Hornet squadron touts land-based deployment - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Hornet squadron touts land-based deployment

A Marine Corps squadron recently returned to the United States after a historic deployment as the first of the service’s F/A-18 Hornets to operate from a ground base in Afghanistan.

With Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 operating out of Kandahar Air Field, the unit’s pilots were much closer to infantry troops than they were during previous deployments when they operated of off naval aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea or Persian Gulf.

Their proximity to ground fighting during their last deployment allowed them to be more responsive and increased the number of successful combat missions, according to unit leaders.

That “feet dry” presence let pilots flying the squadron’s dozen F/A-18C Hornets and a couple of twin-seat F/A-18Ds work closely with some dozen ground combat units operating around Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province.

With a primary mission to provide close-air support, the “Red Devils” were often in the midst of the fighting alongside those Marines, even as they flew overhead.

“The fight was so real, you could hear the shouting over the radio, the inflection [in their voices], the heavy breathing. Real time,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Shipley, the squadron commander and a veteran pilot.

Red Devils kept busy supporting ground forces by dropping bombs, firing missiles and doing strafing runs to protect Marines and ground coalition forces, and suppress Taliban forces.

Living and working near units and coordinating with operational planners reinforced the aviation piece of the notion of a combined Marine air-ground task force long touted by senior commanders as the Corps’ greatest value to regional commanders, pilots say.

So they became familiar voices over the radio when, for example, a recon team compromised or a combat convoy under attack needed close-air support. “You knew the guys on the side of the road. It was very, very personal for us,” said Capt. Taj Sareen, a pilot and operations officer who flew more than 90 missions.

The Red Devils, based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., swapped duties Nov. 20 at Kandahar with the “Werewolves” of VMFA-122, based at MCAS Beaufort, S.C.

Back at home, the Red Devils reflected on the value of their air support.

“It’s always the [case] where ground forces are taking fire, and they need that bomb in the next few minutes, or things were going to turn very, very bad for them,” said Capt. Christopher Allain, 31, a pilot and training officer who flew support missions for 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, over Sangin.

On one mission, Allain said, enemy fighters pinned down a squad, but luckily their air controllers coordinated fire support. “We were able to deliver 500-pound bombs” along with precision Joint Direct Attack Munitions and the jets’ 30mm guns.

One ground unit was in the thick of battle as Allain strained to hear a joint terminal attack controller “having to yell at me over the gunfire to make sure he’s heard,” he said. “You’ve got your adrenaline running. It’s very real supporting them.”

Sareen’s first combat mission ended up being a “quiet day,” but he knew his monitoring of a ground patrol could have quickly erupted into a battle. Three weeks later, he got that call for support. “I knew they wouldn’t put themselves or me in a situation where I possibly could hurt friendlies or hit the wrong target,” he said. “For me, it all came together.”

Pilots got weekly briefs and group discussions on the rules of engagement, which went through changes during the deployment as senior commanders rewrote and adjusted some rules seen as severe limitations on hitting targets to lessen innocent casualties.

“It got better and easier and allowed us to become more effective,” said Shipley, who wore another hat, that of the site commander in charge of about 500 personnel. Among their responsibilities was supporting the casualties who came through the air base. “Every Marine who was killed in the [area of operations] came through Kandahar,” he said. “We took that very seriously. We saw first-hand the results of this war.”