A Patriot missile bursts forth from its weapons container as it screams into the sky faster than the speed of sound. Seconds later, it intercepts and destroys its target over the Cretan Sea. Photo by Staff Sgt. John Queen.
5-7 ADA puts training to test on Crete
Staff Sgt. John Queen , 69th ADA Bde. Public Affairs
SOUDA BAY, Greece – In the blink of an eye, white hot flames erupt from a missile’s exhaust as it ignites and punches through its protective weapons canister with a loud bursting pop. A second later, the missile is locked on target and screaming downrange faster than the speed of sound, leaving only a billowing trail of white smoke behind. Within seconds, the missile intercepts and destroys its target thousands of meters above the sapphire blue Cretan Sea.
“This was definitely one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Pfc. Robert Brown, a Patriot crewman assigned to B Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, after witnessing the Patriot launch. “Seeing the missiles fire – there is nothing like that. It was pretty extraordinary.”
Brown, along with nearly 100 other Soldiers from the 69th ADA Brigade, traveled to Crete in late March to conduct the exercise on the NATO Missile Firing Installation near the port city of Souda Bay.
Chief Warrant Officer Donald Hendricks of the brigade’s Headquarters Battery, the officer in charge of the overall mission, said the exercise was the culminating event of more than four months of training by Soldiers of 5-7 ADA.
“All of the certification these guys go through – the Table VIIIs, the Table XIIs – this is the capstone to that, the icing on the cake,” he said.
Pfc. Robert Brown of B Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, attaches a grounding wire to a Patriot missile canister after it has been loaded on to an ammunition truck at the NATO Missile Firing Installation on the Greek island of Crete. Photo by Staff Sgt. John Queen.
Soldiers from the Hanau, Germany-based 5-7 ADA began training for the exercise in October.
Hendricks said the training was an intense and sometimes stressful process that was over-watched by the battalion’s electronic missile maintenance officer. During this process the launching system crews took various practical tests on crew drill procedures in accordance with the Patriot missile system training and standards manual.
In order for a Patriot crew to be eligible for the opportunity to participate in the exercise, the Soldiers had to pass the training and be certified. The Table XII certification is an advanced version of the standard crew drill covered in the Table VIII and encompasses training in times of limited visibility and while wearing the full chemical protective suit and protective mask.
This exercise, which ran from March 20 through 29, was the first time the battalion fired a missile in the past three years.
Hendricks said that according to the Army Standards in Training Commission, every Patriot fire unit should fire one missile every two years if missiles are available.
A Soldier from 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, uses a tag line to help keep a missile canister steady as a crane moves it into position to be loaded on to a launcher. Photo by Staff Sgt. John Queen.
“The last time we did a live fire was in 2005,” he said. “There were two live fires scheduled since then, but due to budget constraints with the Global War on Terrorism we were unable to make the needed logistical preparations.”
Hendricks said this year they were able to make missiles available and Lt. Gen. Kenneth Hunzeker, V Corps commanding general, pushed the exercise for the brigade.
“He thought it would be a good to do it – which was a good thing for us.” Hendricks said.
For this live fire, the brigade was able to obtain 10 missiles. These missiles, however, were designed prior to Operation Desert Storm and originally manufactured to serve an anti-aircraft role.
“We’re using these missiles because they are no longer part of our wartime inventory,” Hendricks said. “We have a stockpile of them which would otherwise have to be destroyed.
“It is important to note,” he added, “that any of the tactical ballistic missile engagements we performed represent a large success since we exercised these missiles to the limits of their capabilities.”
The battalion fired at two types of aerial targets during the exercise and was able to successfully engage each. The first four were supersonic target rockets, which were designed to mimic an incoming tactical ballistic missile. To counter these, the launching systems fired two Patriots one right after the other in what is called a “modified ripple” fire. The systems also engaged drone targets with one single-shot launch and a two-missile salvo.
Using a torque wrench, Sgt. Trevor Howard, a launcher crewman with B Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, makes a final check of the missile canisters before the live fire. Photo by Staff Sgt. John Queen.
The range was a huge success, said Hendricks. “I think it went outstanding. There were no problems at all – little glitches here and there, but no significant problems.”
Many of the launcher crewmembers agreed, saying it was by far the best live-fire event they had ever experienced.
“This is my second time to Crete and my fourth live fire,” said Sgt. Trevor Howard, a launcher crewman. “I would say it was the best out of the four. The fact that we fired 10 missiles in one day, I believe that is the first time a Patriot unit has done that.”
Sgt. Matthew Johnston, a launcher section chief, elaborated by saying the change in scenery was a plus. “Over the water you can see the birds fly a lot better than you can normally see in Texas in the desert, so I liked it here a lot more.”
Many of the younger Soldiers said the exercise gave them a new perspective on their jobs and how important their roles are in improving the overall effectiveness of the unit.
“We’ve been practicing for this for a long time,” said Brown. “The one thing that told me this was a live fire, though, was as soon as we took the missiles out of the crate and loaded them up on to the launching stations – that really got me going.”
Pfc. Michael Hibdon of D Btry., who served on one of the batteries’ “hot crews,” said the exercise was an outstanding opportunity for him.
“I actually got to do my job and see what my job really entails,” said Hibdon. “I did missile reload (and) I helped out on the crew drill with the live missiles. I served on the hot crew (and) I was actually able to lock and unlock live missiles.”
This live-fire exercise is likely to be the last conducted on Crete by the brigade headquarters itself. While 5-7 ADA is staying in Germany under 7th Army, the 69th ADA’s headquarters is relocating to Fort Hood, Texas, in June.