Helicopter pilots told to use patience from above

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Spc. Andrew Sobecky, 29, of Tomahawk Troop, 4th Battalion, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, works on an AH-64D Apache on Wednesday in Taji, Iraq, with help from fellow squadron member Pvt. 1st Class Sherrod Sloan, 19, of San Antonio.


Helicopter pilots told to use patience from above
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, February 21, 2008

TAJI, Iraq — The increased focus on building alliances with armed Iraqi civilian groups requires extra patience from helicopter pilots when they see something suspicious on the ground, the commander of the aviation unit that covers Baghdad said Tuesday.

Twelfth Combat Aviation Brigade commander Col. Tim Edens’ comments come in the wake of an incident Friday that angered a Sunni group allied with U.S. troops south of Baghdad.

The group suspended its allegiance with the United States because leaders say an American helicopter attack killed three of the group’s members during a strafing attack in the village of Jurf al-Sakr, about 35 miles south of Baghdad.

The deaths took place in an area where U.S.-led forces increased air and ground assaults last month. The U.S. military said attack helicopters fired rockets at a structure after American troops received small-arms fire. The strike is under investigation.

“The strategic effects of destroying the wrong targets are extremely high,” Edens said, speaking generally about the challenge of separating allied Iraqis from insurgents.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52654