Posted on 05/04/2009 5:42:28 PM PDT by SandRat
5/4/2009 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Air Force and Navy servicemembers teamed up in April to support and train the newly formed Iraqi navy with maritime mission along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf where a large percentage of Iraq's oil is exported.
The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place April 12 as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq's navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf.
"We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel is a significant achievement," said Navy Cmdr. Scott Seeberger, the King Air MiTT chief for the 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron. "This flight marks the creation of a new alliance between the Iraqi air force and the new Iraqi navy, particularly near Iraq's oil facilities in the Arabian Gulf."
Commander Seeberger said ensuring these facilities remain safe is a top priority for his crew.
"It is very important that these facilities are kept safe and the U.S. Navy has a big presence there in terms of ensuring its safety," he said. "They (Navy) are building up the Iraqi navy in the Basra area and one of the things they were lacking was an ISR capability."
While Commander Seeberger piloted the aircraft with the help of an Iraqi pilot, Staff Sgt. Joshua Roden, a 321st AEAS mission sensor operator, provided those ISR capabilities from the back of a King Air platform during this aerial support first, while simultaneously advising an Iraqi lieutenant colonel on the process.
"This was a key stepping stone for integrating the Iraqi air force's ISR capability with the navy and getting them to use their many different wells of technology to work together and create a mission package to protect themselves," Sergeant Roden said.
"We received feedback a couple of days after the mission that they (the Iraqi military) were very pleased with the imagery, which leads me to believe the mission was a success and hopefully it is the beginning of a new partnership between the Iraqi air force and navy," Commander Seeberger said.
Thanks SandRat. I haven’t been keeping up with the FR War News! as much as I used to. What is your assessment of our current situation in Iraq? I can’t recall any casualties due to hostile action recently, but that could just be because the media doesn’t feel as compelled to report it now that Obama is in office.
Had a number, a dozen or so due to Homacide-Bombers.
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