Ok my dad is a Marine Corp veteran and attained the rank of Corporal (now he is a homicide detective in a police department), and my grandpa (his father) is a Vietnam War veteran and I think his rank was perhaps Private or Specialist. Anyway my fiance is joining the Army right after we graduate from high school in a few weeks and even though both of them are extremely patriotic (my mom and his mom are against the Iraqi war and are trying to dissuade him) but he made up his mind plus as his wife and the mother of his children we will receive govt benefits. Ok their concern is that the soldiers when they engage the enemy do not receive support from helicopters sending in more soldiers to help the soldiers in trouble. They say that the three kidnapped soldiers is a prime example of that because they had to send a ground force to help them and it was too late. To be honest I didn't completely understand what they were saying but they seem adamant in their belief.
2007-06-14 17:29:57 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
To the answerer shj olds could you please explain why the force that had the three kidnapped soldiers did not use this code to get help instead of sending a ground force to rescue them. Also my dad and grandpa when they were discussing this said that they had to send a small unmanned airplane with a camera rather than a helicopter to assess the problem.
2007-06-14 18:28:41 · update #1
Air Cab is 24/7. All they have to say is "broken arrow" over the radio and they will have almost every aircraft coming to their rescue within a 150 miles area!
Rebecca, to answer your question, I don't know. Because I'm not in the military anymore. "Broken Arrow" simply means our position is being over ran by enemy forces. At least that is what it's suppose to mean to the grunt on the ground. As for the Navy and the Air Force, it means something different. The term then stands for dealing with nuclear weapons...
But please note: when they claim our position is being over run, they must be able to explain where they are location is. That Navy Lt. just coming off the deck of his ship doesn't know the location of where every grunt is. And even then, with "candles lite" it may still take him 10-15 mins to get on station to help the guys. I'm sorry, but that's just the reality of war.
2007-06-14 18:18:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES, there is helicopter support.
I can appreciate a mothers fear of a son or son in law going to war. I dealt with it myself. And it is little solace that so few have died in a war so long. The only one that counts is her son.
But all that stay must realize that he is in the best trained military in the world. He is well trained as are his colleagues. He is going there to protect all of you. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but the US military will do everything it can to bring all of it's soldiers home. How many other militaries would deploy 8,000 troops to find 3???
The military is not always perfect, but the US military is as good as it gets. There is no telling why they didn't get helicopter support that day. They may not have gotten their message out over the radio. The staff may not have understood their (complete) situation soon enough. The helicopters may have come but not soon enough.
There is air support in Iraq and they have an itchy finger. They'll fly in in a heartbeat if they thing they'll get to use their munitions.
2007-06-14 21:24:50 · answer #2 · answered by John T 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do provide air support. But not EVERY mission needs aircraft(s). There is no trying to figure out the Army... they do what they do and they do it because they think it is the best thing at that time... there could be PLENTY more helicopters for EVERY mission, but they just dont have enough helicopters to do one per man. So... They do what they can... when they can and how the mission permits. Good Luck to your husband. and Good luck to you and welcome to the Army world, and We welcome you to the ranks of the Army Wives.
2007-06-14 18:50:28 · answer #3 · answered by Me 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For the most part soldiers recieve support from both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
2007-06-14 17:35:15 · answer #4 · answered by smsmith500 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I was in Iraq. There was NEVER a time I couldn't look up in the sky and see a helicopter. Those darn things were like flies swarming around the base.
LOL, its a good thing though,
2007-06-14 18:02:42 · answer #5 · answered by Nickoo 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they DO receive helicopter support... my son is a Marine who just returned from there... doing that!
2007-06-14 17:47:20 · answer #6 · answered by Amy S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋