The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, established by the United Nations Security Council in December 2001 by Resolution 1386, as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement. Its main purpose was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions, but was also engaged in the 2001–present war with the Taliban insurgency. ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and the surrounding areas from the Taliban, al Qaeda and factional warlords, to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai.In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan, and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country.[6] From 2006 to 2011, ISAF had become increasingly involved in more intensive combat operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan. Troop contributors included the United States, United Kingdom, other NATO member states and a number of other countries. The intensity of the combat faced by contributing nations varied greatly, with the United States sustaining the most total casualties, but with other contributors, especially the United Kingdom, Canada, and Denmark, sustaining more casualties relative to their population size. In early 2010, there were at least 700 military bases inside Afghanistan. About 400 of these were used by American‑led NATO forces and 300 by ANSF. ISAF ceased combat operations and was disbanded in December 2014, with some troops remaining behind in an advisory role as part of ISAF's successor organization, the Resolute Support Mission. The 9th Assault Parachute Regiment, also known as “Col Moschin,” is the most elite regiment of the Italian Army. The men comprising that unit receive the most complex and difficult training of any in the army. Recently, with the establishment of COMFOSE, the Italian Army general staff tried to transfer some of Col Moschin’s capabilities to other special units. Despite this, the 9th remains unique; to this day, its operators remain the best trained, and what they do has no equal in other regiments. To become a Col Moschin Raiders (Incursore), it takes many years of drill, combined with an iron will and a trained body. The Special Forces Training Department (Reparto Addestramento Forze Speciali – RAFoS) is the starting point for all those who want to enter the 9th. Candidates must have at least three years of experience in the army and nearly all of have an operational mission under their belt. After three weeks of training, where the drill instructors test the potential of the recruits, the future operator enters the Special Operator’s Basic Course (OBOS – Operatore Basico Operazioni Speciali). The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed. In addition to its operational role, the NRF can be used for greater cooperation in education and training, increased exercises and better use of technology.
A TACP is a Tactical Air Control Party. It is comprised of a JTAC (Joint Terminal Air Controller) and a ROMAD (essentially a JTAC in training, though the reality is ROMADs are frequently seasoned operators in their own right, having completed lengthy and arduous blocks of training and lacking only the final JTAC certification). JTACs direct the action of combat aircraft operating in CAS (Close Air Support) and other offensive operations, calling in airstrikes and gun runs like an FO or an ANGLICO Marine calls in artillery or naval gunfire. The NATO is Forward Air Controller. A typical TACP (JTAC or ROMAD or both) might be on an infantry patrol one day to coordinate immediate CAS and attached to an ODA the next day for the same reason. Air Force Tactical Air Control Parties (or TACP) live, train and deploy with U.S. Army units to advise ground commanders on air and space power and to direct air strikes. Nearly half of all Battlefield Airmen are TACPs, and they can be found at the front lines, on patrols and in convoys, sharing the same hardships and risks as soldiers. Members of TACP usually include a tactical air command and control specialist -- known as a ROMAD for the old job title of Radio Operator Maintainer and Driver -- and a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC). Highly-trained Joint Terminal Attack Controllers direct close air support attacks. It takes about two years of additional forward air control and ground operations training for a TACP specialist to become a JTAC. They must know in detail U.S. and Coalition aircraft and weapons systems capabilities to employ them with the greatest advantage. They must also ensure that potential targets are valid to prevent unnecessary casualties and fratricide. While mostly found among conventional units, JTACs can also be found within U.S. Army Special Forces and Army Rangers..
Calling in an air strike on just the right target at just the right time can change the tide of battle. Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Specialists imbed with Army and Marine units and do just that. One of the few true frontline combat jobs in the Air Force, TACP Specialists are known for their ability to bring overwhelming firepower to the battlefield in the form of artillery and air strikes. The training is physically, mentally and technically intense, as you'll have to be able to operate under any environmental condition alongside some of the military's most elite special operations teams.
A USAF TACP, is usually a team of two or more United States Air Force enlisted TACP journeymen or craftsmen (AFSC 1C4X1) aligned with a conventional or special operational United States Army combat maneuver unit to advise ground commanders on the best use of air power, establish and maintain command and control communications, and provide precision terminal attack guidance of U.S. and coalition fixed-wing and rotary-wing close air support aircraft, artillery, and naval gunfire. A TACP always includes at least one Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) qualified to control attack aircraft. It can also include an Air Liaison Officer (ALO), an Air Force commissioned officer who is typically aeronautically rated as a pilot or navigator/combat systems officer in fighter or attack aircraft who is often JTAC qualified and serves in a senior advisor capacity. A small number of non-rated officers, typically with special tactics backgrounds, have also been qualified as ALOs. JTAC teams are primarily stationed with and support Army combat units.
In the United Kingdom Armed Forces TACP personnel may come from the Royal Marines, Army or RAF Regiment[3] Every TACP has four members, one officer and one SNCO who are trained Forward Air Controllers. Two signallers (JNCOs) who are responsible for communication equipment and assist in tasking aircraft to FACs in forward positions. The FAC's role is to guide attack aircraft and fast jets to the correct target by providing descriptions and locations to the pilots via a range of telecommunications equipment. Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, served as a TACP commander in Afghanistan. FACs and TACPs in the United Kingdom are trained at the Joint Forward Air Controller Training Standards Unit (JFACTSU)
