Author Archives: CJ

10,000 hours. That’s how many hours one F-15E Strike Eagle fighter recently logged while in Afghanistan (total hours, not just in Afghanistan). That’s like 417 days straight in the sky. For jets that don’t transport people or cargo, that’s a LOT of hours.

F-15E Strike Eagle No. 89-0487 lands after completing the mission that brought its flying hours up to 10,000 at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Jan. 13, 2012. No. 89-0487 is the only aircraft of its type to complete an air-to-air kill and is now the only F-15 to reach 10,000 flying hours.

This post is not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

In the 90s, when I pinned on my Sergeant stripes, we had an NCO Induction Ceremony. It’s a sort of right of passage and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment did it in style. Soldiers dressed in various uniform from throughout Army history recited the NCO Creed and Soldiers walked on stage to recite the NCO Creed as well. It was a memorable moment and cemented in the minds of young NCOs the important role they in which they had just stepped. Sadly, I haven’t seen an NCO induction ceremony in several years. I even suggested that my unit bring back this tradition and that I would coordinate and arrange everything, but the idea was turned down.

It’s good to see that some services are still holding these prestigious and meaningful events.

From left, Army Sgt. Jasmin Powell, Air Force Staff Sgt. Casaundra Soto and Slovakian Army Staff Sgt. Lubos Curma cut the cake during the joint non-commissioned officer induction ceremony at the MWR Fest Tent at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2012. During the ceremony, non-commissioned officers from the U.S. Army and Air Force as well as Slovakian army were inducted into the non-commissioned officer corps.

This post is not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

A U.S. Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter approaches for landing at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2012. Known as the Pedros, the 83rd ERQS is tasked with combat search and rescue.

Air Force Pedros have a special mission. They are trained to perform combat search and rescues as their primary mission. They are armed with either GAU-2 7.62mm miniguns or .50 caliber machine guns. Their job is to get into the hotspots where troops are pinned down and extract them.

A 2009 story in the Air Force Times detailed exactly the types of missions in which these guys specialize.

Word of the ambush came into Kandahar Airfield, home to the 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, early in the afternoon of July 29. Within five minutes, Pedro 15 and Pedro 16 — each with three PJs and the flight crew that included two pilots, a flight engineer/gunner and a gunner — were in the air.

The plan called for Pedro 15, the lead Pave Hawk from the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing, to land while Pedro 16 circled overhead, firings its pair of GAU-2 7.62mm miniguns.

Once Pedro 15 was on the ground, the PJs would rush off and get the soldiers ready for the return flight. While the PJs treated the soldiers, Pedro 15 would go back up in the air until the patients were ready for loading.

A pair of Army OH-58 Kiowa helicopters would provide close-air-support fire to protect the rescue.

Interestingly, this armed pair of Pedros needed helicopter overwatch. The chopper on the ground was unable to return fire due to extraction of casualties and pinned down troops. Interesting.

This post is not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Senator Mark Begich (D-AK), U.S. Rep. William Huizenga (R-MI) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) listen as a Soldier from the 25th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat team, 25th Infantry Division on Kandahar Airfield, Jan. 15 as he explains the use of mine-rollers in detecting improvised explosive devices. The senators and congressman visited the region to receive a context brief regarding political, economic, military and security issues affecting relationships with coalition forces, as well as presenting awards to 25th BSB soldiers, and touring their motor pool to learn more about the medical evacuation and vehicle recovery vehicles the soldiers operate.

This post is not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four Soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Jan. 6 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enermy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, of Indianapolis, Ind.
Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, of Hamlet, Ind.
Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, 20, of Aurora, Ill.
Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville, Ind.
They were assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.

The remains of Army Indiana National Guard Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, of Indianapolis, Ind.; Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, of North Aurora, Ill.; Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., of Hamlet, Ill.; and Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, of Merrillville, Ind., at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Jan. 8, 2012. All four were assigned to the 713th Engineer Company, Indiana National Guard, Valparaiso, Ind.. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

Every military needs to be able to take care of its own. In combat, the treatment of injuries is vitally important to sustaining the force and saving lives. Traditionally, Afghanistan has never really had a professional fighting force that served the nation. There have always been basically tribal gangs and groups like the Taliban. To them, there’s no need to save lives if you don’t value life! Our trainers have taught the Afghan people to respect and value life and to protect is.

These life skills will also help the Afghan people as the military becomes more proficient in these skills. It seems there is always a story on the news about an American Soldier that was in the right place at the right time afte a car accident or hiking incident. They are usually quoted as saying their medical skills learned in the Army are credited with the save. Now, the Afghan people will also be able to help each other as well, especially in light of the thousands of land mines that still plague the country.

An Afghan National Army soldier presents his combat medics course certificate of completion to his fellow soldiers during a graduation ceremony here, Jan 7. Twenty-one soldiers with various kandaks, or battalions, of the 1st Brigade, 215th Corps, completed the inaugural course. Corpsmen with the Regimental Combat Team 5 and Combat Logistics Battalion 1 embedded training teams taught critical lifesaving skills to eager ANA soldiers during the five-week course. ANA soldiers learned preventative medicine, supply procedures, patient aftercare and clinic operations and procedures through hands-on, practical application methods.

This post is my own opinion and is not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

A young local Afghan boy unties a pair of new shoes to try them on at the Bazaar School at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Volunteers throughout Kandahar collected more than 600 shoes to provide to children. The volunteers also fitted the children in the correct shoe sizes to educate them on the importance of proper shoe fitting. Photo by Staff Sgt. David Carbajal.

As we all know – well MOST of us; the intelligent ones, anyway – Pedros are tasked with the all-important mission of search and rescue. They are the ones that are called if a jet goes down or a Soldier is taken hostage. They also perform a variety of on-call missions that can include medical evacuation. However, their primary mission is search and rescue, not MEDEVAC. For that reason, Air Force Pedros do not have any Geneva Convention medical identification on their choppers. They do NOT have a primary medical mission.

Maintaining these choppers is an important effort in such dusty environs as Afghanistan. In order to respond to last minute important missions, the crews ensure that their choppers are always ready.

U.S. Air Force airmen with the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron work on an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.

These choppers carry pararescuemen, not doctors and surgeons like traditional Army MEDEVAC choppers. They do have minimal medic capabilities, but are only used when there isn’t a nearby MEDEVAC bird able to respond in a timely fashion. In Afghanistan, air assets are dedicated to MEDEVAC on a proximity basis. Whichever asset can get to the point of injury the quickest is the asset that moves. MEDEVACs do NOT wait on air support before taking off.

This is a great photo from a frequent contributor to Photo of the Day, SGT Marc Loi. I just love to see smiles on kids’ faces.

A child from the Spin Boldak District in the southern Kandahar province, Afghanistan, plays with two stray puppies at the district center while his parents attended an shura. Arabic for “consultation,” shuras are designed as meetings-of-the-minds where local Afghans can voice their concerns about security and other challenges as the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan forges ahead.

The type, variety, and number of aircraft that fly in and out of Kandahar Airfield is astounding. There never seems to be a moment when something isn’t either landing or taking off. The noise can be deafening at times.

Kandahar hosted an Open House to ring in the New Year, showing every aircraft based on KAF from all services, including drones, cargo, and attack aircraft.

Members of the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron speak to local Afghans and children about an MQ-9 Reaper during the 2012 Kandahar Air Wing Open House at Kandahar Air Wing, Afghanistan, Jan. 1, 2012. The Reaper is a remotely piloted aircraft that is primarily for close air support, air interdiction, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.