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Riverine Sailors Have Bird's-Eye View During JTFEX Operation Brimstone

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080728-03
Release Date: 7/28/2008 4:33:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Barrie Barber,

U.S. Fleet Forces Command Navy Reserve Public Affairs

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. (NNS) -- U.S. Navy Riverine Squadron 1 Sailors teamed with U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopters above the Cape Fear River in North Carolina to spot hidden dangers during Joint Task Force Exercise 08-4 (JTFEX) Operation Brimstone July 21-28.

The airborne assist gave Sailors, who also worked in tandem with Navy F-18 Hornets, the ability to see what a pilot sees in real time with backpack-sized communication equipment, said Lt. John Seiter, assistant officer in charge of Detachment 1.

"Now you can see from kilometers, miles away what's going on. With this system, we can be removed from the target area and still prosecute it."

The technology gives patrol boats an edge when a river bend or dense foliage could hold a hidden danger, said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Egan, executive officer of Riverine Squadron 1.

"When you're on these rivers, you have no idea what might be ahead."

Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Bret Hand, a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC), talked with aviators in Hornets and Apaches during JTFEX while watching on a computer screen what the pilots were seeing above the boat crew.

"I can see exactly what the aircraft is seeing at the time to necessarily confirm and point out the targets. We're definitely breaking the barriers with that."

A JTAC can also call in naval gunfire or land-based artillery along with air power for close air-support, he said.

The Sailors have also trained with U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft.

The Riverine Sailors, based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., are among more than 500 service members who are part of a Naval Expeditionary Combat Task Group during the exercise which takes place off the southeastern coast of the United States. The exercise marks the first time Navy Expeditionary Combat Command forces are participating in an East Coast-based JTFEX working for an Navy expeditionary combat task group commander.

For more news from NECC, visit www.navy.mil/local/necc.