Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

By Ed Drohan
43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AMCNS) -  Members of Pope's Flying Tigers - the only active duty A-10 unit in Southwest Asia - are bringing the fight to the enemy as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A number of the 23rd Fighter Group's A-10s, along with approximately 275 people, deployed to Southwest Asia at the end of February to participate in operations there. Since the beginning of the war, pilots have been flying around the clock to support coalition forces in their fight against the Iraqi military supporting the regime of Saddam Hussein, with their missions taking them everywhere from Basra to Baghdad.

The unit has been flying around the clock providing close air support, air interdiction and combat search and rescue for coalition forces throughout Iraq, Lt. Col. Richard Turner, 75th Fighter Squadron commander, said during a telephone interview from his deployed base. The Flying Tigers have been working with Army, Navy, Marine Corps and British units.

"We are in 24-hour operations," Turner said. "These guys are flying everyday, day and night. For the last three or four days we've been working with the Marines around Basra, not only providing close air support, but helping to shape the battlefield."

Shaping the battlefield means the pilots help identify Iraqi units and equipment for ground units, and use a variety of weapons to destroy what they can. While the A-10 is uniquely designed to destroy enemy tanks and armored vehicles, Turner said, the primary target of choice, especially as far as the ground units are concerned, is enemy artillery.

"When it comes to tank versus tank, American tanks are far superior and will usually win," Turner said. "With artillery, they sit out there and shoot, and it takes time to find them and take them out. Tanks are a bonus, but they really want us to get the artillery. It is the same as it was during the Gulf War. The number one target then was artillery."

While the aircraft are carrying a variety of munitions during their combat missions, Maverick missiles and the 30 mm gun are what they use the most.

"We use the gun and the Mavericks for armor, and the bombs are more for the trucks and compounds. Bombs are more area munitions," Turner said. "But when we do close air support for the Army we don't want to use bombs because the guys are so close. We do carry a lot of stuff with us, though, to make sure we have the right tools when we get there."

Another important mission for the A-10s is combat search and rescue. Aircraft and pilots are on constant alert and can quickly launch if help is needed in Iraq.

"We sit on alert and if anything happens we jump in the jet and go," Turner said. "We go out and look for those guys and, if we find them, we protect them if we can."

The search and rescue mission came into play for the Flying Tigers already when an Army AH-64 Apache helicopter went down in Iraq. "Unfortunately the two helicopter guys got picked up before we could do anything," Turner said.

Many of the pilots flying Operation Iraqi Freedom missions were also veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and flew missions over Afghanistan. The two operations are quite different, though.

"In Afghanistan we were looking for pockets of a few people most of time in rough terrain," Turner said. "Here we're looking for groups of artillery and armor. Obviously there's more here than in Afghanistan. You could fly for three months in Afghanistan and not drop a bomb, but here you don't fly three days without dropping bombs."

While they don't always know what specific ground units they are working with, some of the pilots have heard familiar voices on their radios. Several 23rd FG pilots are assigned to ground units as BALOS, Battalion Air Liaison Officers assigned to ground units who help coordinate air strikes.

"We have guys on the outskirts of Baghdad, and we recognize their voice," Turner said. "It's a good feeling when we know we can help somebody we know."

Despite the fact that everybody is working 12 or more hours each day, morale at the deployed location is high.

"Our mechanics are doing fantastic work," Turner said. "It's amazing how much work they do to keep the jets flying. They work 12 on and 12 off, and they never complain. They just bust butt and get the job done."