Attacking roadside bombers from out of the blue

Stars & Stripes:

When it comes to getting the drop on insurgents in northern Iraq, there’s no better place to swoop in on fleeing gunmen or roadside bomb planters than from hundreds of feet overhead.

At least that’s the concept behind Task Force Diamondhead’s “Lightning Strike” method of hunting the enemy in an area of operation that’s about as large as Pennsylvania.

The tactic, which the 2nd Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade pioneered in Afghanistan to great success, involves a unique mix of air assault and surveillance aircraft, Army infantrymen and Navy bomb disposal technicians.

Their main purpose is to interdict roadside bomb planters and track and capture suspicious vehicles or gunmen.

Commanders and ground troops have long complained that efforts to capture insurgents on the ground are often stymied by the noise and visibility of their vehicles. Helicopter pilots have also complained that they have observed suspicious activities from the air, but have been unable to summon ground troops quickly enough to investigate.

The Lightning Strike missions are aimed at solving both those problems.

The 25th Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade staged its first such mission in Iraq this week when it launched a team of Kiowa and Black Hawk helicopters containing a number of foot soldiers, ordnance technicians and a bomb disposal robot.

“This is history in the making right here,” said Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Zawistowski, of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, before climbing aboard a roaring Black Hawk Saturday. “I think this is a lot better than what we’ve been doing.”

The missions differ from traditional air assaults or raids in that they are not flying to a specific target. Instead, the aircraft go out in search of suspicious activity in an area that hasn’t seen a heavy coalition presence.

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Air patrols with combat ground forces can enhance our ability to get inside the enemy's OODA loop by hitting him before the bomb can explode. In raiding warfare the advantage that the raider has is that retreat usually trumps pursuit, particularly if the pursuit does not begin until after the bombing. This is a way to get ahead of the enemy and practice for a civilian job with the California Highway Patrol.