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British Mobile Fighter Controllers (now known as FACs) operating during World War II
British Mobile Fighter Controllers (now known as FACs) operating during World War II
U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Controller (known as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller since 2004) talks on the radio with an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot on a mountain in South Korea (June 2003).
U. S. Air Force Tactical Air Controller (known as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller since 2004) talks on the radio with an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot on a mountain in South Korea (June 2003). South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː

A forward air controller (FAC) is a qualified individual who, from a forward position on the ground or in the air, directs the action of military aircraft engaged in close air support of land forces. A front line is a line of confrontation in an Armed conflict, most commonly a War. A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing Aircraft that is in the current employ of a Military power In Military tactics, close air support ( CAS) is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée) in the broadest sense is the land-based Armed forces

Forward Air Controller as an official acronym that came from World War 2 when the Allies were rapidly advancing across France and the Low Countries towards Germany. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. British and American fighter planes were making Fighter Ground Attack (FGA) missions through low level bombing and strafing German military targets and logistic targets.

Enemy targets in the Forward Edge of the Battle Area (FEBA) are de facto close to friendly forces and therefore friendly forces are at risk of friendly fire through proximity during an FGA attack. A front line is a line of confrontation in an Armed conflict, most commonly a War. Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States military, refers to fire from one's own side or allied forces as The danger is twofold: the pilot cannot identify the target clearly, and is not aware of the locations of friendly forces. Camouflage, constantly changing situation and the fog of war all increase the risk. The FAC is intended to prevent such incidents. Air attacks behind enemy lines on camps, storage areas and lines of communication is known as air interdiction and does not require an FAC.

The Vietnam War brought special challenges to the task of the FAC. Much of Vietnam and most of Laos were inadequately mapped. The civilian population was intermixed with the Viet Cong and People's Army of Vietnam. Single, double, and triple canopy jungle made observation difficult. As a result, FACs often flew low altitude sorties in low performance aircraft such as the O-1 Bird Dog. Bird Dog redirects here For other uses see Bird dog WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. These FACS, usually U. S. Air Force fighter pilots from Air Commando Squadrons, operated under stringent rules of engagement. Quite often, they spotted their enemy only by the muzzle flashes of ground fire aimed at them.

Forward Air Controllers would then call for fighter-bomber support and fire a white phosphorus smoke rocket to mark enemy forces. The fighter-bombers would then be "cleared in hot" to "hit my smoke. "

Because of their effectiveness as a force multiplier, FACs were sometimes assigned to covert operations, and upon occasion worked with the Central Intelligence Agency.

The USAF also operated a specialist dedicated airborne "fast mover" FAC team, known as Misty in Vietnam. These teams piloted F-100Fs, and were founded by Colonel Bud Day. George Everett "Bud" Day (born 24 February 1925 is a retired U

It was recognised that co-ordination between ground and air forces would improve target acquisition and provide added security for friendly forces so the concept of the Forward Air Controller came into being. From the beginning the FAC was working into the [Joint Force] environment and since 2004 the term FAC has been superseded by "Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC)" in the USAF and US Navy, which puts a percentage of SEALs through JTAC training.

FAC's and TACP's in Great Britain are trained at the Joint Forward Air Controller Training Standards Unit (JFACTSU) [1]

The United States Marine Corps has the capability to provide ground and air forces from within its own resources and when doing so are not operating in a Joint Force environment and they retain the term FAC.

The primary function of an FAC is the safety of their own troops but is trained to identify and designate targets using a data transmission, laser or direct positive voice radio control. Military forces only had a radio in World War 2 so the FAC used his eyes and voice to direct the pilot and the pilot used his ears and eyes to accurately attack the target.

FACs were initially ground personnel but later FACs operated both on the ground and from within aircraft operating in the FEBA. FACs were designated as Primary or Secondary depending upon their appointment. A Primary FAC is a designated FAC unit titled Primary Forward Air Controller (PFAC) operating a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP). A Tactical Air Control Party, commonly abbreviated TACP (pronounced TAC-P is usually a team of two or more United States Air Force Secondary FACs have another primary appointment but could use their FAC training and qualification when appropriate and includes company level commanders and helicopter pilots. TACPs were appointed to forward units and as Air Liaison to tactical ground unit headquarters.

Major improvements in technology in the 1980s/1990s brought the laser, GPS and battlefield data transfer into service, which enables FGA to be constantly updated by the FAC/JTAC throughout the attack, which reduces the danger to friendly forces and increase the accuracy of the weapons being delivered.

The United States armed services signed the JTAC Memorandum of Agreement in late 2004 when Joint Fighter Ground Attack (FGA) Close Air Support (CAS) operations have to be controlled by someone who has been trained to the minimum "joint" standard and be qualified by their service to (for all intents and purposes) legally control Close Air Support. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The British standardise FAC (JTAC) operations at the Joint Forward Air Control Training Standards Unit (JFACTSU)[2]. The USA and Great Britain are members of NATO and the standards referred to are ratified across NATO enabling qualified and appointed FACs to control FGA of any NATO country when authorised to do so.

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is the only United States service to refer to its JTACs as FACs. The USMC requires that:

At the completion of the TACP course Aviators are granted the 7502 FAC Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and are considered certified and qualified JTACs.

Non-aviator JTACs in the United States Marine Corps must meet the following requirements:

After completion of one the DoDs JTAC courses non-aviator Marines are given the secondary MOS of 9986, that of a qualified JTAC/FAC. The United States Department of Defense ( DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government

See also

References

A Joint terminal attack controller is a qualified (certified Military service member who from a forward position directs the action of Combat aircraft engaged in A Tactical Air Control Party, commonly abbreviated TACP (pronounced TAC-P is usually a team of two or more United States Air Force An artillery observer is a soldier responsible for directing Artillery fire and Close air support (ground attack by aircraft onto enemy positions Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States military, refers to fire from one's own side or allied forces as ANGLICO (Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company refers to several small units of the United States Marine Corps who specialize in coordinating artillery naval gunfire and
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