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BARRY M. GOLDWATER RANGE, Ariz. (5/10/2012) — Troops sit pinned
down under attack from a line of enemy vehicles. Insurgents shot
down the F-16 coming to help and the pilot lay stranded near the
fighting. On a small hilltop behind a pile of rocks the joint
terminal attack controller looks over the scene and coordinates
close-air support to help the troops while coordinating with the
rescue helicopters coming for the pilot.
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An HH-60 Pave Hawk assigned to the 55th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base, Ariz., flies over the Barry M. Goldwater Range
Complex, Ariz., May 3, 2012, in support of the Cactus Starfighter
exercise. The Pave Hawk's participated in the combat search and
rescue portion of the exercise, rescuing a simulated downed pilot.
Staff Sgt. Jason Colbert
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This is just one of the scenarios played out during the
Cactus Starfighter 21-1 CAS exercise held at Luke Air Force
Base and the Barry M. Goldwater Ranger south of Gila Bend,
April 23- May 4.
“Being out in the field and
actually conducting live training with the aircraft helps
with our proficiency,” said Staff Sgt. Jacob Torgerson,
116th Air Support Operations Squadron JTAC, from Camp
Murray, Wash. “Our role is first to prevent fratricide and
second to keep friendly elements as safe as possible.”
Not only were the JTACs there to coordinate CAS and
rescues they had another goal with the exercise.
“As
a JTAC we have to qualify on controlling every six months to
stay current,” Torgerson said. “I was here today to get the
last parts of my qualification done.”
The exercise
also helped the pilot who simulated being shot down.
“I played the downed pilot waiting to be rescued,” said
Capt. Christopher Campbell, 310th Fighter Squadron student
pilot. “This exercise not only helps the student pilots who
flew as close air support but it helped me playing a downed
pilot as well. We, as students go through Survival, Evasion,
Resistance and Escape training before or after the pilot
training course and this gave me the opportunity to practice
the training I learned there for getting rescued.”
Some of the benefits of having this type of exercise at Luke
and the Goldwater Range are the range's size and that it
looks like Afghanistan, according to the JTACs.
“There are a limited number of ranges in the country we can
use and the Goldwater Ranger has a large amount of available
land as well as local aircraft that are flexible and willing
to train with us,” Torgerson said. “The environment is also
similar to what you would find while deployed – it's hot,
dry and the terrain is like that of deployed locations. The
bases around the range also have many of the same air assets
you would have in theater.”
With the number of
people involved, the exercise was a benefit to the total and
joint force. JTACs from Camp Murray worked along with active
duty units and supported each other throughout the exercise.
“We often get attached to active duty units like
this while deployed,” Torgerson, a non-commissioned officer
in the Air National Guard, said. “An exercise like this
gives us a perspective on how those units function. We also
got the opportunity to do face-to-face debriefs with pilots
as well as the mission planning and that's something we
don't get to do often. It helps us better work with each
other and understand where the guard or active duty elements
are coming from.”
More photos available below
By USAF Senior Airman Christopher Hatch
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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