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FiST team packs a punch

Marine Corps News

Story Identification #: 200411244945
Story by Cpl. Randy L. Bernard

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2004) -- As Marines pushed into the city of Fallujah to cripple and remove the insurgency within, fire support teams softened the resistance with indirect fires.

Four Marines attached to Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, pushed forward with the ground troops to pinpoint targets for close air support, artillery and mortar fire.

The fire support team, or FiST team, is made up of a combination of forward air controllers, forward observers and radio operators whose mission designate targets and call in fire.

“I prep the battlefield for movement using close air support and by bringing in aerial weapons in close proximity of the ground troops,” said Capt. George P. Ramsey, the forward air controller with the Company A FiST team. “The aircraft can also perform search and reconnaissance for us. They will use scanners and they can zoom in and see enemy troops and vehicle movements,” said Ramsey, 31, a Dallas native. “They’ve caught troops moving against us and we called mortars in on top of them.”

Though aircraft can fly over their target and see what they are shooting at, the artillery batteries are often several kilometers away from their targets. The gun line relies on Marines at the forefront of the fight to call in the fire.

“We try to support the infantry movement through artillery and mortars,” said Lance Cpl. Justin W. Shepard, scout observer with Battery S, 5th Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment. “It’s easier to clear a house with a howitzer than it is to clear a house with a Marine.”

The FiST team has a destructive arsenal at their disposal, consisting of many types of air-to-ground bombs and missiles, heavy machineguns, thermal and night vision optics, 155 mm howitzers and 81 mm mortars.

One of the most versatile and useful tools used in the battle to reclaim Fallujah is the AC-130 gunship, referred to by the call sign ‘Basher’.

“It’s like a sniper with a 105 millimeter gun on it,” said Ramsey. Circling in the sky, it can see enemy troops moving in the dark to such detail that it can identify what the individuals are doing, and what kinds of weapons they are carrying, according to Ramsey. “It can knock out weapons caches and it is a huge demoralizer for the enemy. They don’t move much at night anymore, if they do, they are sprinting.”

While ground troops fought their way though the city street by street, they often came to a heavily defended cluster of buildings. This is when the FiST team would make their observations and bring in destruction from afar.

“They did a pretty good job of providing help for us,” said Cpl. Shawn P. Cruz, a team leader for 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. “When we moved up and received a lot of fire, air would come in. We could be sure that there wouldn’t be anyone in there when we get to it.”

Providing aid to the Marines after receiving fire was only half of the battle for the FiST team. They also set up the battlefield for the Marines by destroying enemy targets in the city sometimes days before the Marines would ever get to it.

“All Marine Corps air is designed to support the ground troops,” said Ramsey. “Hitting key targets before the troops ever get there is a huge advantage.”

Attacking the enemy from the sky and from miles away took its toll on the way that the enemy could retaliate.

“It kept them disorganized making it so that they can’t put up that great of a fight when we get to them,” said Cruz, 21, from Peoria, Ill.. “I think they would have been a lot more prepared and they would have had better positions if not for the FiST team.”

As the smoke of the initial battles cleared, many of the buildings used by enemy fighters as safe houses, weapons cache storage, and labs for improvised explosive devices had been reduced to rubble. Though the damage to some of the cities’ buildings may be great, the costs for rebuilding do not compare to the number of lives potentially saved.

“We can always rebuild these people’s houses back to the way they were, but you can’t replace a Marine’s life,” said Shepard, 21, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas.