TACPs

[faddius]

I've been trying to hunt down info on TACPs in the Army. I know that TACP is a specialisation in the RAF and also the RMs have their own TACPs. On Herrick (IV?) I think that RAF TACPs were attached to the Paras and did some outstanding work there.

Does anyone know if there are any specific regts that recruit specifically for this role? Are 148 also trianed for heli and fastjet fire support in addition to their naval gunfire support and also are 4/73 qualified as TACPs?

Secondly are TACPs typically commisioned or NCOs?

Thanks
J

[Angry_Young_Man]

The job is Forward Air Controller and these are then assigned to a TACP.

I believe the Army units that recruit Forward Air Controllers for TACPs are the Royal Artillery, Royal Armoured Corps, Royal Signals, possibly a few others? Ive heard that the FAC course is now an All Arms course, so anyone with sigs/comms training can apply for it.

Yes 4/73 Battery and 148 Battery are trained as FAC to call in air support.

I believe its normally one officer in charge of the TACP with several NCOs.

[harry hackedoff]

Heyup James, long time no see, mate

TACP is a Tactical Air Control Party which in 3 Cdo Bde consists of a Forward Air Controller who is usually an NCO these days, a signaller and a GD Marine. Often the FAC role will be added-on to the likes of NGS teams or guys from 148 for instance. The Para have their own and obviously the likes of Recce or Pathfinders will have plenty of blokes who have done the course and can do the role as a supplement to their main job. Ref the Crabs attached to Para Reg, it`s not unusual for the three Services to swap Ground Controll assets. Don`t know about AAC drivers but all RM helo pilots used to be trained FACs and there was a gazelle-borne FAC from the Brigade Air Squadron (BAS) call-sign "Spindle"
Army used to use the term FAC because for them, it was all about the Officer. RMs used the term Party because the three members made up the team. Each member could and would carry out the work of the others. Not official pollicy at the time but it was the only way to function. Otherwise what happens if the FAC gets blatted? Or the sigs bloke?
As the kit has become easier to use and there is a greater understanding of how TACPs work and what they can do, throughout the Brigade so the number of FAC trained blokes has increased beyond anything that would`ve been though possible twenty five years ago. Dunno about t`army They`ve hopefully learned the same lessons that as long as the J DAMS gives Terry the good news, it matters little if the guy doing the controll was educated at Harrow, Eaton or Wigan Comp.

So big man, what about ye? What have you been up to Faddius, these last few years

[faddius]

Thanks guys for the info.

Heya Harry, Long time no see! Not really been active on the forum much as of late. Last time was after I just flunked the PRMC back in Jan 05 (can't believe it's almost 3 years ago! I remember it like yesterday. 6.30 am outside the grots in shorts and in driving sleet and then running the three miler down the lane in 3 inches of water. Best craic I ever had! Was lucky enough to cristen the new grots that week too. (Cristen by sleeping not swamping... :lilangel:

Been busy as a bee since then however! Been working in finance law (hedge funds/derivatives law etc. ) and took up distance running as my main sport. Addicted to running now and completed a few marathons and loads of half and other orad distances. Main gig is mountain running though, absolutely love it! Looking back it really is a crime what a fat lazy b@stard I was back on the PRMC .

Currently training my first ultra endurance event the Atacama Crossing which is on in Chile in April 08. My main training event is the Thames Meander 56 mile ultra in Feb so training very hard at the moment for both. Really sh!tt!ng it though. Havent decided which charity I would like to run for yet so any ideas would be appreciated.

Militarywise decided to go the Pongo officer route and completed the AOSB briefing and got a sponsorship from the Gunners. Hopefully May entry in RMAS. Choice wise it's a toss up between the Gunners and the Paras although I havent contacted the Paras to arrange any interviews or POC yet. I reckon the gunners are looking pretty hoofing though as they have some choice units. Hopefully I will finally be able to realise my life time dream and serve with Royal at some stage. (Along with every other YO in the gunners ) Hence all the Qs about FACs and TACPs as it looks like a fairly choice gig.

It's mad to think that some of the lads on that PRMC are now GD Marines with 3+ tours under their belt and all Ive done is jockey a desk

James

[Greenronnie]

The FAC course is only open to people who are going to be doing the job, ie blokes going to a TACP or SF/PF. It's not one of those courses you can just attend 'cos it sounds gucci, as it costs a lot of money. I did the course a few years back before anyone starts gobbing off.

By the way, what Harry was referring to was an ABFAC (Airborne FAC), where the FAC is a heli crewman, obviously these can be in quite an advantageous position. Fast jet pilots can also be ABFACs.

Ref Herrick last year, most of the FACs doing the job were from 7 RHA as opposed to RAF Reg, although I'm sure they did thier job well too.

[HCR]

I can name at least 5 FAC in our Regiment. I think one was on Herrick 4 with you lot Greenronnie. He was attached to 7RHA. Got shot in the hand or something like that.

I just got back from Iraq, never again, Ive had enough.

[harry hackedoff]

Heyup Ron,
ABFAC isn`t what I meant. That`s a Para gig I think. Spindle was the bde cdrs asset to send into "gaps" in the TACP cover. And given that there may only be two teams on the ground,(608, 611) the gaps were effing big ones
Our heli-borne geezer had a tremendous advantage over everyone else in that he was always first back to the hotel on non-tac exes
On OSEX 14( late 80s) I would do the first few controlls each morning from me ffr in the hotel carpark and then get stuck into the bacon and eggs
We had the crabs from the tgt team billeted with us in the same gaff and it was a joy to hear them trying to trap They`d spend all day inflating various bits of sov kit and moving it round the highlands,
"So wha d`ye do then, hen?"
I`m in the crabs, ectually
"No shite hen! An wha hae ye bin doooin ar ra dea"(My dialect is shite mate, please forgive )
I`ve been blowing up targets, actually,
"Kinnel! Ya means yer a pilot!"

Fantastic leg-opener, though

[harry hackedoff]

Further to my last pipe...
My trapping routine on the same Ex was to offer the girleys a lift home.

I`d send them out to the car park looking for a big green four wheel drive convertible
Or as an alternative, there was always my cabin......
Once we got in the room all was usually fine, till they noticed Mne Lawson asleep in the corner
"Wha happens iffen we wakes him up then Hairry?"
He`ll want to join in then mate. He usually does

[Greenronnie]

Mate, an ABFAC isn't a Para thing, it's just an FAC that's in the air (heli or fast mover) as opposed to on the ground.

By the way, sorry I missed your call earlier mate, will PM you.

[harry hackedoff]

Our "ABFAC " was a pig and we never used that term abfac.
He was always "Spindle".
Even when off duty.
Same as Brigade Air Liaison Officer was always "Balo" as in "farksake Balo, are you getting the farking wets in at all tonight or are you always this piso"
Best said when he was trying to trap

Ron, do you know the geezer who has more live controls than anyone else, ever? Bos, Kos, G1, G2, Ganners etc.Old time mate of mine he is.
Use other means if you do
From him I see big changes in the kit, no more lying in yer slug with a hand w4nker, re-charging batteries. I could do it in me sleep. Still can, which annoys missus Aitch no end as I try to unscrew her left breast
Our version of NVGs was a humungous telescope called a NOD. When I first joined the TACP I was detailed-off to carry the NOD. Somewhat confused by this, as I thought we had an attached recruit from CTC for me to look after
Imagine my surprise to have to sign for a night vision device twelve inches wide, three feet long and complete with a wooden tripod six feet tall. Came in two boxes and weighed in at over eighty five pounds when both packed in their boxes. Try ski-ing with that bastard
Then there was the tgt designator, bigger than a nineteen fifties bbc television camera and a bastard to hold still it was. I gave up trying to cam the farking thing out as the comments regarding "what`s that thing over there that looks like a bbc camera with a cam net and some ferns on it” would really hurt
Biggest ball acher was converting Grids into Lat and Long I ates it I does. No wonder Elmer has so many blue/blues
Disposables had just come in for us, the crabs had had them for a while previous and it was always a priority to try and proff as many as possible, besides our issue. Three hundred and twenty odd years of proffing expertise, meant the crabs weren’t even aware they were being seen-off Things moved on, the designator shrank to resemble a large vcr, the computer became small enough to hold in one hand, the crab int birds got slightly bigger tits, etc and the NOD was replaced by second gen image intensifiers which gave you an enormous head-ache and whistled like a cult Besides killing your night vision

Ref the other, cheers mate. And your latest ref crimbo
First call to that gay chat line is free, but you’ll have to pay big, next time
Or you could use Paratwooper 01`s account, don`t say I said

[Paratrooper01]

Or you could use Paratwooper 01`s account, don`t say I said

Oi!!

Im back in the country, so the buck stops from now on!

Met some of your mates Harry, down in the USMC depot in San Diego... "HUA MARINE!!!"

[jabcrosshook]

Welcome back, I bet it's a relief to come back after all the stress of the states.

[SupFAC]

Hello mate just to give you a bit more detail on TACP/FAC. Its a tri-service qualifcation.However getting on the course is a bit of a beast usually only if your job warrents you being an FAC. The FAC/TACP world is a very small one so we all either know each other or know somebody that knows each other so to speak.

Its very much the ''in job'' at the moment due to Afghan etc.Lots of people are getting on the bandwagon ,however one of the dramas that we are finding now is,as soon as a guy gets good at ''FAC-ING'' he moves on.This happens a lot with the officers in the army. So usually the NCO does the business end and the rupert does the Brigade/planning bit.

Unlike other corps/regiments etc.We all get on,we have a bit of banter but in short skill comes with experience and not your capbadge.I know SAS/SBS FAC's that are pretty toss and royal signal FAC's that are all over it.

I think its the best job in the army,I am off on Herrick9 with the booties so we should get some action out there.If you have any ???please ask away.

Regards

[SupFAC]

To carry on with the FAC topic,you have to be pre-pared to stay in posh hotels,have snazzy 4x4 hire cars and learn a totally new lingo when speaking on the radio.The amount of times ive got in the shit after chatting to a pair of jets on UHF then flicking to SQN NET and using the same VP as I would chatting to the pilots.

[Paratrooper01]

To carry on with the FAC topic,you have to be pre-pared to stay in posh hotels,have snazzy 4x4 hire cars and learn a totally new lingo when speaking on the radio.The amount of times ive got in the shit after chatting to a pair of jets on UHF then flicking to SQN NET and using the same VP as I would chatting to the pilots.

How very exciting.

Just as long as you drop the bombs in the right place.