BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The 10th Combat Aviation Brigade (Task Force Falcon) is in the midst of yet another major offensive against Taliban insurgents. The unit is providing aerial support for Operation Mountain Fury, which took place Sept. 16.
The operation focuses on the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Paktika, Paktya, Khost, Ghazni and Logar (P2KGL) near the Pakistan border, and aims to stop the resurgence of Taliban in those areas.
Operation Mountain Fury is the latest in a series of coalition offensives the 10th CAB has supported since deploying here in January.
Task Force Falcon Commander Lt. Col. Collier Lipple, of the 1st Battalion, 183rd Aviation Regiment, said operations have gone well for his National Guard unit, which provides aviation support for the eastern region. Thus far, his unit has flown 180 missions and compiled some 1,200 flight hours in support of Operation Mountain Fury.
“Aviation operations for Mountain Fury and the P2KGL region have gone superbly,” Lipple said. “The coordination between units and the products produced by the units, Brigade Aviation Element, and the task force have been outstanding.”
“We need to continue this same level of dedication and mission focus, and we cannot afford to take any pressure off the enemy,” he added. “Task Force Falcon is definitely making a difference in RC-E (Regional Command-East), Afghanistan, and the War on Terrorism.”
With the start of deliberate operations, the 10th CAB’s fleet of CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Blackhawks and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters has been busy supporting approximately 7,000 coalition and Afghan National Army forces taking part in the offensive.
The sound of aircraft reverberates throughout the valley here day and night, as dozens of aircraft take off from Forward Operating Base Salerno and Bagram Airfield loaded with re-supplies of food, water, and ammunition for forces fighting in dangerous regions.
The brigade’s AH-64 Apache aircraft are seeing action as well, having been called on in several instances during the early stages of operations to provide reconnaissance and close air support during fighting with insurgents.
“From the positioning of assets, be it artillery, intelligence, ground forces, or surveillance and reconnaissance, the 10th CAB has been vital to the success of Operation Mountain Fury,” said Capt. Lee Eines, Task Force Falcon assistant S-3 and battle captain. “Our Task Force has the unique ability to operate across all boundary lines, in everyone’s area of operation. No other force within Combined Joint Task Force-76 has the ability to move as fast and as seamlessly across multiple AO’s. Aviation operations are the asymmetrical advantage that makes the U.S. Army the force that it is.”
Although the primary operation is set in the east, aircraft from Bagram have been called on for support as well, said Lt. Col. William Metheny, commander of 10th CAB’s 3rd Battalion, 10th General Support Aviation Battalion (Task Force Centaur). While 1-183rd was conducting deliberate ops against the enemy, he said, Centaur took over many of the unit’s missions in that region.
“We were doing a lot of their re-supply throughout the area they were operating in, so they could focus on their mission of keeping the enemy in their area pinned down,” he explained.
Metheny added that while the ground forces are working hard and deserve a lot of credit for what they do, “our aviators are working hard too, and logging a lot of hours, and they deserve credit as well.”
Centaur aviators flew more than 600 hours in the first week of the operation.
Earlier this month, the10th CAB’s 2nd Battalion, 10th Aviation Support Brigade (Task Force Knighthawk) conducted aerial support of NATO forces during Operation Medusa. The aviation brigade also provided air assault of troops and supplies during Operation Mountain Lion in February and Mountain Thrust in May.