Air Support Has Arrived!
Under a baking Iraqi sun, beads of sweat roll down a Marine's
face as his eyes slowly scan the surrounding fields of tall grass,
looking for insurgent forces that could ambush him and his fellow
Marines' dismounted patrol. Suddenly, the thumping sound of
helicopters breaks through the noise of his beating pulse and a
squawking radio in his ears.
Air support has arrived.
Like guardian angels, the sharp-eyed crews of a UH-1N Huey and
AH-1W Super Cobra with Marine Light Attack Squadron 169, Marine
Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, use their
bird's eye perspective, flying just above treetops or thousands of
feet in the air to provide reconnaissance on the convoy's route
through the streets and fields of Karma, May 11.
"Our mission was to fly in the vicinity of Karma, Iraq, in
support of the dismounted patrols that were throughout the city,"
said 1st Lt. Brian P. Brassieur, a Huey pilot. "We were looking for
any improvised explosive devices on the roads or any military-aged
males digging holes in the road and anything (insurgents) might be
doing to disrupt our patrols."
The squadron's ability to successfully support the Marine ground
forces on patrol begins at the squadron's airfield in Al
Taqaddum.
"Before every flight, and at the beginning of our training, we
always do cockpit coordination and crew briefs, as well as a
section brief," said Capt. Brian J. Crawford, a Huey pilot and
Laurel, MD native. "First, the crews from both aircraft get
together and conduct a thorough brief on how we're going to conduct
that flight. Then, myself, the other pilot and the two crew chiefs
will sit down and talk about the conduct of operations for the day.
It's everything from what we expect to see, what we expect to
execute and all the communications associated with accomplishing
that."
Once in the air, the two helicopters sped toward Karma. The two
pilots in the Super Cobra and the two pilots and two crew chiefs in
the Huey kept their eyes open, alert to the threat posed by
surface-to-air missiles and gunfire.
"Communication is the key for these kinds of missions, because
without proper communication no one knows what's going on," said
Lance Cpl. Justin W. Ahlers, a Huey crew chief and West Bend, WI
native. "We all might see pieces of a whole, but we won't be able
to put it all together without communication to make the picture
complete. That allows us to accomplish the mission more
effectively."
The desert landscape surrounding their airbase quickly passed
below Ahlers and the other Marines in the helicopters before
turning into lush fields and canals, as they passed over the land
surrounding the Euphrates River and approached Karma.
"Once we got in the vicinity of where we were supposed to be, we
contacted the forward air controller on the ground," said
Brassieur, a Rancho Cucamonga, CA native. "He is apprised of the
whole situation because he is right in it. He tells us what's going
on, what he needs us to do, where his position is and how we can
support him."
Through coordination, the ground and air Marines can form an
accurate picture of what lies ahead down the streets of Karma. The
information flow between the forward air controller on the ground
and the two helicopters is the key to the success of the convoy
escort and the safety of the Marines on the ground.
"Marine aviation's overall role is to support ground troops, and
in Karma, we were providing immediate, overhead close air support
and reconnaissance to them," said 1st Lt. Kyle R. Vandegiesen, a
Super Cobra pilot and North Allteboro, MA native. "The grunts can
only see a couple hundred meters around themselves. We have the
vantage point of 500 to 1,000 feet above the ground."
According to Vandegiesen, the view from above is crucial to the
success of their mission.
"The key to any battle is situational awareness," he said.
"Whoever has it is going to win. If you can see the enemy then
you've got him, that's what we provide."
The Vipers ability to provide an "eye in the sky" for the ground
troops is a vital part of the Marine aviation mission here.
"When I go over a station, when I'm over Karma, I want to look
out for those Marines, that's what I've been trained to do and
that's what I'm going to do," said Brassieur. "The Marine Corps
revolves around the grunts on the ground. We're just here to
support them. That's what we're here to do."
(Aero-News salutes Cpl. Jonathan K. Teslevich, 3rd Marine
Aircraft Wing)