News From USJFCOM: Warfighters prepare for air-to-ground combat at exercise Atlantic Strike

Warfighters prepare for air-to-ground combat at exercise Atlantic Strike

Personnel from U.S. Joint Forces Command and the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command helped prepare warfighters for what they will face in combat operations.

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By Casey E. Bain
JFIIT, USJFCOM

(AVON PARK AIR GROUND TRAINING COMPLEX, Fla. - May 19, 2010) -- Joint and coalition warfighters honed close air support (CAS) skills during an exercise here May 8-15.

Atlantic Strike 10-01, an exercise led by U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC) and supported by U.S. Joint Forces Command's (USJFCOM) Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team (JFIIT), trained warfighters to find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess stationary and moving ground targets.

"Atlantic Strike is a key joint air-to-ground training exercise that prepares joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs), joint fires observers (JFOs) and aircrews for what they will experience once in combat," said Marine Corps Maj. Brendan Powell, exercise director. "Our goal is to train joint and coalition forces for the tactical employment of airpower in support of Operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom CAS operations."

More than 500 participants and CAS subject matter experts participated in Atlantic Strike, including representatives from all four services and the Netherlands.

"Atlantic Strike gives us an excellent opportunity to work with other services and coalition partners that we normally don't see until we're deployed," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Lamar Thomas, joint fires observer, 823rd Security Force Squadron from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. "This exercise will allow me to hone my air-to-ground skills so that I have the tools that I'll need to execute this crucial mission when called on."

Atlantic Strike focused on improving joint air-to-ground training of Air Force JTACs, Army JFO teams, the Air Support Operations Center (ASOC) and aircrew by incorporating intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets with real-time, full-motion video to replicate realistic and stressful combat environments similar to operations in Afghanistan.

Part of this training included integration of Air Force Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft to replicate assets available to maneuver forces in theater.

"We are the air-to-ground platform that provides mission-essential command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to the maneuver force," said Air Force 1st Lt. Ruth Freeman, JSTARS liaison officer from the 12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, 116th Air Control Wing, Robins Air Force Base, Ga. "Though we're really a jack-of-all-trades in the air-to-ground mission area, our primary role is the counter-land fight. Our weapon is the aircraft's radar and the intelligence that we provide to the joint and coalition forces on the ground."

During Atlantic Strike, JTACs and JFOs trained on critical CAS tactics, techniques and procedures during convoy, cordon and search, counter sniper, counter ambush and counter improvised explosive device scenarios during both day and night.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with an ASOC, JTACs and several unique aircraft," Thomas said. "I believe this exercise is an essential part of our pre-deployment training … it's the best opportunity that many of us will have to practice with such a diverse group of warfighters before our next real-world mission."

Several air platforms and capabilities, including the F/A-18A Hornet, B-1B Lancer, B-52 Stratofortress and JSTARS, were used during the exercise to enhance the training of the entire air-to-ground team.

Exercises such as Atlantic Strike provide JSTARS crewmembers with the opportunity to increase our knowledge and experience in joint interoperability for worldwide operations and permits us to train how we fight," Freeman said.

Atlantic Strike also emphasized video downlink technology to enhance CAS training. Using equipment like Remotely Operated Video Enhancement Receiver (ROVER) and VideoScout, JTACs and JFOs can view near-real time video from airborne sensors.

"Everyone will benefit from the training that's conducted here," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Hutcherson, director of flight operations at Atlantic Strike. "Our JTACs and JFOs train using ROVER and VideoScout to direct urban CAS during realistic scenarios that recreate the conditions faced by our forces currently deployed. It's an absolutely crucial part of their go-to-war training."

"At the end of the day, the experience that our warfighters will take away from this event will serve them well when they're deployed," Powell added. "Atlantic Strike allows them to hone those mission-essential CAS skills that will ultimately improve our joint and coalition air-to-ground combat effectiveness while reducing the potential of fratricide and collateral damage on the battlefield."