So much love for snipers BUT... Where's the love for the Jtacs?

a reply to: Brotherman

Our Recce (kind of like STA) platoons have guys trained as MFC and FOOs. Snipers usually do it as an additional qual once badged.

Anyone in my Bn past Cpl learns the basics of calling in fire, and all the boys are signals trained (remember, no comms = no bombs). We practice simple air control, but we don't have the knowledge or training that the FACs or JTACs have. It takes them 18 months to learn the trade and there is a massive failure rate. The British military only has about 200 trained JTACs.

They learn all about any aircraft that may be used in theatre from any allied force, the munitions packages of each including the specs of all the weapons such as safe ranges, danger close ranges, blast radius, penetration depth, fuse types for specific targets etc for each bomb. They learn tactics and procedures that allow them to quickly read the ground, identify enemy and friendly positions, work out best line of approach, figure the best weapon for the job and relay all this information to the pilot and the ground commander in a matter of seconds. They must look at the ground from the ground, and visualise it from the pilots perspective.

As an aside, Prince Harry (Capt Wales) is one of them, and apparently quite good at it.

They are worth their weight in Haribo.

a reply to: Brotherman

Training snipers up in the ways of air to groundwould be very much ideal Imo. They have many skills that would compliment dropping bombs very well. I believe in the past snipers dropped mucho their share of ordanence but now with the extremely critical RoE and the microscope in the battle field I'm pretty sure there is a big push to get every one through some sort of training and certification before they can control air. I even just talked to a vet buddy on the phone and he though they might he setting up a jtac school sorta like jump school or whatever. Would be awesome having the majority of people able to control should the need arise.

a reply to: PaddyInf

Lol prince Harry the jtac. That's pretty nifty. Really good spot for him Imo. Gives him a chance to truly get in on the action with only about a 5-10% safer factor the normal infantry. Not too safe do its a BS gig but slightly safer to keep the queen happy.. I dig it.

The guy playing the Star Spangled Banner on the electric guitar during the call to prayer was a JTAC, wasn't he?

a reply to: mindseye1609

He has deployed as a JTAC in Afghanistan. JTACs in that theatre were deployed often at platoon level on the ground getting in firefights with the rest of us. There's no point being behind the line or in a FOB because you can't see what's going on. Don't know how much Harry saw.

a reply to: mindseye1609

I can see why the military is the only "career path" for a couple of posters here...their grammar & spelling is atrocious.

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Or they have big fingers typing on a phone...


Like this guy...

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Do you have anything to add to the topic at hand or are you just hovering around threads being a grammar Nazi and labelling groups based on a stereotype?

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Auto spell + iPad typing = you kinda gotta think about it sometimes. If you see something wrong with what I type there's a pretty high chance my fat fingers either missed or autocorrect too ok an S for plural or changed the word "rings" into "duesengerg" or some other ridiculous words never use. You wouldn't believe how many times I've said "what the duck" or "thats so ducking stupid" even after years my iPad will not accept an F at the front of those 2 without trying to change it to a D.... Silly iPad

a reply to: PaddyInf

Ya for the most part they experience the exact same conditions as an infantry man but they rarely are used as first line defense. your not gonna put your jtac to strongpoint the corner of a compound when you go someone else Ya know what I mean. Not saying it's a ton safer.. Just a smidgen. Not safe enough to claim that he's phoning in his service tho that's for sure.

a reply to: Brotherman

We never really trained for it. We were winging it at the time. It was 32 years ago, didn't even have GPS yet. We were using TACNAV and were triangulating our position with a radio compass to double check.

I don't think you can compare JTACs and TACP to snipers. Totally different jobs. I remember in basic training they always came recruiting people to be TACP. well I was gonna be a boom operator so no chance I was taking that job. Plus you had to do a ton more pushups,situps, etc to qualify for TACP. Having said that I have listened to them hundreds of times on the radio calling in air strikes including danger close strikes and hearing the fear in there voice. Not a job for the weak, but prob one of the best life saving jobs in the military.

I'm almost 1000% sure they don't do it for the love.

It's not just a job...it's an adventure.