KANDAHAR AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Over 200 members of the Arkansas National Guard's 188th Fighter Wing deployed here in early March to begin their portion of an Air Expeditionary Force rotation as a component of the 451st Fighter Group.
The Arkansas unit is fulfilling the second three months of a six-month rotation that was begun by a sister A-10 unit from the Maryland Air National Guard. The current rotation will last through May.
This is the first deployed AEF rotation overseas for the "Flying Razorbacks," since the unit made its conversion from the F-16 to the A-10 aircraft in April of 2007. But from all indications the unit members, aircraft and crews were ready.
"We had a good train up before coming here, both at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and at the Green Flag exercise in Nevada, so we were ready to be doing exactly what we are doing here in southern Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Mark Anderson, one of the 188ths A-10 pilots.
The A-10 mission in southern Afghanistan is to fly close-air-support in response to ground troops who may be in contact with the enemy, or to escort convoys in particularly hostile areas.
When not supporting ground troops, the aircraft will patrol designated sectors and provide aerial reconnaissance on locations of interest to ground commanders.
"We fly 12 to 16 sorties a day, around the clock. But in the two weeks we've been flying we haven't yet had to expend any ordinance," Anderson said. "The flying is great, but not getting to drop (weapons) when we go out is a bit frustrating. Sometimes we get to do some low level shows of force. And they always result in the enemy breaking contact with forces on the ground."
Anderson's comments were made just days before the 188th's opportunity came knocking with a call for low level support to a Marine unit pinned down on the outskirts of a village near Marjaf. Two of the 188th's pilots fired about 250 rounds each with their Warthog's .30 mm Gatlin guns.
After completing two passes over the battle, the Airmen received the 'all clear' from the Marines on the ground.
Typically, flight missions range from two to five hours. Pilots will either be tasked to support specific ground units and operations, or they will be on patrol checking sectors with one to 10 points of interest for reconnaissance. At any time during a patrol, a weapons system controller may divert them to assist ground forces as necessary.
From a maintenance perspective things also seem to be going well for the 188th as Master Sgt. Justin Likens, an aircraft crew chief, points out.
"The aircraft have done very well since we got here despite the dusty conditions. You see the minor, normal stuff, but no major system or equipment failures," he said.
Fellow crew chief, Master Sgt. Jay Greer echoed the upbeat sentiment of the deployment.
"Most of the guys I have talked to are glad to be here," said Greer. "[It] Makes us feel like we are contributing to the fight to make sure those planes are ready to go for each and every mission. If our guys on the ground need the air cover, it's our job to make sure they are ready to fly."
Lt. Col. James Krimmell, a member of the 188th serving as deputy commander for the 451 Air Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Group during the AEF rotation tempered the frustration of the pilots in not employing weapons saying, "We'd like to fly every mission and never have to drop anything."
But he simultaneously complimented the crews for their effectiveness saying, "Although they may not drop every time they go out, the skill and professionalism of the crew is reflected in the fact that they are effective without doing so. Nevertheless, the reality is... they are prepared if necessary."
Krimmell also praised the ground support staff for their role in maintaining a high mission capable rate.
"The motivation level in the back shops is focused on keeping the planes flying. For some of the traditional Guardsmen this is an opportunity to realize what they train for continuously. Here they learn how important maintenance is to that 24-hour operational clock," said Krimmell, adding that the sortie tempo and distance to a maintenance depot makes attention to maintenance much more critical in a deployed environment.
Col. Robert Hopkins, Jr., commander of the 451 Air Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Group, praised the 188th Guardsmen not only for their aircraft maintenance expertise, but also for their environmental awareness and expertise.
"The Guard guys are great," he said. "When they are not working on the planes, they are fixing something in the shop, or cleaning up, or figuring out a way to make a process run more efficiently."
This early in the deployment, the pilots, crews and maintenance personnel are focused on the fight, and doing their part to support coalition operations all across southern Afghanistan. And as the poppy harvest draws near and the troop surge in Afghanistan puts more pressure on the Taliban, the pilots and maintainers of the 188 Fighter Wing will surely get ample opportunity to put their preparation and training for the deployment to the test.
The 188th is currently one of three units from the Arkansas National Guard that is working in southern Afghanistan.
There are also about 200 members of the 1037th Route Clearance Company of the 875th Engineer Battalion from Jonesboro, Ark., and another 60 Soldiers and Airmen with the Arkansas Agriculture Development Team.