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CAMP TAJI, Iraq (April 2, 2008) - AH-64 Apache attack helicopter
crews engaged more insurgents in Iraq during the final days of
March than in the previous three months combined, according to Task
Force XII officials.
There were at least 25 enemy engagements by TF XII aviators in
the last two weeks of March, task force officials say, which
resulted in more than 40 enemy combatants killed and numerous
insurgents wounded.
TF XII supports Multi-National Division - Baghdad and is led by
the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade from Ansbach, Germany.
"Enemy engagements used to happen about once every two weeks,
but right now it's (several a day)," said Apache pilot Lt. Col.
Todd Royar, commander of the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry
Regiment. "These insurgent forces have decided to become more
visible and more deliberate in their attacks."
Nearly all these Apache engagements have occurred as a result of
either observing enemy activities while patrolling the Baghdad
region or by responding to aerial support requests from ground
forces.
"This is what we all expected, but the initial calmness when we
got here took us by surprise," said Lt. Col. Charles Bowery Jr., TF
XII executive officer and an Apache pilot.
The dramatic increase in violence was a little unexpected, added
Bowery, but the number of attacks hasn't caught the pilots off
guard.
"We have crews who are skilled (in handling these situations)
and this is what they came here to do," he said. "Our individual
(operations) tempo, or the number of hours each crew flies, has
stayed relatively constant, so it has only been a little increase
in frequency in which you fly."
Every qualified Apache pilot - including the task force
commander and deputy commander - is flying more hours to shoulder
some of the burden.
"Everyone's coping with the (increase in flying hours) well, but
the most difficult thing to keep up with is maintenance," said
Bowery.
Task force maintenance teams work day and night to keep the
Apaches mission ready. It's a real challenge, but it's a job that
must be done, said Spc. Tom Belew, an AH-64D Apache Longbow
maintainer.
While the task force's aviators have been routinely successful
in taking the fight to the enemy, it's a dangerous mission, and
crews take special precautions when pursuing combatants.
"We're more aware of the threat (against us), and we're ensuring
that we take actions to protect ourselves," said Bowery.
In addition, pilots must have positive identification of hostile
actions and carefully apply rules of engagement before taking
action.
"I am extremely proud of the fact that our pilots have exercised
and applied ROE appropriately. We have not had a case where we have
engaged where we should not have," said Royar. "Our role here is
important because we help provide (ground units) with a third
dimension. They can only see to the next corner; we can not only
see to the next corner, but around the next corner and on top of
it."
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