Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Air Force Special Operations Forces Train for Next Dynamic Battlefront | Military.com

Air Force Special Operations Forces Train for Next Dynamic Battlefront | Military.com: A U.S. special tactics operator saw the urgency for airstrikes to diffuse an oncoming firefight from Taliban combatants in Afghanistan recently.

The AC-130 gunship circling overhead delivered 105mm cannon rounds so precise, they screeched down just 13 meters from where U.S. and coalition troops were located, according to Col. Michael Martin, 24th Special Operations Wing commander.

From air to ground assault, Air Force and Army special operators, along with coalition partners, work together in fast-paced environments to coordinate targeted attacks. The contingents are fully "committed to fusing air and ground maneuver to defeat the enemy," Martin said of campaigns evolving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Air Force personnel "are involved" in ongoing operations across Mosul, including calling in precision strikes, Martin told Military.com on Thursday.

U.S. troops serving as advisers were moving with elite Iraqi forces outside the city units just last week, but remained behind the "forward line of" Iraqi Counter Terror Service units, according to Air Force Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.

Martin provided a few more details.