Cleared Hot ASOS sharpens skills in Florida Air Power First Sergeant’s Corner: Do you have a plan? he exan 147th Reconnaissance Wing TTexas Air National TGuard Ellington Field JRB Houston, TX January 2014 Vol 6 Issue 1 147thHere ASOS performs comes live fire training the in Fla. boomBy 2nd Lt. Alicia Lacy 147th RW Public Affairs Col. Terence Winkler Wing Commander AVON PARK AIR FORCE Other tasks included jump opera- Col. James Smith RANGE, Fla. – There is no room for tions, close combat attack, air assault Vice Wing Commander error, and accuracy and timing are ev- and close air support controls. Lt. Col. Shaunte Cooper erything. Due to the dynamic nature of a Executive Officer With almost any occupation, training TACPs job, it can be necessary for a is integral and maintaining proficien- member to recall weeks, months, and Capt. Fredy Reyes Public Affairs Officer cy is imperative; however, for tactical even years of training in a moment to air control party members, being pro- be able successfully and properly ex- 2nd Lt. Alicia Lacy ficient in their jobs can mean the dif- ecute its mission. Public Affairs Officer ference between life and death. Because of this, nerves can run Master Sgt. Sean Cowher Maintaining the skills required to high as TACPs deliberate dozens of Public Affairs Manager be adept in one of the most physically potential outcomes, calculate the pre- Staff Sgt. David Porcelle and mentally demanding career fields cise positioning of the aircrafts, plot Photojournalist in the Air Force can prove difficult, points and distances, relay targets and Staff Sgt. Mindy Bloem especially for drill-status guardsmen. locations to key personnel, whether Broadcast Journalist To support that need, 14 TACPs with it’s the ground commander or a pilot Senior Airman Chasity Lollis the 147th Air Support Operations equipped with the firepower neces- Photojournalist Squadron, Texas Air National Guard, sary to execute the mission, or make at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base the recommendation to pull the trig- Senior Airman Susanna Coronel Photojournalist in Houston, Texas, trained here De- ger. All these things can happen with- cember 15-21, 2013, to perform pe- in moments in the heat of battle, and riodic evaluations, currency training, any decision can pose great implica- proficiency training, and upgrade tions. training, as well as using the opportu- “(The necessity to maintain that nity to train with and mentor forward proficiency is) critical enough to not air controllers with the Czech air want to display incompetency on the force as part of the National Guard’s next UTA,” said a staff sergeant with This funded Air Force publication is pro- State Partnership Program. ASOS continued on page 8 duced for members of the 147th Recon- naissance Wing at Ellington Field. Con- tents of The Texan are not necessarily the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, the National Guard Bu- reau, or the Texas Air National Guard. The editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Public Affairs Office and members of the 147th Reconnaissance Wing. 14657 Snieder Street Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base Houston, TX, 77034-5586 (281) 929-2662 www.147rw.ang.af.mil www.facebook.com/147RW [email protected] Members from the 147th Reconnaissance Wing Air Support Operations Squadron and the Czech Air Force train at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida to complete required pe- Cover: A member from the 147th Reconnaissance Wing Air riodic evaluations December 16, 2013. Perfoming exercises at the Florida range allows the Support Operations Squadron checks his equipment airmen to hone the necessary skill sets to perform their jobs and missions in an environ- during a training exercise at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida, December 16, 2013. ment that allows for the use of live fighter aircraft and live munitions to replicate real-life National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Alicia Lacy warfighting scenarios. National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Alicia Lacy. 2 January 2014 Texas Counterdrug Task Force cracks down on local drug haven Texas Military Forces HARLINGEN, Texas – Chants of “Knock it Down, Knock it Down!” reverberated through a small Harlingen neigh- borhood in mid-De- cember as the Texas Joint Counterdrug Task Force’s Operation Crack- down demolished anoth- er abandoned and unsafe structure. The house was known as a drug haven to the local Harlingen Police Department. The structure was less than half a mile from the Sam Houston Elementary School. Operation Crackdown Tech Sgt. Carl White Jr., 147th Civil Engineers, 147th Reconnaissance Wing, Texas Air Na- is a program in which tional Guard, raises the bucket on the Komatsu excavator to reach out and collapse the front Texas Military Forces of a dilapadated house in that was identified by local law enforcement as being used for illicit drug activity, Harlingen, Texas, Dec. 16, 2013. Texas Joint Counterdrug Task Force’s Opera- (TXMF) soldiers and air- tion Crackdown destroys drug havens in partnership with city officials and law enforcement men demolish structures agencies. (Army National Guard photo by Ken Walker, Texas Joint Counter Drug Task Force associated with the drug Public Affairs Office). trade. To date, the pro- gram has demolished close to 1,350 slowly raised the boom and posi- Sam Houston Elementary School structures, varying from frame tioned the bucket over the roof of assistant principal Faustino Villan- houses, to an abandoned ware- the small wood structure that just ueva said the children’s participa- house, to a 40,000 sq./ft. former five years earlier had been called tion throughout the day helps them nursing home. home to an elderly man. understand their involvement in The task force is responsible for The massive 45,000-pound ex- the community. the coordination and organization cavator roared as its bucket cut “It’s good because the children of all Crackdown missions; they through the wooden structure as look up to the National Guard and partner with cities across the state easily as a hot knife through butter. service members in the armed forc- to help reduce drug use and other First the roof collapsed then White es,” Villanueva said. “They see [the illegal activities. folded the walls onto the structure service members] and feel proud, Thirty-five fifth-grade students, as if he was giving an advanced ori- confident and secure.” from Sam Houston Elementary gami demonstration. The structure Fifth grade teacher, Odilia More- School gave a clear and unmistak- collapsed into a pile of rubble and no, said some structures close to able, “knock it down” command, dust in under five minutes. the elementary school were unsafe ordering Texas Air Guard Tech. Sgt. As dust rose up and debris settled and she worried her school children Carl White Jr. to destroy the build- to the ground, the children raised would one day be injured if they ing. the hands and yelled with excite- were to explore the abandoned and Without hesitation, White smiled ment, “cool,” “this rocks” and “Wow, dilapidated structures. and gave a nod to the students as he did you see that?” Members of the Operation Crack- Counterdrug continued on page 6 3 January 2014 First Sergeant’s Corner TAX HELP Do you have a plan by Senior Master Sgt. 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