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Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger
4th IBCT, 3rd Inf. Div.
FORT STEWART, Ga. – Equipped with a completed close combat attack request form and a military radio with a hand mike, Pfc. Matthew D. Baskin scanned the horizon from his rooftop perch for a pair of OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters he would soon be communicating with.
His goal: direct the helicopters for fire support to the location of a mock target.
Baskin, a native of Manassas, Va., and a fire support specialist with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, learned how to communicate with air support elements, Dec. 13, during air to ground integration training on Fort Stewart, Ga.
The two-day consolidated fires training introduced fire support specialists from each battalion in the “Vanguard” brigade to air assets they may utilize on future battlefields. Soldiers received a four-hour block of instruction, were familiarized with the equipment on OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, and directed mock fire support missions.
Master Sgt. Robert W. Franz, a native of Lakeland, Fla., and the Fires and Effects Coordination Cell operations sergeant for 4th IBCT, said familiarizing fire support specialists with the assets they may encounter is critical to successful wartime operations.
“They definitely want to learn how to communicate with the aircraft,” Franz said. “Any time a forward observer can deliver fires, be it rocket, cannon, missiles or aircraft—employing all the [assets] on the battlefield more effectively—is [a] benefit.”
Pfc. Robert J. Fisher, a fire support specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th IBCT, said the training was valuable for the brigade’s fire support specialists.
“Getting everyone in the brigade on the same page in what we have and how to use it … makes [for a] safer, more effective battlefield,” Fisher said.
Fisher said that while he came into the training already familiarized with military helicopters and their capabilities—his father was an Army helicopter pilot—the course taught him about the capabilities of other close air support assets, such as fighter jets.
Pfc. Matthew D. Baskin, a native of Manassas, Va., and a fire support specialist with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, uses a military radio to direct OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters during a mock fire support mission, Dec. 13, during air to ground integration training on Fort Stewart, Ga. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mary S. Katzenberger, 4IBCT, 3ID Public Affairs)
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