Two Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, who normally work directly with soldiers in the field to call in close air support airstrikes, recently plied their trade at brigade level where they “orchestrated the destruction of an explosives-laden roadway,” reports SSgt. Julie Weckerlein. With Capt. Kevin Carrigan, air liaison officer, the two JTACs, TSgt. Mike Cmelik and his assistant SrA. Logan Abrams, called in an airstrike during which a B-1B bomber made three passes over the roadway, dropping 15 bombs. The bombs set off numerous secondary explosions because insurgents had “mined” the road with improvised explosive devices. Iraqis provided the initial intelligence on this strike, and Army and Air Force personnel developed additional intel over several days, finally building a “target packet” to obtain higher level clearance.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…
