UAV Soldiers stay sharp for future missions

  • Published
  • By Airman Ty-Rico Lea
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The Soldiers of B Company, 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, have seen many deployments to combat areas. Of the many missions they are instructed to fulfill, for 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, one of them involves operating unmanned aerial vehicles.

Army 1st Lt. Adam Halpham, UAV Platoon leader, explained the brigade's mission for UAV operations on deployments.

"The primary function of UAVs, as far as the 4/25's mission goes, is to gather real-time and still images," Halpham said. "The footage is then sent back to its operator to analyze and provide tactical overwatch to other infantry units. In contrast to the Air Force's use of UAVs, where officers are behind the controls, the Army has its enlisted personnel take control instead."

Members of the UAV Platoon took to Forward Operating Base Sparta on the outskirts of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to re-familiarize themselves with the UAV systems.
"We're conducting this training not only to reestablish how things should be set-up in a deployed environment, but to also have new Soldiers receive the hands-on training they need for maintaining UAV systems," said Army Staff Sgt. Donald Fenn, senior UAV operator. "Once we are done with this refresher course, we will then do training at the Donnelly Training Area in Fort Greely, Alaska, where we plan to physically launch a UAV up into the air and practice the UAV's reconnaissance capabilities."

Due to the limited amount of space on FOB Sparta and the fact the UAVs they flew possessed no brakes, the team made accommodations to help stop the aircraft once it landed.

"We had high-tension cables installed to withstand the UAV's great traveling speed," Halpham said. "We deemed this as the best course of action considering the airstrip is so small."

Just like any other form of training, standards need to be met in order to preserve proficient operations.

"We have annual flight requirements that we are instructed to maintain," Fenn said. "So this is just a preparatory regimen we use for readiness level training."

UAVs come in many shapes and forms to fit mission requirements.

"Just last year, we returned from a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. We haven't used this equipment since we came back from that deployment last October," Halpham said.
Halpham went on to explain the company's method of entering the field of operation as well as the UAV type they mainly use for missions.

"As an airborne brigade, we specialize in airdropping into the area of operation and conducting UAV support," Halpham said. "The RQ-7 shadow is the UAV we're strictly working with today; the RQ-7, like most UAVs, uses full motion video."

The 425th BSTB also enlists the services of contracted civilians, such as field service representative Chad Johnson who also serves as the technical advisor to the unit.
"For the training today, I was mainly in charge of updating the schematics of the UAVs," Johnson said.

According to Johnson, civilians like him were contracted to design and manufacture high-technology mechanical and electronic systems for both government agencies and industrial organizations.

One of the UAV Platoon's newer members, Pfc. Jennifer Lane, airborne UAV maintainer, provided an explanation detailing the loading process of UAVs onto a launcher.

"In any launching process, we begin by having the UAV placed on the launcher and set the necessary procedures to get it airborne," Lane said. "Aside from the UAV itself, the launcher that is used to propel larger aircrafts also plays a huge role in the 4/25's mission."

Lane went on to further summarize the loading process.

"We always work using a four-man team when performing the launching sequence," Lane said. "Three of us would physically insert the bird onto the launcher while a fourth would act as safety personnel and ensure that there are no mishaps."

Another aspect of UAV training is the ground-control stations, which in the case of this training is a mobile land facility. UAV Platoon members were reacquainted with this system as newer members received the hands-on training for the system.

"From here we pick-up the video feed from the UAVs, which is then transmitted to our monitors and assessed properly," Halpham said. "Through it all, with the amount and effort we are putting into this, I feel that we will definitely be prepared for our next deployment."