Dave Powell's Hill 881S Collection - Page 17
Close Air Support (CAS)
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Spotters find enemy and passes information.
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Forward Air Control (FAC) team assembles, calls
for CAS, fast mover is
inbound, receives target briefing and advises FAC
of number and type of ordnance on board. (From left: LCpl. Ulrich,
India Six's Radio Operator; Capt. Dabney on company net adjusting marking
rounds from mortars; Cpl, Arrotta, FAC up on fast mover's frequency for
control; 1stLt. Schneider, Artillery Forward Observer advising.)
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81mm mortarman sights, prepares to fire marking
round, when called for by FAC, so it hits near target 20 seconds later
just as attack aircraft comes "wings level" out of racetrack pattern.
Tricky, tricky work. Few ground FACs ever tried it. Cpl. Arrotta
often did it several times a day, sometimes while thinking out patterns,
timing, marking for second CAS flight stacked overhead.
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FAC gives attack aircraft verbal adjustment from
marking round to target ("from smoke right 50 meters, up 25 meters") and
is "cleared hot."
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Attack aircraft acknowledges adjustments from
marking round, that he is "cleared hot" and delivers two 250lb high drag
bombs.
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