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'Team Predator' continues to support Haiti

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sondra Escutia
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Members of the 849th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron continue to maintain RQ-1 Predators in support of Operation Unified Response.

Predators and maintainers from Holloman and Creech AFB, Nev., have deployed to a location near Haiti to provide reconnaissance to troops helping with relief efforts on the ground.

Supporting this operation is the first real-world mission for the 849th since it stood up as a training squadron only four months ago.

"The 849th only stood up in October [2009], and we've already been tasked with a real-world contingency operation. That's a big deal for us at the 849th," said Master Sgt. Marlin Tatom, 49th AMXS production superintendant and Holloman team chief, during a telephone interview from his deployed location. "This is a big deal for the entire Predator community because we've practiced going out into the field and setting up on an airfield in a situation exactly like this."

The remotely piloted aircraft support and maintenance personnel from Holloman teamed up with members of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing out of Creech to support 82nd Airborne Soldiers and U.S. Marines on the ground in Haiti, a contingent that has been unofficially dubbed "Team Predator."

"Our crew chiefs and specialists are integrated at the individual level ... I call it the 'Team Predator' concept," Sergeant Tatom said. "Neither squadron could have supported this deployment by ourselves, but by combining assets from both the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing and the 849th AMXS, we are able to get the job done."

The two squadrons are working hand-in-hand to provide RQ-1 sorties over Haiti daily, giving commanders on the ground a comprehensive view of the area in near-real time.

"They use the capability for security, locating fires and finding survivors," Sergeant Tatom said. "They are strictly for reconnaissance work."

Because the 849th AMXS is a training squadron, the humanitarian deployment has not affected RPA operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has given Holloman personnel an opportunity to learn in a situation where, according to Sergeant Tatom, the operations tempo is approximately 400 percent greater than home station training.

"We've taken a group of individuals that are used to the one-sortie-a-day tempo that we had at Holloman flying training missions," he said. "We've gone from flying one 10-hour sortie at Holloman to flying two 22-hour sorties over Haiti, and these guys have just really pulled through."

As the Holloman team chief in theater, Sergeant Tatom said he could not be more proud of the work by the Holloman and Creech Airmen in supporting Haiti and keeping the RQ-1 Predator flying.

"All of these young Airmen and noncommissioned officers have really come through for us," he said. "They have been doing whatever is necessary to ensure that the aircraft are delivered on time, the first time, every time. They have all learned a great deal, and the experience has grown them all as maintainers."