Stepping into theatre of operations in Afghanistan Published June 5, 2008 By Lila Edwards Aerotech News CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- "Ladies and gentlemen, you are now in Afghanistan...this is real-world," a voice belonging to an unidentified Royal Air Force officer known only as "Tiger" echoed through a portal hallway, as invited news journalists, photographers, television broadcast crews from the Las Vegas Valley and United Kingdom entered a cockpit at the Reaper Operations Center here. History was being made in front of the guests--for the first time ever, squadron commanders from the U.S. and British Reaper squadrons were flying a joint Coalition Forces combat mission -- and they were sharing the flight live with non-military guests. Prior to entering "Afghanistan airspace," guests took on the role of crewmembers, and began the morning with a mission brief provided by an RAF intelligence specialist, who quickly ran through the specifics of the MQ-9 mission -- searching out possible insurgents who could be somewhere near Kandahar and supporting ground troops in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan The mission began at 2124 hours, late nighttime in Afghanistan, and would continue for an unspecified amount of time, noted Lt. Col. Jon Greene, 42nd Attack Squadron commander, sitting in the pilot's position of the ROC. To his right, and intently concentrating on the infra-red screen display of the terrain coming to him from 20,000 feet over southern Afghanistan, was 39 Squadron's Wing commander Andy Jeffrey, whose role was that of sensor operator. Looking over Colonel Greene's shoulder, onlookers watched as the terrain wafted and waved over mountains, valleys and high desert shadows flowed across the screen, and were mesmerized when he briefly brought images of the large lenses on the front of the Reaper into focus. "When we get over our target, we loiter," said Colonel Greene, "and we are in constant communication with ground forces while they use their ground equipment to see our video." Earlier that morning, Colonel Greene was asked what it was like to go from flying an F-16 to sitting at the console of an MQ-9 mission. He told the audience, "I've flown more combat missions with the Reaper than I ever did with the F-16 and I flew 3,000 hours in the F-16. Flying the Reaper can be more intense, because you are brought down to the ground where you see troops, transportation movements--and insurgents--close up. You are there with those Coalition Forces, and you know that you are helping to defend their lives. In the F-16, you have a mission, yes--but you are above them, and that's a big difference." In the position of sensor operator, wing commander Jeffrey's responsibility was to work in tandem with Colonel Greene, and when a target was located, he was ready to "lock on" the target for dispersal of as many as four bombs, and two Hellfire missiles--the maximum load the MQ-9 can carry. As tension built in the ROC, both the pilot and sensor operator began to work the terrain, and the guests grew quiet as they felt themselves drawn totally into the operation before them. An individual in the back of the room whispered in awe, "I feel like I'm over the skies myself...we are actually at war in this room." And they were. Leaving the ROC, and stepping back out into the Nevada sun, journalists squinted and tried to adjust their physical presence back onto the Creech tarmac -- they had experienced only briefly what the pilots and sensor operators continue for 12-hour shifts at a time, breaking away for a few moments respite after two to three hours of intense searching, concentrating and working their specific combat mission. While the mission continued, the journalists followed their morning's schedule and were given a close-up look at the MQ-9 and its capabilities. Col. Chris Chambliss, commander of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech, walked with "Tiger", the RAF officer with an Aussie accent because of his years spent in Australia, and who continued to ask that he not be identified, across the Creech tarmac. As they stopped in front of the overwhelming, impressive MQ-9 with Creech markings on it, Colonel Chambliss paused and reflected on what is happening with the missions being performed by the Air Force and their Coalition partners. "We are in the 1920's of the aviation world with the MQ-1 and MQ-9s today," said Colonel Chambliss. "We are writing the playbook on history, and are learning more and more about the capabilities of these systems. They are multi-role, which is why there's an 'M' in MQ-9 and MQ-1." Colonel Chambliss pointed out that the Reaper can fly higher and faster and carry more weapons than the MQ-1, and is much better suited for the job in Afghanistan, which the U.S. began operating since September 2007, with the British Coalition forces arriving a month later. "We are very diligent in our mission, and tireless, along with our British partners who are included in everything we do. We'll all continue our 'armed over-watch' of our convoys, looking at what's over the next hill, and what's out there. That's why we're here, and we--we means all of us--including our British folks sitting here side-by-side with us, are all highly motivated here, and in the theater. We know that we are saving lives."
