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Memorial held for fallen TACP Airman 5/31/2010
A memorial ceremony was held globally May 26 by tactical air control party Airmen to honor a fallen comrade. The ceremony was held precisely at 9:11 a.m. Central Standard Time, to honor Senior Airman Bradley Smith who is being memorialized on the TACP Memorial at Hurlburt Field, Fla. "It's most important that when we lose someone in combat, we take the time to honor them and today Brad Smith's name is memorialized on the TACP Memorial at Hurlburt Field," said Col. Jeffrey Staha, the 368th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group commander, deployed from Fort Hood, Texas. "More than anything is remembering the sacrifice, which this young man gave on the battle field that day and for this force to remember, so he's never forgotten." An Air Force TACP team acts as the battlefield liaison between ground forces and aircraft overhead. They're generally a two-man team, working in an Army ground unit and directing close air support firepower toward enemy targets on the ground. On Jan. 3, Airman Smith and his teammate Senior Airmen Michael Malarsie were on a dismounted patrol when his unit came under indirect fire. While scrambling for cover, someone stepped on a land mine, injuring several unit members including Airman Malarsie. The rest of the platoon regrouped after crossing a bridge. The Army platoon sergeant assessed the situation, and asked for volunteers to go across the bridge to retrieve the wounded and locate missing Soldiers. The sergeant stated there were likely additional mines and that it was a risky operation. Without hesitation Airman Smith volunteered, and after locating the missing Soldiers and while carrying back the wounded, someone triggered another land mine, killing Airman Smith instantly. "It's very important for us to remember those who've given their lives while protecting our country," said Chief Master Sgt. O'Neill, 368th EASOG chief enlisted manager, deployed from Fort Hood, Texas. "We've had three TACPs killed in action since the war began and it's very important to remember the guys who've gone on before us." To honor one of their own, the Airmen of the 368th EASOG added a special touch to the memorial. The 52-person formation performed a left face, in the direction of Hurlburt Field. From this position Colonel Staha led the formation in a moment of silence, then called the participants to a 'position of exercise', where everyone performed 10 four-count memorial pushups for team work and for their fallen comrade.

Personnel recovery team lives up to its motto
5/28/2010 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- "These things we do, that others may live." That s the motto for the Airmen of the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron who operate and maintain Joint Base Balad's rescue helicopters. Training exercises, conducted at both deployed locations and stateside units, are a never-ending way of life for the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron members. "We train for a very diverse set of search methods," said Capt. Lee Kostellic, a 64th ERQS HH-60 Pave Hawk pilot. "When something actually happens, it's never going to be the perfect training scenario, so we train for multiple circumstances in order for us to have the tools available to do our job." The squadron was once considered the largest, single combat search and rescue operation since the Vietnam War. The squadron no longer performs the traditional combat-search-and-rescue mission, which was limited to the recovery of downed aircrews from hostile territory. "We're personnel recovery," said Maj. Jenn Reed, the 64th ERQS director of operations, "We train for the entire spectrum of personnel recovery. CSAR is just one small end of that spectrum." Personnel recovery has become an increasingly important mission within the joint fight in both Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. "In Afghanistan we're assisting with Army medical evacuations," Captain Kostellic said. "Folks are affected by life, limb, and eyesight injuries daily and the timeliness of our response - the faster we are at what we do and the more efficient we are in what we do - can make the difference between that person surviving or dying." The Air Force was designated by the Department of Defense as the lead military service for personnel recovery efforts. There are approximately 48 Airmen - pilots, flight engineers, aerial gunners, pararescuemen, combat rescue officers, aviation resource management and others who make up the rescue squadron. "We're not a large force, but we're the most highly trained in personnel recovery," Major Reed said. "If we get a call for a mission, it means someone is having a really bad day." "The most interesting part about the personnel recovery aspect is it tasks our brains because there is always more than one way to skin that cat, Captain Kostellic said. "Sometimes the (pararescuemen) are the answer, sometimes we are the answer but the bottom line is we are here to save lives in the best way possible." "We're in an unusual situation because we are a low-supply, high-demand asset and we're constantly deployed or preparing to deploy," Major Reed said. The operations tempo hasn't deterred anyone's motivation and dedication because job satisfaction is second to none. "Our mission is a noble one," Major Reed said. "When you're part of an effort that allows somebody else to go home to their family, it makes the months we spend away from our families worthwhile." For first-time deployers, this opportunity offers a unique training experience. "This is a very good environment to send our brand new guys," Captain Kostellic said. "They can get their feet wet and test their training because there's not a ton of missions here. That's a good thing." "It's a great place to go on a first deployment," said Senior Airman Joseph Arriza, a 64th ERQS aerial gunner. "I'm learning a lot because I'm actually able to do my job here, so I'm learning the ropes about what an aerial gunner really does." Job excitement seems to be constant for this personnel recovery team - from the pilots who get everyone where they need to be, the flight engineer and aerial gunner who remain alert for possible trouble, to the pararescuemen who ensure personnel are brought back where they belong, everyone has a job to do and each do it well. "I think being an aerial gunner is the best job in the Air Force," Airman Arriza said. "It's a big responsibility because you're responsible (for) where those bullets go. You have to think about what you're doing before you do it within such a short span of time when something arises." In addition to normal CSAR efforts, personnel-recovery teams also respond to mishaps or precautionary landings by any friendly military force, convoys isolated in hostile territory, civil search and rescue, aeromedical evacuation, non-combatant evacuation, disaster relief and international aid.

Gates can accept 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' amendment
5/25/2010 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates can accept a proposed congressional amendment overturning the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, but would prefer that lawmakers wait until a Defense Department review to assess its full impact is completed, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said May 25. "Secretary Gates continues to believe that ideally, the (Defense Department) review should be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the 'don't ask, don't tell,' law," Mr. Morrell said. "With Congress having indicated that is not possible, the secretary can accept the language in the proposed amendment." Congress has made clear it won't wait for results of the Defense Comprehensive Review on the Implementation of Repeal of 10 U.S.C. 654, due Dec. 1, and expects to put the issue to a vote this week. Office of Management and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag expressed the Obama administration's support for the proposed amendment in a May 24 letter to its sponsors. Even if Congress passes the measure this week, the policy would remain in effect until after the review is completed and the president and military leaders have certified that a policy change wouldn't threaten the military's ability to carry out its missions, defense officials explained. "The proposed amendment will allow for completion of the comprehensive review, enable the Department of Defense to assess the results of the review, and ensure that the implementation of the repeal is consistent with standards of military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention," Mr. Orszag wrote. The amendment also will guarantee that the department "has prepared the necessary polices and regulations needed to successfully implement the repeal," he continued. "Furthermore, such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions," he wrote. "The administration therefore supports the proposed amendment." Like Secretary Gates, the administration ideally would like to see the DOD review completed before Congress takes any legislative action, Mr. Orszag conceded. But recognizing that Congress has "chosen to move forward now," he said the administration can support the proposed amendment. Secretary Gates, who supports the law's repeal, announced in February that he had ordered a review to understand the implications of a possible repeal of the 17-year-old law. President Barack Obama has called on Congress to repeal the law.

X-51 Waverider makes historic hypersonic flight
5/26/2010 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif (AFNS) -- An X-51A Waverider flight-test vehicle successfully made the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered hypersonic flight May 26 off the southern California Pacific coast. The more than 200 second burn by the X-51's Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-built air breathing scramjet engine accelerated the vehicle to Mach 5. The previous longest scramjet burn in a flight test was 12 seconds in a NASA X-43. Air Force officials called the test, the first of four planned, an unqualified success. The flight is considered the first use of a practical hydrocarbon fueled scramjet in flight. "We are ecstatic to have accomplished most of our test points on the X-51A's very first hypersonic mission," said Charlie Brink, a X-51A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "We equate this leap in engine technology as equivalent to the post-World War II jump from propeller-driven aircraft to jet engines." The X-51 launched at about 10 a.m. from here, carried under the left wing of an Air Force Flight Test Center B-52 Stratofortress. Then, flying at 50,000 feet over the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center Sea Range, it was released. Four seconds later an Army Tactical Missile solid rocket booster accelerated the X-51 to about Mach 4.8 mach before it and a connecting interstage were jettisoned. The launch and separation were normal, Mr. Brink said. Four X-51A cruisers have been built for the Air Force and the (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) by industry partners Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Boeing. Air Force officials intend to fly the three remaining X-51A flight test vehicles this fall, Mr. Brink said. Air Force officials currently plan to fly each on virtually identical flight profiles, building knowledge from each successive flight. Hypersonic flight, normally defined as beginning at Mach 5, five times speed of sound, presents unique technical challenges with heat and pressure, which make conventional turbine engines impractical. Program officials said producing thrust with a scramjet has been compared to lighting a match in a hurricane and keeping it burning. "This first flight was the culmination of a six-year effort by a small, but very talented AFRL, DARPA and industry development team," Mr. Brink said. "Now we will go back and really scrutinize our data. No test is perfect, and I'm sure we will find anomalies that we will need to address before the next flight. But anyone will tell you that we learn just as much, if not more, when we encounter a glitch." Mr. Brink noted while development of the X-51A's engine and the test program are complex, controlling costs has been a key objective. The team has incorporated or adapted existing proven technologies and elected from the outset not to build recovery systems in the flight test vehicles, in an effort to control costs and focus funding on the vehicle's fuel-cooled scramjet engine. Mr. Brink said he believes the X-51A program will provide knowledge required to develop the game changing technologies needed for future access to space and hypersonic weapon applications.