Mosquitoes to Wolves

Mosquitoes to Wolves PDF Author: Gary Robert Lester
Publisher: University Press of the Pacific
ISBN: 9780898757774
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Comparable to twentieth century cavalry, early forward air controllers (FAC) probed, observed, and reported enemy activity. Flying rickety, underpowered, and unarmed aircraft, they operated on the leading edge of ground combat. The efficient use of airborne FACs never developed in a meaningful way in World War II, with the possible exception of their use in Marine amphibious operations in the Pacific. But the rugged terrain of Korea and the jungle mazes of Vietnam restricted the capabilities of ground controllers to identify targets, thus expanding the need for "eyes in the air." FAC roles changed from those of probing, observing, and reporting, to those of locating targets, marking them for air strikes, and taking an active role in their destruction. This expanded mission resulted in the inevitable evolution of FAC equipment and responsibilities.

Mosquitoes to Wolves

Mosquitoes to Wolves PDF Author: Gary Robert Lester
Publisher: University Press of the Pacific
ISBN: 9780898757774
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Comparable to twentieth century cavalry, early forward air controllers (FAC) probed, observed, and reported enemy activity. Flying rickety, underpowered, and unarmed aircraft, they operated on the leading edge of ground combat. The efficient use of airborne FACs never developed in a meaningful way in World War II, with the possible exception of their use in Marine amphibious operations in the Pacific. But the rugged terrain of Korea and the jungle mazes of Vietnam restricted the capabilities of ground controllers to identify targets, thus expanding the need for "eyes in the air." FAC roles changed from those of probing, observing, and reporting, to those of locating targets, marking them for air strikes, and taking an active role in their destruction. This expanded mission resulted in the inevitable evolution of FAC equipment and responsibilities.

Mosquitoes to Wolves. The Evolution of the Airborne Forward Air Controller

Mosquitoes to Wolves. The Evolution of the Airborne Forward Air Controller PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Partial Contents: EVOLUTION OF CLOSE AIR SUPPORT CLOSE AIR SUPPORT DOCTRINE, KOREA: FORWARD AIR CONTROLLERS EMERGE, MOSQUITO OPERATIONS IN KOREA KOREA: THE STAGNANT WAR VIETNAM: THE ADVISORY YEARS VIETNAM: SLOW FAC OPERATIONS EXPANDING MISSIONS, THE FAST FORWARD AIR CONTROLLERS VIETNAMIZATION AND AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL, A PERSPECTIVE ON CLOSE AIR SUPPORT.

Mosquitoes to Wolves

Mosquitoes to Wolves PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781429458313
Category : Air warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description


Mosquitoes to Wolves: the Evolution of the Airborne Forward Air Controller - FACs Emerge in the Korean War with Mosquito Operations, Use in Close Air Support in the Vietnam War with F-100 Aircraft

Mosquitoes to Wolves: the Evolution of the Airborne Forward Air Controller - FACs Emerge in the Korean War with Mosquito Operations, Use in Close Air Support in the Vietnam War with F-100 Aircraft PDF Author: Air University Press
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781549719561
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
Comparable to twentieth century cavalry, early forward air controllers (FAC) probed, observed, and reported enemy activity. Flying rickety, underpowered, and unarmed aircraft, they operated on the leading edge of ground combat. The efficient use of airborne FACs never developed in a meaningful way in World War II, with the possible exception of their use in Marine amphibious operations in the Pacific. But the rugged terrain of Korea and the jungle mazes of Vietnam restricted the capabilities of ground controllers to identify targets, thus expanding the need for "eyes in the air." FAC roles changed from those of probing, observing, and reporting, to those of locating targets, marking them for air strikes, and taking an active role in their destruction. This expanded mission resulted in the inevitable evolution of FAC equipment and responsibilities.Interservice differences regarding the definition of close air support (CAS) caused controversies which clouded ground-support operations in both Korea and Vietnam. The Navy and the Marines saw CAS as the primary mission for airpower. The Air Force and the Army saw CAS as the last priority, to be employed after air superiority has been gained and maintained, supplies have been interdicted, and the enemy's infrastructure has been damaged.Contents * PREFACE * 1 EVOLUTION OF CLOSE AIR SUPPORT * World War I * Between the Wars * The American Experience, 1918-42 * World War II * Notes * 2 CLOSE AIR SUPPORT DOCTRINE * Early Navy-Marine Close Air Support * Close Air Support in Korea * Air Force Philosophy in Korea * Navy/Marine Air in Vietnam * Notes * 3 KOREA: FORWARD AIR CONTROLLERS EMERGE * The Fight for Air Superiority * Phase One--Retreat to Pusan * Phase Two--Advance to the Yalu * Phase Three--Second Retreat * Phase Four--Main Line of Resistance Stabilized * Phase Five--Air Pressure for Peace * A Substitute for Artillery * Close Air Support in Korea * The Extemporized Air War * The Need for Airborne FACs * Command and Control Support * 6132d Tactical Air Control Group * 6147th Squadron Organized * Immediate Air Requests * Mosquitoes Assigned to Divisions * Mosquito Mission Expands * The 502d Tactical Control Group * Notes * 4 MOSQUITO OPERATIONS IN KOREA * The Role of the Mosquito * Forward Air Controller Equipment * Visual Reconnaissance * The Tactical Air Control System * Mosquito Mellow * Strike Control Procedures * Problems Encountered * Forward Air Controller Training * Notes * 5 KOREA: THE STAGNANT WAR * The Argument for Interdiction * CAS along a Stabilized Front * Radar-Controlled Air Strikes * Communications Upgrades * T-6 Upgrades * Operation Thunderbolt * Operation Ripper * Communist Losses in the First Year * Strategy Changes * Pathfinder Operations * The Truce Ceremony * 6147th TCG Deactivated * Joint Air-Ground Doctrine * Post Korea * Notes * 6 VIETNAM: THE ADVISORY YEARS * Wars of National Liberation * Developing the Counterinsurgency Force * Farm Gate * Command Structure * Air Operations in 1962 * Air Operations in 1963 * Air Operations in 1964 * The Gulf of Tonkin * New Demands * Notes . * 7 VIETNAM: SLOW FAC OPERATIONS * FACs Come of Age * FAC Aircraft * Personnel Requirements * Seventh Air Force * 504th Tactical Air Support Group * Increased Manning Requirements * Qualifications * Rules of Engagement * Locating the Enemy * Visual Reconnaissance Process * In-Country Operations, 1965-72 * Employing the FAC Force * Navy Participation * The Battle of Khe Sanh * The Tet Offensive * Cleared in Wet! * Notes * 8 EXPANDING MISSIONS * Night Operations * Air Operations in Laos * USAF Controllers in Cambodia * Notes . * 9 THE FAST FORWARD AIR CONTROLLERS * Out-Country Operations, 1964-65 * Commando Sabre * F-4 "Phantom" FACs * Notes * 10 VIETNAMIZATION AND AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL * Vietnamization and Close Air Support * The South Vietnamese Air Force * Cambodia * Lam Son 719 * Interdiction in Route Packages I and II * The 1972 Spring Offensive * Linebacker * Notes

Mosquitoes to Wolves

Mosquitoes to Wolves PDF Author: Gary Robert Lester
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781782666578
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description


History of the Airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC), Mosquito Aircraft, Joint Air Tasking Doctrine, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam War, Marine Corps, Kosovo, War on Terror, A-10, F-16, F-14, F-18

History of the Airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC), Mosquito Aircraft, Joint Air Tasking Doctrine, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam War, Marine Corps, Kosovo, War on Terror, A-10, F-16, F-14, F-18 PDF Author: U. S. Military
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781521241004
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 143

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Book Description
Two excellent reports provide an excellent history of the FAC: The History of the Airborne Forward Air Controller and Rebuilding the Joint Airborne Forward Air Controller: Analyzing Joint Air Tasking Doctrine's Ability to Facilitate Effective Air-Ground Integration. The US Department of Defense predicts that ground forces of the future will wage tomorrow's wars by replacing large numbers of personnel and organic firepower for advanced technology and superior maneuverability. Those forces must be prepared to face an unconventional enemy who will operate in small, lethal units interspersed with the civilian population rather than facing coalition forces with massed formations. This scenario of blurred lines of battle and difficulty determining friend from foe resembles very closely what the US military faced in Vietnam. This paper will address the successes and failures of United States airborne forward air controllers (FACs), particularly in Vietnam, and whether combat lessons learned were passed from service to service or historically from conflict to conflict. The FAC mission has not significantly changed since the end of the Vietnam War, and a thorough study of operational and tactical lessons learned by those aircrew will significantly enhance today's FACs ability to find and destroy dispersed enemy forces in a wide array of environments. CHAPTER 1 - AIRBORNE FACs AT WAR * Airborne Observer History * World War I: The Birth of a Concept * The Interwar Years * World War II: Lessons Learned and Forgotten * Korea: Mosquitoes Take Flight * CHAPTER 2 - THE ADVISORY YEARS * US Air Force Counterinsurgency Operations * Farm Gate * O-1 Birddog * CHAPTER 3 - THE SLOW-FAC AIR WAR * FAC Aircraft in Vietnam * USAF FAC Involvement in Vietnam * US Navy FAC Involvement * US Marine Corps FAC Involvement * FAC Operations 1965-1970 * Out-of-Country Operations * Visual Reconnaissance * CHAPTER 4 - THE FAST-FAC AIR WAR * US Marine Corps Fast-FAC: F9F Panther and OA-4 Skyhawk * Operation Commando Sabre: The Misty FAC * Stormy, Wolf, Tiger, and Night Owl: Phantom FACs * Vietnam Lessons Forgotten * CHAPTER 5 - BEYOND VIETNAM: THE DEATH OF LARGE-SCALE AIRBORNE FAC * Marine Corps FACs After Vietnam * New FACs Emerge: Air Force A-10 and F-16 * New FACs Emerge: Navy F-14 and F-18F * Special Operations Forward Air Control * The Next Test: Kosovo 1998 * The Global War On Terror * Where Do We Go From Here? * The Mission of Forward Air Control * The People of Forward Air Control * The Aircraft of Forward Air Control * Conclusion * BIBLIOGRAPHY Book Two: Lessons learned from Operation Anaconda point to deficiencies in current joint FAC(A) air-ground integration. The primary purpose of this thesis is to determine if current joint air tasking doctrine allows the FAC(A) to effectively integrate into supported ground operations. This study examines potential modifications to joint air tasking doctrine that will allow FAC(A)s to integrate with their supported ground units more effectively. Based on this study, there are two primary methods to successfully integrate the FAC(A) into supported ground operations. The first method is through detailed pre-mission coordination, currently called for in joint doctrine. Consequently, this analysis compares the integration opportunities available in current joint air tasking doctrine to the established requirement for effective FAC(A) integration to determine if current joint air tasking doctrine facilitates effective air-ground integration. Consequently, the analysis also compares current joint air tasking doctrine to the successful models illustrated in the Vietnam War TASS system and the USMC MAGTF to identify potential avenues for improved FAC(A) integration. Finally, the study recommends modifications to joint air tasking doctrine to help improve FAC(A) integration.

The History Of The Airborne Forward Air Controller In Vietnam

The History Of The Airborne Forward Air Controller In Vietnam PDF Author: Lt.-Cmdr. Andrew R. Walton
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786256347
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
The U.S. Department of Defense predicts that ground forces of the future will wage tomorrow’s wars by replacing large numbers of personnel and organic firepower for advanced technology and superior maneuverability. Those forces must be prepared to face an unconventional enemy who will operate in small, lethal units interspersed with the civilian population rather than facing coalition forces with massed formations. This scenario of blurred lines of battle and difficulty determining friend from foe resembles very closely what the U.S. military faced in Vietnam. This paper will address the successes and failures of United States airborne forward air controllers (FACs), particularly in Vietnam, and whether combat lessons learned were passed from service to service or historically from conflict to conflict. The FAC mission has not significantly changed since the end of the Vietnam War, and a thorough study of operational and tactical lessons learned by those aircrew will significantly enhance today’s FACs ability to find and destroy dispersed enemy forces in a wide array of environments.

The Evolution of the Airborne Forward Air Controller

The Evolution of the Airborne Forward Air Controller PDF Author: James A. Farmer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aerial observation (Military science)
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
An assessment of the role of the airborne forward air controller (FAC) in the Korean conflict--organization, tactics, equipment, and operational procedures. The function for which the airborne FAC was initially conceived was strike control. To this was soon added the responsibility for performing visual reconnaissance over the entire front line and for calling for strike aircraft for immediate close air support. With these three functions--strike control, visual reconnaissance, and strike aircraft procurement--the airborne FAC became the focal point of the TACS. The organization, tactics, and operational procedures developed 'under fire and in crisis' in Korea failed to survive after the war. The stature of the airborne FAC in Air Force doctrine and attitudes did not change from 1946 until 1966, when the operation had to be 'reinvented' in Vietnam. (Author).

The Airborne Forward Air Controller

The Airborne Forward Air Controller PDF Author: John W. Ellis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Close air support
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description


Eagles Overhead

Eagles Overhead PDF Author: Matt Dietz
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574418912
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
US Air Force Forward Air Controllers (FACs) bridge the gap between air and land power. They operate in the grey area of the battlefield, serving as an aircrew who flies above the battlefield, spots the enemy, and relays targeting information to control close air support attacks by other faster aircraft. When done well, Air Force FACs are the fulcrum for successful employment of air power in support of ground forces. Unfortunately, FACs in recent times have been shunned by both ground and air forces, their mission complicated by inherent difficulty and danger, as well as by the vicissitudes of defense budgets, technology, leadership, bureaucracy, and doctrine. Eagles Overhead is the first complete historical survey of the US Air Force FAC program from its origins in World War I to the modern battlefield. Matt Dietz examines their role, status, and performance in every US Air Force air campaign from the Marne in 1918, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and finally Mosul in 2017. With the remaking of the post-Vietnam US military, and the impact of those changes on FAC, the Air Force began a steady neglect of the FAC mission from Operation Desert Storm, through the force reductions after the Soviet Union’s collapse, and into the post 9-11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eagles Overhead asks why FACs have not been heavily used on US battlefields since 2001, despite their warfighting importance. Dietz examines the Air Force FAC’s theoretical, doctrinal, institutional, and historical frameworks to assess if the nature of air warfare has changed so significantly that the concept and utility of the FAC has been left behind. From these examinations, Eagles Overhead draws conclusions about the potential future of Air Force FACs.