fight off the enemy while calling in on the radio for backup," added Kazimer, of Moorestown, as he observed the exercise.
"But they're doing the right thing. I wouldn't want to hole up in this place. You're way outnumbered."
From his gun turret atop a humvee, Chatburn emptied three magazines on the attackers while Hunt radioed from another humvee and Conner sat in the driver's seat of yet another, ready to hit the gas.
In minutes, the airmen finished the transfer of "wounded" and were speeding to their base. They would get a critique of their performance in class an hour later.
Reviewing the mission
"Did your weapons work?" asked Tech. Sgt. Samuel Young, an instructor and aircraft mechanic from Mount Laurel as he reviewed the mission.
"Yes," was the reply, as several men unloaded blanks from magazines.
"You returned fire, stepped on the gas, and got out of the area," said Young, 36, approvingly.
"You did an outstanding job of moving people out. You load and go: You don't want them baiting you into a firefight."
This mission was "like our final exam," Chatburn said. "It's all in the planning. This is not a trip to Wawa to get milk.
"I have a newfound respect for the Army and Marine Corps. There has been a mind-set change: We're all warriors now."
But fighting "is not the emphasis," said Self, the center's commander. "It's how you operate with small-squad tactics."
In a conference room later, he stressed the growing importance of combat training. "You won't be a detriment" to fellow service members, especially the Army soldiers and Marines who usually run the convoys, he said. No matter what, "you'll know how to take care of yourself and your buddy."
The Air Force is changing to meet the needs of all its members, he said.
"Dropping the bombs and delivering people and bullets, that's flying," Self said. "But that doesn't happen without a force on the ground."
Contact staff writer Edward Colimore at 856-779-3833 or ecolimore@phillynews.com.
Ellie
About surviving, not flying
By Edward Colimore
Inquirer Staff Writer
When his convoy entered the village, Air Force Staff Sgt. Sean Hunt wasn't sure what to expect. A group of friendly civilians in Arab garb waved as the six humvees as passed by. Everything seemed fine.
But the 27-year-old Philadelphian knew things could change in an instant - and they did.
A few feet ahead, a roadside bomb knocked out a humvee amid clouds of smoke from grenade and mortar explosions and the piercing pop-pop-pop of insurgents' AK-47s.
Airmen transferred the wounded to Hunt's vehicle, returned fire, and pressed on.
"It was a little hectic, but everyone reverted to their training," said Hunt, the convoy commander.
The realistic training exercise, staged in a mock village at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Fort Dix, is part of new combat preparedness received by airmen who perform the ground duties that keep planes flying.
The convoy's 25 members passed their test Tuesday: They learned to "shoot and scoot." They were among 187 airmen at the center to receive advanced training before deployment to Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
President Obama last week authorized sending up to 17,500 troops to Afghanistan in the coming months to thwart an expected spring offensive by the Taliban and stepped-up attacks before the country's presidential election in August.
The role of the Air Force in Afghanistan is crucial, especially as Taliban forces try to close a supply route through Pakistan's Khyber Pass and Kyrgyzstan seeks to shut a U.S. air base in that country.
Nearly 600 airmen have been killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since the 9/11 terrorist attacks - and 96 percent of them have been on the ground, according to Air Force officials.
The service members are trained to load, unload, fuel, and maintain aircraft. They tend to the base buildings and runways and perform administrative, medical, and food services.
Their mounting losses - partly due to expanded duties off base - prompted intensive training, begun three years ago, to help the ground airmen survive combat.
"Who's responsible for making them mission-ready? That's us," said Maj. Gen. Kip L. Self, commander of the Expeditionary Center.
"The Air Force made a great leap in the last few years. . . . We need to make sure they have the same professional background and training that our aviators have."
Ready to go
In a classroom on the center's 34-acre campus, Tech. Sgt. Jason Marsh gave final instructions to the airmen before sending their convoy on its mission.
After two weeks, their final test would be to transport a noncombatant between bases, through a village believed to contain insurgents.
"It's important you stay on track," said Marsh, 35, who lives in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township and manages the course. "Don't do something above and beyond what you're supposed to do."
The airmen gathered their M-16s and gear and hopped into their humvees.
"I never thought I'd be doing this," said Hunt, of Philadelphia's Olney section. The civil engineer expects to be deployed to Iraq within weeks.
"When we go downrange" into combat areas, he said, "we might be needed. And if we are, we'll be a positive asset."
The Expeditionary Center also was a change for Airman First Class Johnathan Conner, who usually loads passengers and cargo.
"It's fun and different from the regular job," said the 20-year-old from Pittstown, N.J. "I've been looking forward to deployment. I'm the kind of person who likes to explore."
After hours of classroom and field training, most of the airmen were confident.
"I know what to do," said Senior Master Sgt. Tom Chatburn, 42, an aircraft maintenance worker who lives in Ocean City, N.J., and is heading to Iraq.
"If you said I'd be doing this in 1985, I'd say, 'You're crazy,' " remarked the 23-year veteran. "This is the kind of training you hope you never have to use."
'Here they come!'
The "insurgents" saw the humvees bearing down on them from afar and darted for their AK-47s.
"We want them to know what to expect," said Tech. Sgt. Clinton Ackerley, 38, an instructor who lives in Browns Mills and helps coordinate the explosions. "Here they come!"
When the convoy got to the middle of town, it was stopped by explosions and small-arms fire. Smoke obscured the vehicles as airmen shot blanks from their M-16s.
The staccato fire of a real 50-caliber machine gun on a nearby Fort Dix range added to the chaos.
"We've got to go! We've got to go!" an airman shouted. "Move, move, move!"
"If you stay in one place, you're dead," explained Master Sgt. Joseph Kazimer, 45, operations superintendent for the center's combat training squadron.
If the airmen "felt they were too disabled, they could try to clear a house, hole up there, and fight off the enemy while calling in on the radio for backup," added Kazimer, of Moorestown, as he observed the exercise.
"But they're doing the right thing. I wouldn't want to hole up in this place. You're way outnumbered."
From his gun turret atop a humvee, Chatburn emptied three magazines on the attackers while Hunt radioed from another humvee and Conner sat in the driver's seat of yet another, ready to hit the gas.
In minutes, the airmen finished the transfer of "wounded" and were speeding to their base. They would get a critique of their performance in class an hour later.
Reviewing the mission
"Did your weapons work?" asked Tech. Sgt. Samuel Young, an instructor and aircraft mechanic from Mount Laurel as he reviewed the mission.
"Yes," was the reply, as several men unloaded blanks from magazines.
"You returned fire, stepped on the gas, and got out of the area," said Young, 36, approvingly.
"You did an outstanding job of moving people out. You load and go: You don't want them baiting you into a firefight."
This mission was "like our final exam," Chatburn said. "It's all in the planning. This is not a trip to Wawa to get milk.
"I have a newfound respect for the Army and Marine Corps. There has been a mind-set change: We're all warriors now."
But fighting "is not the emphasis," said Self, the center's commander. "It's how you operate with small-squad tactics."
In a conference room later, he stressed the growing importance of combat training. "You won't be a detriment" to fellow service members, especially the Army soldiers and Marines who usually run the convoys, he said. No matter what, "you'll know how to take care of yourself and your buddy."
The Air Force is changing to meet the needs of all its members, he said.
"Dropping the bombs and delivering people and bullets, that's flying," Self said. "But that doesn't happen without a force on the ground."
Contact staff writer Edward Colimore at 856-779-3833 or ecolimore@phillynews.com.
Ellie