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Line 14: − + + − :''"There is no such thing as a Palestinian Arab nation...Palestine is a name the Romans gave to Eretz Yisrael with the express purpose of infuriating the Jews....Why should we use the spiteful name meant to humiliate us?''+ − + − :''Palestine has never existed...as an autonomous entity. There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc.''+ − :''Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of one percent of the landmass. But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is ultimately what the fighting in Israel is about today...No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be enough.'' — from "Myths of the Middle East", Joseph Farah, Arab-American editor and journalist, ''WorldNetDaily'', 11 October 2000+ − :''From the end of the Jewish state in antiquity to the beginning of British rule, the area now designated by the name Palestine was not a country and had no frontiers, only administrative boundaries....'' — Professor Bernard Lewis, ''Commentary Magazine'', January 1975+ − Talk and writing about Israel and the Middle East feature the nouns "Palestine" and Palestinian", and the phrases "Palestinian territory" and even "Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory". All too often, these terms are used with regard to their historical or geographical meaning, so that the usage creates illusions rather than clarifies reality.+ − '''What Does "Palestine" Mean?'''+ − It has never been the name of a nation or state. It is a geographical term, used to designate the region at those times in history when there is no nation or state there.+ − The word itself derives from "''Peleshet''", a name that appears frequently in the Bible and has come into English as "Philistine". The name began to be used in the Thirteenth Century BCE, for a wave of migrant "Sea Peoples" who came from the area of the Aegean Sea and the Greek Islands and settled on the southern coast of the land of Canaan. There they established five independent city-states (including Gaza) on a narrow strip of land known as Philistia. The Greeks and Romans called it "''Palastina''". + − The Philistines were not Arabs, they were not Semites. They had no connection, ethnic, linguistic or historical with Arabia or Arabs. The name "Falastin" that Arabs today use for "Palestine" is not an Arabic name. It is the Arab pronunciation of the Greco-Roman "Palastina" derived from the Peleshet. + − '''How Did the Land of Israel Become "Palestine"?'''+ − In the First Century CE, the Romans crushed the independent kingdom of Judea. After the failed rebellion of Bar Kokhba in the Second Century CE, the Roman Emperor Hadrian determined to wipe out the identity of Israel-Judah-Judea. Therefore, he took the name Palastina and imposed it on all the Land of Israel. At the same time, he changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina. + − The Romans killed many Jews and sold many more in slavery. Some of those who survived still alive and free left the devastated country, but there was never a complete abandonment of the Land. There was never a time when there were not Jews and Jewish communities, though the size and conditions of those communities fluctuated greatly. + − '''The History of Palestine'''+ − Thousands of years before the Romans invented "''Palastina''" the land had been known as "Canaan". The Canaanites had many tiny city-states, each one at times independent and at times a vassal of an Egyptian or Hittite king. The Canaanites never united into a state. + − After the Exodus from Egypt — probably in the Thirteenth Century BCE but perhaps earlier — the Children of Israel settled in the land of Canaan. There they formed first a tribal confederation, and then the Biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and the post-Biblical kingdom of Judea. + − From the beginning of history to this day, Israel-Judah-Judea has the only united, independent, sovereign nation-state that ever existed in "Palestine" west of the Jordan River. (In Biblical times, Ammon, Moab and Edom as well as Israel had land east of the Jordan, but they disappeared in antiquity and no other nation took their place until the British invented Trans-Jordan in the 1920s.) + − After the Roman conquest of Judea, "''Palastina''" became a province of the pagan Roman Empire and then of the Christian Byzantine Empire, and very briefly of the Zoroastrian Persian Empire. In 638 CE, an Arab-Muslim Caliph took Palastina away from the Byzantine Empire and made it part of an Arab-Muslim Empire. The Arabs, who had no name of their own for this region, adopted the Greco-Roman name Palastina, that they pronounced "''Falastin''". + − In that period, much of the mixed population of Palastina converted to Islam and adopted the Arabic language. They were subjects of a distant Caliph who ruled them from his capital, that was first in Damascus and later in Baghdad. They did not become a nation or an independent state, or develop a distinct society or culture. + − In 1099, Christian Crusaders from Europe conquered Palestina-Falastin. After 1099, it was never again under Arab rule. The Christian Crusader kingdom was politically independent, but never developed a national identity. It remained a military outpost of Christian Europe, and lasted less than 100 years. Thereafter, Palestine was joined to Syria as a subject province first of the Mameluks, ethnically mixed slave-warriors whose center was in Egypt, and then of the Ottoman Turks, whose capital was in Istanbul. + − During the First World War, the British took Palestine from the Ottoman Turks. At the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and among its subject provinces "Palestine" was assigned to the British, to govern temporarily as a mandate from the League of Nations. + − '''The Jewish National Home'''+ − Travellers to Palestine from the Western world left records of what they saw there. The theme throughout their reports is dismal: The land was empty, neglected, abandoned, desolate, fallen into ruins + − :''Nothing there [Jerusalem] to be seen but a little of the old walls which is yet remaining and all the rest is grass, moss and weeds.'' — English pilgrim in 1590+ − :''The country is in a considerable degree empty of inhabitants and therefore its greatest need is of a body of population'' — British consul in 1857+ − :''There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent [valley of Jezreel] — not for 30 miles in either direction....One may ride 10 miles hereabouts and not see 10 human beings.''+ − :''For the sort of solitude to make one dreary, come to Galilee...Nazareth is forlorn...Jericho lies a moldering ruin...Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and humiliation...untenanted by any living creature....''+ − + − :''Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes . . . desolate and unlovely....'' — Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, 1867+ − The restoration of the "desolate and unlovely" land began in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century with the first Jewish pioneers. Their labors created newer and better conditions and opportunities, which in turn attracted migrants from many parts of the Middle East, both Arabs and others. + − The Balfour Declaration of 1917, confirmed by the League of Nations Mandate, commited the British Government to the principle that "His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish National Home, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object. . . . " It was specified both that this area be open to "close Jewish settlement" and that the rights of all inhabitants already in the country be preserved and protected. + − Mandate Palestine originally included all of what is now Jordan, as well as all of what is now Israel, and the territories between them. However, when Great Britain's protégé Emir Abdullah was forced to leave the ancestral Hashemite domain in Arabia, the British created a realm for him that included all of Manfate Palestine east of the Jordan River. There was no traditional or historic Arab name for this land, so it was called after the river: first Trans-Jordan and later Jordan. + − By this political act, that violated the conditions of the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate, the British cut more than 75 percent out of the Jewish National Home. No Jew has ever been permitted to reside in Trans-Jordan/Jordan. + − Less than 25 percent then remained of Mandate Palestine, and even in this remnant, the British violated the Balfour and Mandate requirements for a "Jewish National Home" and for "close Jewish settlement". They progressively restricted where Jews could buy land, where they could live, build, farm or work. + − After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel was finally able to settle some small part of those lands from which the Jews had been debarred by the British. Successive British governments regularly condemn their settlement as "illegal". In truth, it was the British who had acted illegally in banning Jews from these parts of the Jewish National Home. + + + − '''Who Is A Palestinian?'''+ − During the period of the Mandate, it was the Jewish population that was known as "''Palestinians''" including those who served in the British Army in World War II.+ − British policy was to curtail their numbers and progressively limit Jewish immigration. By 1939, the White Paper virtually put an end to admission of Jews to Palestine. This policy was imposed the most stringently at the very time this Home was most desperately needed — after the rise of Nazi power in Europe. Jews who might have developed the empty lands of Palestine and left progeny there, instead died in the gas chambers of Europe or in the seas they were trying to cross to the Promised Land. + − At the same time that the British slammed the gates on Jews, they permitted or ignored massive illegal immigration into Western Palestine from Arab countries Jordan, Syria, Egypt, North Africa. In 1939, Winston Churchill noted that "''So far from being persecuted, the Arabs have crowded into the country and multiplied....''" Exact population statistics may be problematic, but it seems that by 1947 the number of Arabs west of the Jordan River was approximately triple of what it had been in 1900. + − The current myth is that these Arabs were long established in Palestine, until the Jews came and "displaced" them. The fact is, that recent Arab immigration into Palestine "displaced" the Jews. That the massive increase in Arab population was very recent is attested by the ruling of the United Nations: That any Arab who had lived in Palestine for two years and then left in 1948 qualifies as a "''Palestinian refugees''". + − Casual use of population statistics for Jews and Arabs in Palestine rarely consider how the proportions came to be. One factor was the British policy of keeping out Jews while bringing in Arabs. Another factor was the violence used to kill or drive out Jews even where they had been long established. + − + − For another example: In 1948, Trans-Jordan seized much of Judea and Samaria (which they called ''The West Bank'') and East Jerusalem and the Old City. They killed or drove out every Jew. + − It is now often proposed as a principle of international law and morality that all places that the British and the Arabs rendered ''Judenrein'' must forever remain so. In contrast, Israel eventually allotted 17 percent of Mandate Palestine has a large and growing population of Arab citizens.+ − '''From Palestine To Israel'''+ − What was to become of "''Palestine''" after the Mandate? This question was taken up by various British and international commissions and other bodies, culminating with the United Nations in 1947. During the various deliberations, Arab officials, spokesmen and writers expressed their views on "Palestine".+ − :''"There is no such country as Palestine. 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented....Our country was for centuries part of Syria. 'Palestine' is alien to us. It is the Zionists who introduced it."'' — Local Arab leader to British Peel Commission, 1937+ − :''"There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not"'' — Professor Philip Hitti, Arab historian to Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, 1946+ − :''"It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria."'' — Ahmed Shukairy, United Nations Security Council, 1956+ − By 1948, the Arabs had still not yet discovered their ancient nation of ''Falastin''. When they were offered half of Palestine west of the Jordan River for a state, the offer was violently rejected. Six Arab states launched a war of annihilation against the nascent State of Israel. Their purpose was not to establish an independent Falastin. Their aim was to partition western Palestine amongst themselves. + − They did not succeed in killing Israel, but Trans-Jordan succeeded in taking Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and East Jerusalem, killing or driving out all the Jews who had lived in those places, and banning Jews of all nations from Jewish holy places. Egypt succeeded in taking the Gaza Strip. These two Arab states held these lands until 1967. Then they launched another war of annihilation against Israel, and in consequence lost the lands they had taken by war in 1948.+ − During those 19 years, 1948-1967, Jordan and Egypt never offered to surrendar those lands to make up an independent state of ''Falastin''. The "''Palestinians''" never sought it. Nobody in the world ever suggested it, much less demanded it.+ − Finally, in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Movement was founded. Ahmed Shukairy, who less than 10 years earlier had denied the existence of Palestine, was its first chairman. Its charter proclaimed its sole purpose to be the destruction of Israel. To that end it helped to precipitate the Arab attack on Israel in 1967.+ − The outcome of that attack then inspired an alteration in public rhetoric. As propaganda, it sounds better to speak of the liberation of Falastin than of the destruction of Israel. Much of the world, governments and media and public opinion, accept virtually without question of serious analysis the new-sprung myth of an Arab nation of Falastin, whose territory is unlawfully occupied by the Jews. + − Since the end of World War I, the Arabs of the Middle East and North Africa have been given independent states in 99.5 percent of the land they claimed. Lord Balfour once expressed his hope that when the Arabs had been given so much, they would "not begrudge" the Jews the "little notch" promised to them.+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Tactical Air Control Party
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'''The History and Meaning of "Palestine" and "Palestinians"'''
'''Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)''' <br>
'''"Death on Call"'''
Only a select few wear the Black Beret that symbolizes the Tactical Air Control Party (TACP). The Air Force specialists are assigned to Army combat maneuver units around the world. On a battlefield, they form a tactical air control party team that plans, requests and directs air strikes against enemy targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A TACP is generally a two-airman team, working in an Army ground unit and directing close air support firepower toward enemy targets on the ground.
:''The British chose to call the land they mandated Palestine, and the Arabs picked it up as their nation's supposed ancient name, though they couldn't even pronounce it correctly and turned it into Falastin a fictional entity."'' — Golda Meir quoted by Sarah Honig, ''Jerusalem Post'', 25 November 1995
Tactical Air Control Parties provide numerous critical functions on the modern battlefield including: (1) Advising ground forces on aircraft employment and capabilities; (2) Coordinating and controlling aerospace operations and (3) Participating in battle planning.
Tactical Air Command and Control Specialists are part of a team called a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP). The mission is to advise US Army combat commanders on the use of Air Force air power. One example of air power is a fighter aircraft attacking targets close to friendly troops. This is Close Air Support and is a very important part of the TACP mission. It is the TACP's job to control the fighters and to make sure they attack the correct target. This unique mission requires operating on the battlefield. TACPs communicate with other tactical air and ground units by use of state-of-the-art radios, while mirroring the maneuver capabilities of our Army counterparts. Whether it's parachuting out of an airplane from 1000 feet with the 82nd Airborne Division, engaging in a tank assault with the 1st Armored Division, or operating deep behind enemy lines with the 75th Ranger Regiment, the TACP mission is the same…PUTTING BOMBS ON TARGET!
TACPs live, train, and deploy with the US Army units. When deployed, the TACPs live under austere field conditions, and are responsible for the coordination, de-confliction, and execution of all USAF attack aircraft. Qualified individuals, serving as Terminal Attack Controllers (ETACs), provide final attack control to the pilots while the fighters are inbound to the target. The ETAC is responsible for ensuring that the pilot identifies and attacks the correct target while minimizing the risk to friendly ground forces. During peacetime, training is the major focus. This training can take the form of common skills testing (mission readiness), various weapons qualifications, chemical warfare and combat first aid training. At various times throughout the year, Army field training exercises (FTX) are conducted to evaluate combat readiness. The lengths of these exercises vary from a few days to a month.
The US Air Force Air Ground Operations School remains the only US service school devoted to instruction in coordinated joint air ground operations. Army faculty members are provided on a permanent basis by the US Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In addition, US Marine and a US Navy officers are permanently attached. Graduating students take with them a unique background and experience for enhancing professional knowledge and furthering continued interservice cooperation among their contemporaries.
Enlisted Terminal Attack Controller (ETAC -- pronounced E-TACK ) is a Tactical air party member who assists in mission planning and provides final control of close air support aircraft in support of ground forces. Utilizing their knowledge of munitions and their first-hand view of the battle, the ETAC requests the right combination of firepower to eliminate the ground target without causing casualties to nearby friendly ground forces. Once the enemy target has been positively identified, it is marked using smoke or other marking methods. When all the conditions have been met for the incoming aircraft to deliver its ordnance, the ETAC gives the "cleared hot" signal to the pilot, and suddenly, it's a bad day for the enemy.
During combat operations, an Air Liaison Officer (ALO), Forward Air Controller (FAC) or Enlisted Terminal Attack Controller (ETAC) is normally available for control of close air support missions. These individuals are the only authorized Air Force personnel permitted to routinely control CAS missions in support of US Army units or other ground maneuver units, allied or joint, when attached. During emergency combat operations however, when these individuals are not available, a designated individual may direct attacking aircraft for close air support.
Air Liaison Officers (ALOs) and enlisted Ground Terminal Attack Controllers (GTACs) have a unique mission. They wear Air Force uniforms but work closely with the Army. Their combat mission is to live and work on the ground with the army, request and control Air Force Close Air Support (CAS) and integrate it with the army scheme of maneuver on the battlefield.
TACP Modernization Program
To perform its mission, the TACP is equipped with vehicle-mounted communications pallets, manpack radios, and digital communications devices to interface with the ground forces it supports, aircraft conducting the air operations, aerospace command and control (C2) agencies, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) agencies. The TACP-Modernization effort will provide a technology refresh by adding/replacing manpack radios, a laser range finder, computers and software, and vehicular radios.
The Defense Information Infrastructure System Program Office’s TACP modernization program has four main products: a dismounted multi-band radio, a laser range finder, a computer and information software suite and a vehicle mounted radio package. The dismounted radio, called a manpack, is a multi-band, multimode radio that covers the gamut of wave forms. Frequencies covered include VHF, UHF and UHF SATCOM radio. The unit is also compatible with the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System, a system which the Army uses. The total cost for the radio upgrade is more than $10 million. During 2000, a total of 221 Harris PRC-117F Manpack Radios were purchased and delivered to TACP units. In April 2001, Harris Corporation of Rochester, NY, was awarded a contract for an additional 561 radios. The first 230 radios were delivered to TACP units within three months.
Another integral part of enhancing the TACP’s capabilities is the new Mark VII Eyesafe Laser Range Finder. The laser range finder, which looks like a regular pair of binoculars, provides accurate distance measuring and location information on whatever target is in the operators field of view. Previously, the TACPs can only estimate the range to a target. With the laser range finder, they will look through the range finder at a target, which will emit a laser beam onto the target. The beam immediately bounces back and provides the exact coordinates of the target, which are relayed up to the pilot. The contract with Litton Laser Systems of Apopka, Fla., provides for 184 units to be built at a cost of $9 million. The first unit was delivered in March, 2002.
New software and computers are also part of the modernization plan. Previously the TACPs were using paper maps. Putting their data on a computer generated map that constantly updates itself takes their maps and documentation and put it all into a computerized format. TACPs will know their location, the enemy’s location and they will also track incoming aircraft.
The computer and software will receive data from the laser range finder, and together with data on the computer and information transmitted via radio, will display a battlefield map along with accurate coordinates for enemy targets. It’s sort of like air traffic control software, which sees the aircraft and tracks it on the map. The software requirements are being met by modifying an existing software product, Rosetta, manufactured by ANZUS Inc. of San Diego, CA, to meet the special needs of TACPs. Rosetta is currently being used by the Air Force, Navy and Army in other applications.
TACP members throughout the world supported U.S. Army units such as the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the 24th Infantry Division, and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment with their close air support (CAS) requirements. Enlisted Terminal Attack Controllers (ETACs) were also tasked to support multinational coalition forces including the French Foreign Legion, Saudi, Egyptian, Pakistani, Syrian, and Kuwaiti ground forces.
Tallahasse Technologies of Tallahasse, Fla., with their Tacter-31, is the vendor for five prototype handheld computers used during testing. It’s a ruggedized type of computer that can go in the mud and underwater up to a meter deep. Cost for the 437 computers along with the software package is roughly $20 million. The entire dismounted system package, which includes the computer, radio and laser range finder, will fit into a single rucksack.
History
The history of Close Air Support began somewhere over the muddy trenches that stretched from Flanders' Fields to the Pyrenees Mountains during World War I. It was there that the courage, daring, skill and innovation of the first CAS pilots forever earned the respect of the troops on the ground. These lessons were mostly forgotten by World War II, however. The emphasis was on high altitude bombing by heavy bombers to support ground troops. Close air support was considered the least desirable of missions and was performed when nothing else better could be found or when the situation was critical on the ground.
CAS was quite effective through Korea and Vietnam but it took those two wars to change the way the Air Force looked at the CAS role. The original use of the term ROMAD was in Vietnam Conflict, when fighter pilots were dispersed to Army manuever units to direct close air support (CAS). These Battalion Air Liason Officer (BALO) pilots needed enlisted troops to operate, maintain, and transport the massive radio systems used to communicate with aircraft. These enlisted folks were known as ROMADS for Radio Operator, Maintainer, And Driver. The enlisted airman was limited in their role because the Battalion Air Liason Officer was the only person authorized to control airstrikes.
With the development of the A-10, close air support was finally taken seriously. The A-10 provided the army with awesome tank killing power and they wanted Air Force fighter pilots on the ground, working directly with them, to control it. Through the sixties and seventies, small Air Force detachments sprung up at each army division, providing a local group of Air Force Air Liaison Officers(ALOs). Eventually, the enlisted terminal attack controller career field was created and the new units called Tactical Air Control Parties (TACPs) had enlisted continuity to offset the continuous rotation of fighter pilot ALOs. Only in the Air National Guard does the ALO career field co-exist with the enlisted ROMAD [Recon Observe Mark And Destroy] career field.
In the mid 1980's the Air Force saw a problem in maintaining pilots in the cockpit and the Army units. The result was the Enlisted Terminal Attack Controller (ETAC). The ETAC is a highly trained and proficient ROMAD who takes the controlling aspect away from the officer. ETACs are assigned to Tactical Air Control Parties (TACPs) in all types of manuever units from Airborne, Air Assault, Armor, Mech, Ranger, and Special Forces.
US Army Ranger TACP members spearheaded the parachute invasion of Panama. In-country TACPs, supporting the 193rd Infantry were among the initial ground assault force. 82nd Airborne Division TACP members later parachuted into the invasion and were quickly followed by the 7th Infantry Division TACP air-land forces. Airstrikes were controlled by ETACs utilizing the AC-130 "Spectre" gunship, A-7, OA-37, and helicopter gunships.
TACP members from the U.S. Army Rangers spearheaded the invasion of Grenada. They were followed by members of the 82nd Airborne Division TACP. Enlisted TACP members controlled the bulk of the Close Air Support missions, which helped pave the way for the ETAC program.
TACP members have also been deployed in support of operation Restore Hope (Somalia), Operation Uphold Democracy (Haiti), and back to Kuwait.
'''Tactical Air Control Parties (TACPs)'''
The term Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) refers to the two or three MAN operations team responsible for interfacing with, coordinating for and conducting for Army ground forces (U.S. or multi-national) Close Air Support (CAS). However, there are broader and much more narrow aspects to this field.
The MAJCOMs for the TACP parent units are ACC, PACAF and USAFE. Under each MAJCOM are Air Support Operations Squadrons (ASOS). Each ASOS is broken down into two parts: operations and support. Our support troops include Radio Maintenance, Supply and Information Management. Our operations section is broken down into two parts: Air Liaison Officers (ALOs) and Tactical Air Command and Control Specialists (TACCS). Most commonly referred to as ROMAD (for Radio Operator, Maintainer and Driver - an old acronym; Recon, Observe, Mark and Destroy - the new acronym; or, more jokingly and definitely non-P.C., Rude, Obnoxious, Mean-Assed Drunk), TACCS are highly trained enlisted specialists. TACPs usually consist of two or three people, usually one ALO and one or two TACCS capable of going anywhere (leg, mech, light or airborne) to accomplish CAS.
:''A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds..a silent, mournful expanse...a desolation....We never saw a human being on the whole route....Hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country....''
The TACPs mission is: interface with army ground forces, liaison with both command staff and forward controllers, advise of Air Force Tactical Air assets, coordinate any those assets and then control that CAS asset to bear on enemy targets. This is broken down into the phrase, "Advise, Assist and Control."
As for the individuals, ALOs are generally either ex- or banked fighter jocks and, to an increasingly lesser extent, WIZZOs or navigators. All are officers at least a 1st lieutenant or higher grade. ALOs are generally the controllers of any CAS mission. TACCS are broken down into two groups: standard TACCS and highly trained specialists known as Enlisted Terminal Attack Controllers (ETACs). When certified, ETACs are capable of performing the same operations as ALOs. As their ability to retain fighter jocks is reduced, the mission of the ETACs will grow with the eventual transition of all TACCS into becoming ETACs after a couple of years of field training.
ALOs and TACCS can be found at almost every major U.S. Army base around the world. Unlike other "specialized" Air Force brethren (excluding Combat Weather), they live on Army posts, go to the field with them, train with them, eat the food, ruck with them, live with them are often mistaken for the Air Force's Army. Members can be found assigned to Armor/Mech units, Scout units, CAV units, Mountain troops, light and heavy brigades, divisions and battalions. Members are found at the Special Forces and Rangers, many SF qualified and full Ranger members (completed the Ranger and SF training). Many members are at Airborne divisions, most with wings (a few with gold stars). They can go anywhere, in any weather, in any environment with any friendly ground force to accomplish CAS.
At the present, there are four Air National Guard ASOS to provide support for 15 Army National Guard Enhanced Brigades (light, scout/cav, heavy/mech) throughout the U.S. and its territories.
There are two TACP mottos: "Death on Call," and "The strong shall stand, the weak will fall by the wayside."
'''1C4X1 - TACTICAL AIR COMMAND AND CONTROL'''
Specialty Summary. Performs and manages tactical air control party (TACP) operations. Provides Air Force assistance and expertise in planning and controlling combat air resources. Operates and supervises communications nets to support army ground maneuver units. Related DoD Occupational Subgroup: 250.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Supervises and conducts mission planning and coordination of combat air resources. Recommends use of combat air resources to support mission requirements, tactics, air support assets, and ordnance capabilities and limitations. Extracts target information from maps. Plans and controls combat air support missions. Coordinates field artillery support.
Supervises and performs inter-service liaison activities to ensure effective integration of combat air resources on the battlefield. Provides Air Force expertise essential to joint combat operations. Assists with and coordinates air support requests. Plans, prepares, and conducts mission briefings. Assists with and develops fire support coordination plans.
Manages and operates global positioning systems, and voice and digital TACP combat communications weapons systems. Establishes and operates point-to-point communications nets. Processes and requests combat air resources to support Army ground maneuver units. Directs and employs field expedient antenna techniques.
Supervises and performs TACP field duties. Deploys to battlefield forward areas and supports Army maneuver units. Uses military maps to navigate to and operate within combat zones. Maintains proficiency with TACP weapons, field equipment, and signaling devices. Selects and supervises preparation of bivouac sites. Directs and applies camouflage and concealment techniques. Manages and conducts operator servicing of TACP vehicles, radios, and field and support equipment.
Specialty Qualifications:
Knowledge. Knowledge is mandatory of: Air Force theater air control system and Army air ground system; tactical air support weapons systems; covert and overt signaling and marking; combat intelligence collecting and reporting; individual and crew-served weapons; site selection and defense; Army military symbology, weapons, and equipment; artillery call-for-fire and adjustment procedures; Army combat maneuver unit missions, organization, and tasking; characteristics of mobile and portable communications systems, global positioning systems, and associated equipment; field expedient antennas; vehicle and foot movement techniques; Army and Air Force supply and mobility procedures; Army command and unit staff functions and tasking; interservice and host-tenant support agreements and procedures; TACP vehicle and support equipment operations, management, and operator servicing procedures; tactical air request, coordination, and control procedures; universal transverse mercator map and compass navigation; and geographical reference coordinate system.
Education. For entry into this specialty, completion of high school with courses in mathematics is desirable.
For one example: The Jewish connection with Hebron goes back to Abraham, and there has been an Israelite/Jewish community there since Joshua long before it was King David's first capital. In 1929, Arab rioters with the passive consent of the British — killed or drove out virtually the entire Jewish community.
Training. For award of AFSC 1C431, completion of a basic tactical air command and control course is mandatory.
Experience. The following experience is mandatory for award of the AFSC indicated:
1C451. Qualification in and possession of AFSC 1C431. Also, experience in TACP operations.
1C471. Qualification in and possession of AFSC 1C451. Also, experience in supervising tactical air command and control operations, personnel, and equipment.
1C491. Qualification in and possession of AFSC 1C471. Also, experience in managing tactical air command and control activities.
Other. The following is mandatory as indicated:
For entry into this specialty, normal color vision and depth perception as defined in AFI 48-1232, Medical Examination and Standards.
For entry, award, and retention of AFSCs 1C411/31/51/71, qualification to operate government vehicles according to AFI 24-3013, Vehicle Operations.
For entry, award, and retention of AFSCs 1C411/31/51/71/91/00, ability to speak English distinctly.
For award and retention of AFSCs 1C431/51/71/91/00, eligibility for a Secret security clearance4, according to AFI 31-5015, Personnel Security Program Management.
Note: Orientation briefings are conducted in the 2nd week of Basic Training, during cycles established by the TACP Selection Team. These selection cycles are based on follow-on technical training class dates. Additionally, a physical fitness evaluation will be administered to qualified volunteers**. The standards for this evaluation are:
* 50 push-ups in 2 minutes
* 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes
* 2-mile run in 14:30 or less.
**Volunteers during basic training can be enlistees in Mechanical, General, Administrative, or Electronic aptitude areas. Additionally, members with most guaranteed jobs may also try out. However, there are also a number of guaranteed jobs that are not authorized to try out, depending upon whether or not those jobs are critically manned.
Deployment Rate for this AFSC6
Strength Req7: K
Physical Profile8: 111121
Citizenship: Yes
Note: Job not open to women
Required Appitude Score9 : G-48 (Changed to G-49, effective 1 Jul 04).
Technical Training:
Course #: E3ABP1C431 000
Location:10Hu
Length (Days): 73