by Dan Perkins

Think you make important decisions at work?  Trying walking in the boots of Staff Sergeant Jason Cry.

Cry is a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) for the 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron.  As a JTAC, Cry is responsible for providing ground-based air support when needed.  It's a demanding position involving many life-and-death decisions.

Sergeant Jason Cry is currently stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He was recently featured in an Air Force press release for demonstrating decisive and effective decision-making abilities during an intense attack on coalition forces in Afghanistan. 

The release highlighted an early morning attack, March 18, 2004, in the Afghan village of Miam Do.  Sergeant Cry was the JTAC assigned to the Army ground forces that morning.  Over a period of 34 hours, Cry coordinated close-air support for embattled coalition forces comprised of U.S. soldiers and Afghan national army soldiers.

In the release, Cry described his duties as follows: "We're the link between the Army and the Air Force when the need arises for close-air support.  Without us, there is no (close-air support), only firefights."

The early morning attack reportedly intensified around 6:30 a.m., and the brigade commander determined that close-air support was needed.  The commander turned to Cry to get his soldiers quick relief.

Cry had a series of critical decisions to make.  He had to determine what actions were needed to control air operations and how best to maximize the support.  He had to anticipate the type of aircraft that would be used, and decide how best to use each one.  He also had to decide what type of weapons to use, and where to direct the hits.   

Based on the intense fighting, Sergeant Cry requested support from a variety of aircraft, including four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, four AH-64 Apaches, an AC-130 gunship, and a B-1B Lancer.

While calling in multiple aircraft can be a good thing, it requires a high level of coordination and decision-making.  "Everything happens fast when you're out there.  There's not much time to think, so your mind is always racing," said Cry in the release.

As JTAC, Cry has a lot to consider.  He must consider the lives of the troops he's trying to protect, and the lives of the enemies he's trying to take out.  If he orders the aircraft to strike at the wrong coordinates, the results could be devastating.  Given the immediate and potentially dire consequences of the decisions involved with being a JTAC, Cry's job is not one that appeals to many people.  But Cry knows it's a job that has to be done, and he does it to the best of his ability.  He is keenly aware that the decisions he makes play a critical role in determining the outcome of an engagement.

As the battle continued the morning of March 18th, the battalion commander requested additional support from the AC-130, which reportedly fired 26 potent rounds with its 105 mm cannon.  Then the B-1B moved in and dropped three 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions on the intended target. 

Despite the enormity of the firepower unleashed by the air support, the enemy persisted.  Sergeant Cry ordered two A-10 aircraft to return to the scene of battle.  The A-10s attacked with two, 500-pound MK-82 bombs, and then followed up with two 30 mm cannon passes.  It was the decisive blow that ended the attack.  

Two U.S. soldiers and one Afghan soldier were killed in the encounter; and five anti-coalition militia were reported killed.  According to the AF press release, the coalition forces uncovered Taliban propaganda, roughly 1 ton of ammunition, and weapons including rockets, mines, machine guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers.

Cry's quick thinking, cool head, and experience lessened the loss of coalition lives on March 18, 2004, and reflect just one of the many skill sets required to fight and ultimately win the war against terrorism. 

Cry is scheduled to return home this summer, where he will resume another important role, being dad to his five year old son.

The End

(See our March 18 casualty report for the names of the U.S. soldiers killed in the attack.)

Source: JTAC Airman Vital in War on Terrorism by Master Sgt. Jeff Szczechowski (also the photographer), 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs.  Article appeared in the April 5, 2004 AF Print News.