|
|
|
BS6's Dude
Group: Community Supporter
Last Login: 12/10/2008 4:45 PM
Posts: 3,050,
Visits: 4,292
|
|
Combat Controller talks about Afghanistan
AFMC News Service Release 0712
Released July 10, 2002
By Mike Wallace
Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFMCNS) -- Imagine carrying equipment weighing more than 100 pounds; walking and climbing on rugged, unfriendly terrain; altitudes of 8,500 to 10,500 feet; and near-freezing to sub-zero temperatures – all that plus facing an armed enemy that outnumbers your team on the ground by several hundred people.
That will give you an idea of what Tech. Sgt. James Hotaling experienced in Afghanistan for five months.
Hotaling, an Air Force reservist and individual mobilization augmentee assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at McChord Air Force Base, Wash, volunteered for active duty immediately after Sept. 11. A highway patrolman in Tacoma, Wash., when not on active-duty, the combat controller went to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom where he was involved in finding the enemy and directing tactical air attacks.
On June 27, dressed in his desert battle dress uniform, he gave unclassified briefings here about his experiences during several missions.
"Two days into my first mission, a goat herder walked over to us and called the local militia," he said. "They chased us for 90 minutes. A Navy plane directed us and two fighters were called in to provide close air support in order for us to escape."
He described another mission around Christmastime as the "Wall of Death." It involved climbing a 2,000-foot cliff.
"We made about 100 yards per hour," Hotaling said. "On the other side of the ridge was an Al-Qaeda training camp. It looked like a playground of some kind. We observed it for several days before calling in air strikes to destroy it."
Hotaling carried out a variety of missions in Afghanistan including assessing airfields to make sure they would support cargo aircraft.
Hotaling also recalled a time that he was with a team supporting a coalition force when they ended up in a field with hills around it.
"Villagers had gathered on the hilltops around us and were working themselves into a frenzy," he said. "Helicopters were supposed to pick us up, but they didn’t show. Fortunately I’d scheduled a bomber for air cover just in case.
"We did not want to bomb the villagers. So, I had the bomber make a low pass over them to intimidate them, and they ran away. The bomber stayed overhead for several hours, time enough for us to find a hiding place until morning."
Hotaling also took part in what he described as one of the first Arctic combat missions since World War II. The mission was to destroy a cave complex.
He and a team of Navy Seals "wore snowshoes to get to the caves, and we pulled sleds, each carrying a great deal of explosives."
Originally from North Carolina, Hotaling now lives in Washington. He attended combat controller school at Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
After earning his beret as a combat controller, he completed a variety of specialized training, including survival schools, Army dive school and parachute training.
He credits the training, saying it prepared him to "be able to step into anyone’s shoes on the team. I hope I did my part for the nation and President Bush."
|
|
|
|