Patrolling Iraq's Northern Skies

 
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service
 
 
	INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -? Northern Iraq's snow-
capped peaks and fertile green plains seem tranquil, but 
everyone here knows the scenic countryside conceals real 
danger.
	An hour after taking off from the sun-drenched flight 
line here, the U.S., British and Turkish fighter pilots of 
Operation Northern Watch reach Iraqi air space. For the next 
several hours, they'll patrol Saddam Hussein's northern 
skies, enforcing the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone north of the 
36th parallel.
	Back at base, about 10 miles from Adana in south-
central Turkey, combat search and rescue helicopters and 
crews are on alert -- just in case.
	Iraqi ground forces, hundreds of aircraft, and highly 
mobile anti-aircraft weapon systems are scattered throughout 
the region, according to Air Force Lt. Col. Maury Forsyth, 
55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander. His unit, 
part of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., 
deployed here for a two-month rotation supporting the 
coalition operation. 
	After the Gulf War in 1991, the U.N. Security Council 
established no-fly zones banning Iraqi flights over northern 
and southern Iraq after Hussein's forces attacked Kurds in 
the north and Shiite Muslims in the south. Northern Watch 
began in January 1997 on the heels of Operation Provide 
Comfort, the five-year-long relief effort that delivered 
food and supplies to Iraq's Kurdish refugees.
	About 1,300 Americans, 200 British and 100 Turkish 
troops are deployed here to conduct Northern Watch under the 
co-command of the United States and Turkey. The U.S. 
contingent comprises about 1,100 Air Force personnel plus 
Army, Navy and Marine Corps active and reserve component 
personnel. About 2,000 Americans are permanently assigned to 
the 39th Air and Space Expeditionary Wing here to support 
Northern Watch. 
	The allied enforcement effort employs about 45 
aircraft, including U.S. F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons, E-3 
Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, EA-6B 
Prowlers, KC-135 Stratotankers, and MH-60G Pave Hawk, UH-60A 
Black Hawk and HH-60 Night Hawk helicopters. The Royal Air 
Force contributes GR-1 Tornado attack aircraft and VC-10 
tankers while the Turkish air force adds F-4 and F-16 
fighters.
	Coalition pilots fly about 40 sorties a day. "We try to 
remain unpredictable," Forsyth said. "We try to take off at 
different times. We try to fly longer sorties some days, 
shorter on other days." Airborne for three to seven hours, 
the fighters spend a lot of time going to and from the 
enforcement zone and to reach aerial refueling tankers, he 
said. 
	For the pilots and crews, the job involves constantly 
assessing a dangerous situation. "As we enforce the no-fly 
zone with F-15s, part of our job is to ensure we can do that 
without threat from the ground," Forsyth said. 
	Hussein has about 300 mostly clear-weather, day 
fighters with limited night capability, Forsyth estimated. 
The mere fact he has 300 makes them a threat, he added. 
	Other than authorized U.N. flights, Forsyth said, no 
aircraft is allowed to fly in the zone. "U.N. flights go in 
and out quite regularly, but they give lots of advance 
notice," he said. "We know the day prior, what kind of 
airplane is going to fly, its heading and altitude."
	Coalition fighters are particularly careful since two 
U.S. Air Force F-15s accidentally shot down two U.S. Army 
Black Hawk helicopters in the zone in April 1994. Forsyth 
said visual recognition drills are conducted before each 
flight. "My intelligence officer has pictures of all 
different kinds of airplanes, and we have to identify them 
before we go fly just as a reminder and a refresher."
	Andy Hine, a 13th Royal Air Force Squadron Tornado 
pilot, said coalition operations give British pilots a 
chance to fly with their international counterparts. "We 
don't fly with the Americans that much at home, but we've 
gotten used to it now because we do these operations so 
often that it's become very procedural. It's smooth-
running."
	Hine, now on his third two-month Northern Watch 
rotation, has also flown Southern Watch missions during two 
rotations in Saudi Arabia. "It's very comforting to know 
when you're flying over Iraq that you have the protection 
the Americans can provide," he said. "Their capabilities are 
much stronger than ours. We're very well-protected by the 
Americans." 
	Northern Watch also calls on American reservists and 
National Guardsmen. Air Force Capt. Julio R. Lopez of the 
304th Rescue Squadron in Portland, Ore., said he welcomed 
his unit's recent six-week tour. Three helicopters and crews 
deployed here primed and ready for the combat search and 
rescue mission. 
	"If anything happens to these jets -- whether it's 
combat- or maintenance-related -- if they end up on the 
ground, it's our job to go get them," Lopez said. "Day or 
night, all weather -- we have the capability with the 
refueling probe in this aircraft to go long range."
	Turkey's dry, sunny weather is quite a change from 
rainy Oregon where the reservists train, said Lopez. This is 
his fifth Northern Watch rotation, as the Portland reserve 
unit comes over about every nine months. 
	"We train for this all year round," he said. "Back home 
we do civilian rescues to get prepared. By the time we get 
here, we're already combat ready." The unit keeps two search 
and rescue aircraft and crews always on alert. "If anything 
happens, we'll be the first ones there."
	Crews are highly trained to rescue downed pilots "from 
the tops of mountains to the deep blue sea," Master Sgt. 
John Swails said during his fifth rotation in Turkey. The 
Oregon reservist said his unit has undergone arctic survival 
training, and parachute and rock climbing training. Rescue 
choppers are loaded with ropes for winching aboard downed 
pilots, medical equipment, as well as other survival and 
rescue gear.
	"We constantly train at home, so when we are activated 
to go some place, we're ready and eager to support the 
mission and do what we have to do," Swails said. "It 
validates all the training when we get to come to an 
environment and see if it all works."
	Staff Sgt. Lance Dammeyer of Nashville, Tenn., commutes 
to Ohio to serve with the National Guard 180th Fighter Wing 
in Toledo. He called Northern Watch an opportunity for Guard 
members "to see a real-world situation and really understand 
how to work well with the active duty forces." 
	"I'm one of the last people to check the aircraft and 
weapon systems to make sure they're safe," he said. "When 
you've got real bombs on there, it really brings to light 
what we're here to do."

Printer-friendly Version

Email A Copy