European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 21, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday May 21, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 9 an ov10 Bronco left gets a pre full gel Check by a pair of 20th Tass Forward air con rollers. At right airmen adjust a new moot tall radar. Of photos the infantryman s Friend 601st Tow Sembach s close air specialists by Floyd Harrington Kaiserslautern Bureau chief for a moment picture yourself wearing the Green fatigues and Muddy boots of a infantryman that is if you Aren t already re in the boonies somewhere in Cen trial Germany engaged in a Field training exercise and you re in a world of trouble. Your outfit has become isolated and is pinned Down by intense enemy fire from nearby Hill. You radio for help. Suddenly from out of nowhere a rocket passes High Over your head and White phosphorus explodes in a glaring burst on the enemy held Hill. Before the burst Dies away a flight of Canadian flote Streak Down and unload bombs and rockets Onthehill. When they finish you re no longer pinned you watch the 104s Fly away you May have wondered where they and the phosphorus rocket came from How they got to that particular Hill at that particular time it did t just happen. Close tactical air support such As you just witnessed is something the army and air Force have been striving to perfect Ever since some Pilot leaned out of his cockpit to drop a bomb into a world War i such air support was new and haphazard then it was relatively easy to accomplish. The planes were slow the Trench was stationary and easy to , of course have changed. Air Craft Are fast and the target usually is Mobile or difficult to find. Consequently control of aircraft from base to target and then on target is tremendously important and requires the ultimate in teamwork. The team that handled your Call for Hel was part of the 6,000 men and women who make up the 601st tactical control at Sembach a near Kaiserslautern the Wing has More than so units from one Man detachments to com plete squadrons scattered throughout West Germany. From Bremerhaven in Northern Ger Many to Neu Ulm in the South the actual radar and communications control of close air support is by Mobile control and report ing posts cup s and Forward air control posts fact s. These units tie into a vast radar network designed to control All kinds of Allied air missions or to Monitor enemy . Col. Raymond r. Fischer commands one of the cup s. The 603rd tac control sat Sembach. Fischer said the 603rd uses very expensive equipment to control air Craft and guide them to where they can be handed Over to an fact. His operation revolves around the rubber Duck an inflated dome that contains 14 radar consoles. This radar i three dimensional and can see an air rubber Duck an airman helps camouflage the 60ui & control Wing s re command Post at Wasse Kuppe Ger Many. It contains 14 radar console to help guide aircraft in close air sup port. Is photo by Floyd Harrington Craft s azimuth Range and height. Tied into the rubber Duck Are computers and an extensive communications rubber Duck and its support equip ment must be Able to deploy from Sembach to a preselected location within 24 hours and be operational in another 24 said that in actual operations the Squadron usually moves and is set up and ready to go in is hours or less. To augment the rubber Duck the squad Ron has begun to receive a1 new radar. Fischer Calls it probably the postmodern in the free world. It will expand our capabilities electronics and two controller Scopes of the new radar fit into one Van. Itcan be taken to the Field and set up in about an hour and we can provide some com Mand and control of aircraft almost immediately Fischer the Squadron does deploy it moves As a Complete self contained unit besides the radar and communication gear generators fuel celts tents food and water Are hauled in the Squadron s own trucks. The unit also can be transported by air ideally in is or c141 transports butc130 s can be used. If for some reason the Squadron can t removed by truck or if the transports can t move them close enough to their deploy ment site another of the Wing s squadrons is called into action. The 601st tac air support so Tass also based at Sembach. Has Safe s Only ch53 heavy lift helicopters. The six ch53 Sare All veterans of four years in Southeast Asia. Some were used in the Nam Pheland Saigon evacuations others in the May ague Rescue. One of the Squadron s eight pilots 1st Comer said the ch53 is Ideal for moving the radar units and is easy to Fly. Ucan carry the containerized radar fit a Sling and still have room inside for people and parts. The Speed with which it can carry out such a Mission depends on the Load. Comer said. We usually Fly at 120 knots. But wit the Sling it depends on How the Load is rigged and the Load we get up too much Speed some of those containers Start flying around Dow there on their own. The aircraft Mechanic has to lie Down on the floor and watch the Load through the Sling Hook Hatch. If the lad decs Start flying he warns us to Comer said they could Fly some loads at 100 knots others at Only 35 the radar to the deployment site is Only half the Job. The containers Aren simply dropped off but have to be positioned exactly in order to fit together. This takes a considerable amount of teamwork and finesse on the part of both air and ground both the cup and fact radars Are set up and operational the Forward air controllers t fac go to work. Their Job is to take Over where radar leaves off and visually talk strike aircraft onto the right target. The Wing has two squadrons of fac a the 20th and 704th Tass. Both based a Sembach. Each has 40 pilots who alternate As air and ground fact in the air they flyov10 Bronco aircraft. On the ground they Are attached to the army at battalion level and operate out of jeeps. According to u. Col. Bob Clayton com Mander of the 20th Tass his pilots Are some of the most experienced in the air Force. Forty five per cent Are combat vet Erans. All have flown fast movers such As the a7. F4 or f10s, for at least 18 month before being assigned to the Squadron. The Only exceptions Are former ov10 Pilot who were combat fac s in Southeast Asia. The reason for this policy is simple. Noone can understand the problems and capabilities of a fighter and its Pilot Bette than someone who has experienced them. Clayton said it was amazing to watch fac at work. While waiting Tor radar to pass them the strike aircraft they have alot to do and a very Short time to do it. On a map on their which is their Lap in the ov10 or the Hood of a jeep on the ground they Mark the target and draw in heading that will allow the attacking air Craft to avoid enemy must also figure the flying time to the target for four airspeeds. They could get Usan f4 s at 420 knots. German g91 s at 390 knots or Canadian 104 s at either 480or 520 said Clayton. They also have to figure out a Spiel a running he English is the Pilot s language Clayton explained that a fac must still Bevery exact in the order in which he talks the attacking aircraft onto the target. He said if the fac mixes any of the information heading time Speed to Fly. Land Marks to look for gets it out of the approved sequence some Allied pilots will abort the fac must also be Able to see the strike aircraft and in the Case of the air borne fac Mark the target before Clear ing them to attack. The dirtiest words inthe military language Are Short round kill your own. The fac is responsible for the fighters ground troops and the deployment of said Cla Tonso now you know who helped you out of that trouble you were in earlier. You can take off those Muddy boots and Green fatigues of an infantryman that is unless you re in the infantry. Heads or tails he lost a yen. Germany up the would be robber looked disappointed after break ing into a Gas station and demanding Money at gun Point from the attendant. I m not interested in Small change snorted the masked Man. And fled in an automobile. He left behind 1,500 Marks js25 install change
