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High flying bomber
By Cpl Mike McSweeney

Volume 11, No. 60, February 22, 2007
 
Gear up: Bdr Douglas Chapman in front of the F-111 he flew in with pilot Flt-Lt Russ Allison
 
On the ground: Maj Steve Nichols, OC Joint Terminal Attack Controller Troop, calls in the bombing mission.
Photos by LAC Alan Bencke
FOR Bdr Douglas Chapman, having his arms pinned down by 2.5 Gs and watching the world rushing past was an experience of a lifetime.

“It was pretty awesome,” he said.

The Brisbane-based soldier has spent most of his career calling in close air support, but late last year had the rare opportunity to trade places with an F-111 navigator.

He said his flight in the strike bomber was part of the ongoing development of the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) capability between Air Force and Army.

“The main aim was to give me as a JTAC, the crew’s view of a close air support mission,” Bdr Chapman said.

“It was to try and understand the workload they go through and actually feel the effects of the different profiles that we give them.”

Bdr Chapman underwent training in the simulator before the flight, learning how to operate the F-111’s infrared sensor, the Pave Tac pod, to find targets.

He said it only took 15 minutes to fly from RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland to the Evans Head range in NSW.

“I got to see the terrain-following radar – the plane just dropped down to about 100m off the water,” he said.

“Then we climbed to about 15,000ft and the JTAC on the ground contacted us and we started doing missions from there.”

Bdr Chapman, who barely managed to keep his lunch down, said his better understanding of cockpit procedures would help him and other JTACs communicate with aircrew.

“It’s just a constant workload,” he said.

“As they’re flying they’re pressing buttons and doing checks all the time, and the guy on the ground is still talking to them.

“Then I was trying to do the same stuff and the guy on the ground is still giving me information and I’m saying ‘stand by, stand by’.

“I’ll go a bit easier on them now.”

Former 82 Wg CO Gp-Capt Leo Davies agreed the training was important for the capability development.

“While it’s cost us some flying time, the broader and longer term benefits are certainly there for us,” Gp-Capt Davies said. “If we can get [aircrew and JTACs] to understand each other’s task in the joint-fires concept then they can educate themselves and each other along the way.”

He said as part of the Hardened and Networked Army there would now be a JTAC option available on almost every manoeuvre.
He also said there was scope for future orientation flights for soldiers.