Posted on 06/24/2007 12:10:02 PM PDT by SandRat
AL ASAD — A Marine on the ground in Iraq needs to be able to count on a friend or two. He has the Marine to the right, but he also has Marines flying a few thousand feet over head that he can count on.
The Marines of Marine Attack Squadron 231, known as the “Ace of Spades,” are making sure they do everything they can to provide the Marines outside the wire with the close air support they need.
Flying AV-8B “Harriers,” the Aces have been supporting their fellow Marines since they arrived aboard Al Asad in the middle of March.
“The Harrier’s role is to provide close air support to the Marines on the ground,” said Maj. Mark Riedy, the Aces’ executive officer. “Recently things have quieted down, so when we go out there we’re searching various points for enemy activity, suspicious activity, (Improvised Explosive Devices) and those types of things. We pass that information along to the Marines on the ground, and then if we have troops in contact we are there to support them.”
Since their arrival, the Aces have succeeded in adapting to the deployed environment and fulfilling their mission, according to Lt. Col. Brian Annichiarico, the VMA-231 commanding officer.
“I think the Marines have done fantastic,” said Annichiarico, a Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., native. “This is the first squadron deployment in a few years, and everybody was chomping at the bit to come. We tried to prepare them mentally as much as we could to come over here, and they have far exceeded my expectations. They’re just phenomenal.”
Previously, the Aces have deployed with Marine Expeditionary Units, and there are stark differences between a deployment with a MEU and a deployment as a whole squadron to Iraq.
Besides flying off a 13,000 foot runway instead of the flight deck of a ship, and the extreme heat, the Aces had to adjust to an increased operational tempo. The pilots of VMA-231 have flown an average of 40 hours per month during their deployment, which is about four times what they would fly back in the states, according to Riedy, an Allentown, Pa., native.
The Aces have flown almost 1,700 hours and have supported over 940 joint tactical air requests since they deployed to Al Asad.
Both Annichiarico and Riedy say they are proud of the way their Marines have adapted to their new environment and their new deployment.
“As long as they see us launching and dropping ordnance and coming back, they stay pretty motivated,” said Riedy. “We’ve been trying to make a habit out of telling them what we’re doing, showing them maps, showing them areas that we’re going to. Telling them that it’s not just about dropping bombs, that we’re out there providing support to the Marines.
It is not the work of just a few Marines that has made the squadron successful in Iraq, but the efforts of every person that allows the Aces to do what they do best, according to Annichiarico.
“You have a circle out there, and anywhere you touch the circle something will break down,” said Annichiarico. “If a maintainer doesn’t fix a jet or a helicopter, then that helicopter or jet can’t fly, and the guys on the ground don’t get the support. If they guys on the ground don’t get the support they need, then there may be additional risks that you accept, and so on and so forth. It never ceases to amaze me how that whole chain works. The reason it works so well is because of the individual efforts of the Marines out there.”
Cpl. Tom Mitsch, a powerline mechanic with Marine Attack Squadron 231, sands the blades on the intake of an AV-8B “Harrier” belonging to the “Ace of Spades” on the Al Asad flight line, June 6. The Marines of VMA-231 have been deployed to Iraq since March.
FR WAR NEWS! Huh.
I was in Yuma, AZ, in January of this year, near the Marine Corps air base there, and there was a great deal of flight activity. Perhaps in preparation for this type of deployment.
}:-)4
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium volume pinglist.
Sorry. But it was pretty hard to miss.
Excellent news!
Pray for W and Our Marines
Yuma is home to four Harrier squadrons, an aggressor squadron flying F-5s, MAWTS-1 and shares space with scheduled airlines. There’s a great deal of flight activity just about any day of the week except Sundays.
I could be wrong but that doesn’t strike me as a good place to catch some z’s
No AB’s just all thrust from Rolls Royce
Still burner sputter results.
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