[Scan-DC] MD ANG Tidbits

[mdmonitor1 at verizon.net]

All,

Just a couple of tidbits about the MD ANG units at Martin State:

1. A couple of articles have indicated that the C-130Js of the 135th AS will be departing due to the BRAC and their acft will be dispersed to other units.  However, over the last couple of days I've still been hearing the Crab ## guys operating out of Marftin State flying the same local missions as they have in the past.  So at least some of the C-130Js are still there.

2. The following was taken from a post on another list:

by Staff Sgt. Markus Maier
U.S. Central Command Air Forces Combat Correspondent Team

11/7/2007 - AL ASAD AIR BASE, IRAQ (AFPN) -- A new version of the A-10
Thunderbolt II has been flying over Iraq providing close-air support for the
ground troops from Al Asad Air Base for nearly two months.

As part of the Precision Engagement Upgrade Program, the Maryland Air
National Guard's 175th Wing has been converting it's A-10s from A to C
models.

"We are the first A-10C model squadron to deploy to combat," said Lt.
Col. Timothy Smith, the 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander. "We
just transitioned to the aircraft six months prior to coming here, and the
C-model was officially declared combat ready just two weeks before we
deployed. I am very proud of our unit. We've put in a monumental effort, as
individuals and as a group to get to this point."

The A-10C might look the same on the outside, but the recent upgrades have
turned the aircraft, which was originally designed to battle Russian tanks
during the Cold War, into an even more lethal and precise close-air-support
weapons system.

A few of the key upgrades are a "first ever" for the aircraft, said Capt.
Rich Hunt, a 104th EFS A-10C pilot. One of them is the situational awareness
data link.

"Previously, for me to keep track of all the other airplanes that are around
me or to help us perform the mission, I would literally have to write those
down with a grease pencil inside my canopy or write them down on a white
piece of paper on my knee board in order to keep track of all that," Captain
Hunt said. "Now I have a color display that has all of the other airplanes
that are up supporting the same mission across all of Iraq right now. And
they are all digitally displayed through that data link on my map. So now,
especially at night when awareness is a little bit lower, I can look at that
beautiful map display and know exactly what other airplanes are around me."

The new system also provides the pilot with other critical information, such
as what the other airplanes might be targeting, what munitions they have on
board and fuel levels.

"That awareness provides us with a ton of valuable information in a very
user-friendly manner," the captain said. "(It allows us) to do our mission
with a lot clearer understanding of exactly what is going on around us in
the battle space and what our wingmen may be targeting."

Another vital feature the data link offers is secure communication.

"All of the data that goes across that data link display is secure," he
said. "Using that data link, I can also text message. We use that in more of
a command and control situation. For example, if we are flying a mission
hundreds of miles away and our operations desk here gets information through
the classified computer network of a mission that we may have to support,
they can text message right to my airplane -- and only to my airplane -- and
tell me exactly what I need to know."

Something else the new C-model provides to the pilots is the integration of
advanced targeting pods, which have also been upgraded. The new pods include
long-range TV and infrared cameras with zoom capabilities and a laser target
designator.

"Primarily, we still use the pods for weapons strikes," Captain Hunt said.
"However, in Iraq we find ourselves supporting the troops on the ground by
doing a lot of counter improvised explosive devices missions."

The pods infrared capability can be used to detect buried IEDs by picking up
on their heat signature.

The new targeting pods have also been outfitted with the ROVER downlink
capability, allowing the aircraft to transmit the live video feed to a joint
terminal attack controller on the ground. This allows for more precise
strikes with less chance of a chance for collateral damage.

"In Iraq that is especially important because it's a very difficult
situation when we provide close-air support in such a densely urban
environment," the captain said. "By the controller being able to look
through my targeting pod real time, we can compare exactly what we are
looking at and make sure we have an absolutely 100 percent positive
identification of the target."

Another upgrade that increases the A-10's precision is that it can now
employ the Global Positioning System-guided joint direct attack munitions.

"Sometimes we find ourselves where we have to destroy a terrorist stronghold
location. But in the house across the street are friendly Iraqi civilians,"
Captain Hunt said. "We know we have to destroy the stronghold, but we don't
want to cause any collateral damage whatsoever. So the JDAM has been
outstanding for us. We've had unbelievable success where we've been able to
strike the stronghold without causing any damage to the houses around it.

"Between the situational awareness data link, the targeting pod with the
ROVER down link to the controller on the ground and the JDAM, the A-10C on
this deployment has been an amazing success for us," the captain said.

The A-10 has been around the Air Force since the 1970s and with these new
upgrades will remain well into the future.

"As technology moved further ahead, we stayed pretty far behind," Colonel
Smith said. "And now, all over sudden, we have leapfrogged all the way
pretty much to the front edge of all the technology for everybody."

But the colonel also said while they are the first unit to fly the C-model
in combat, their main focus is not on the upgrades.

"In our minds we are just flying like we normally do," Colonel Smith said.
"We don't see ourselves as the first A-10C model in combat, we see ourselves
as A-10 pilots out helping the guy on the ground. I have great respect for
the men and women on the ground. They are the ones who are really putting
their lives on the line when they are out there. Our job is to ride shotgun
for them -- to sit there in position, and ready for them when they need us.
And now we have more tools available to do it faster and more precisely."

Ron
Marylnad