Content area
Full Text
In June 2006, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jared Monti, 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, found himself in a firefight and outnumbered nearly four to one. His patrol was pinned down and in serious danger of being overrun. Monti, a certified joint fires observer (JFO), immediately returned fire and sought cover from the hail of incoming enemy rounds. He calmly assessed the situation, informed headquarters and initiated calls for indirect fire and close air support (CAS). He provided target data to a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) located at his battalion's tactical operations center. The results of the indirect fires and CAS neutralized the enemy force.
This situation was precisely the reason that in 2004 Army, Air Force and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) leadership identifiedthe need to provide additional training to forward observers in the execution of joint fires, particularly CAS. In fact, members of the joint CAS community were amazed at how fast the JFO Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed. From concept to three general officer signatures in only a few months is "lightning fast" for the joint community. The JFO concept is proving so successful that the US Marine Corps, US Navy and a number of other nations' militaries are moving toward signing a revision to the JFO MO Aunder the auspices of US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM).
The JFO adds joint capability to deliver all types of surface-to-surface fires efficiently, support air-delivered fires that are not CAS (e.g. AC-130, close combat attack and air interdiction), and facilitate timely and accurate targeting for a qualified JTAC in situations that are CAS as defined m Joint Publication (JP) 3-09.3 Joint Tactics, Techniques and Procedure s for CAS. As a perishable competence, these tactical-execution skill sets require considerable initial training and continuation training to keep the JFO force ready and relevant.
Initial Training. The Fires Center of Excellence (CoE) atFort Sill, Oklahoma, is currently the lead agency in the US militaiy for conducting JFO training. Between August 2005 and November 2008, the JFO Course at Fort Sill produced 1,063 certified JFOs, and it can sustain more than 500 graduates per year at current production levels. As of November, there were a total of 1,298 JFO graduates in the US Army, US Air Force...