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 Afghan aviators resupply remote bases with partnered close-air support By Staff Sgt. Todd Pouliot
                10th Combat Aviation Brigade
 NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Barg-e-Matal  district lies isolated in the heavily wooded highlands of the Hindu Kush  Mountains in eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan Province. The few roads leading into the district, which borders  Pakistan to its east and Kamdesh District to its south, are narrow and are in  poor condition due to continuous landslides. Therefore, transporting supplies  and personnel into the district is accomplished almost exclusively by air. The Afghan Air Force, which has made steady gains in its  operational capacity since 2007, took over resupply operations to Barg-e-Matal,  and other remote bases in the area, from the International Security Assistance  Force in early spring of 2013. While the Afghan Air Force continues to expand its close air  support capabilities, AH-64 Apache helicopters and crews from the 10th Combat  Aviation Brigade, provide aerial security for these missions. Capt. Derek Forst, commander of Company A, from the Missouri  National Guard's 1st Attack/Reconnaissance Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment,  which is flying in support of Task Force Tigershark, 10th Combat Aviation  Brigade, said that without the aerial resupply missions, many of the outposts,  or OPs, would be dependent on supplies brought in by foot and pack mule. "It would take weeks for a convoy to get to most of the  OPs," Forst explained. "These missions are keeping the OPs open. It's  their livelihood. If it weren't for these resupply missions, the Afghan forces  would not have food and water; those outposts would not be open." The OPs and forward operating bases in these remote areas  are Afghanistan's first line of defense against insurgents crossing into the  country's remote northeastern provinces. Barg-e-Matal district is a known  Taliban transit area to and from the northern Pakistani district of Chitral,  and has been the site of fierce battles between insurgents and Afghan and ISAF  forces. ISAF withdrew its forces from the area in 2009, to shift emphasis  toward securing major population centers. Afghan forces remain in the district,  as well as throughout the province, to prevent the free passage of enemies of  Afghanistan across the border. Afghan Air Force Mi-17 helicopter crews fly resupply  missions nearly once a week to the remote Afghan OPs and bases. Although each  aircraft is armed with two M-240H machine guns, AH-64 Apache helicopters  provide security overwatch for them due to the higher level of threat in some  areas of the resupply route. In addition to providing greater firepower against  threats on the ground, the AH-64 Apache helicopter can alert other aircraft, as  well as troops on the ground, of enemy activity in the area. "We provide security and deterrence," said Capt.  Steven Lancianese, an AH-64 Apache pilot who also serves as the 10th Combat  Aviation Brigade assistant operations officer. "In the areas they are  flying, the tactical threat is significant." As agreed upon at the 2012 NATO Chicago Summit, Afghan  National Security Forces took the lead for security throughout Afghanistan, in  June 2013, and ISAF moved to an increasingly train, advise and assist role. The  Afghan Air Force has achieved significant successes during the first half of  the 2013. On April 12, with very short notice, the Afghan Air Force was able to  plan and execute an 11-sortie mission between six different bases, providing  vital reinforcements, ammunition and supplies to retake a remote outpost in  eastern Afghanistan in the wake of an insurgent attack. In July, the Afghan Air  Force launched the largest Afghan-led joint, combined arms operation in more  than 30 years. "They are not junior pilots," Forst said.  "They are excellent pilots. They know what they are doing. They tell us  that if we ever have to make an emergency landing, they will pick us up - and  they will." A handful of experienced pilots from the 10th Combat  Aviation Brigade, have been advising Afghan pilots in air mission planning  since the unit's arrival, May 2013, a mission they took over from the previous  unit, the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. The Kabul Air Wing Partnership  advisors recently completed training the fourth class of Afghan aviators. Capt.  Brandt Anderson, the TF Falcon team leader for the Kabul Air Wing Partnership  and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot, said the advisors will now be stepping  back in order for the Afghans to begin taking over the training of their own  pilots. Anderson said the Afghan Air Force has become very  proficient at conducting resupply missions and supporting Afghan troops on the  ground. Until the Afghan Air Force develops its own close air support  capabilities, the AH-64 Apaches give the Mi-17 crews an added sense of  confidence. "The (Mi-17) pilots can see the AH-64 over their  shoulder," Anderson said. "They know its capabilities and it gives  them confidence when they're flying into high threat areas. Its presence alone  is a deterrent." Anderson said he believes the Afghan Air Force will be able  to conduct its own close air support within the next year or two. In the  meantime, the partnership is an important mission and a unique experience for  U.S. aviators. "Our aviators are not used to partnered operations with  Afghans, unlike the guys on the ground," said Lancianese. "It's rare  for us to be paired up with Afghan aviation elements. It is a very satisfying  mission."
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