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CNN Live Today
Military Analysis With Don Shepperd
Aired April 14, 2003 - 11:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
RET. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: ...good guys are going to come in contact with the bad guys pretty soon here.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now these helicopters are in close contact with what's going on on the ground.
SHEPPERD: Absolutely. They're shooting targets ahead and they're relaying information of what's ahead. FEBA -- forward edge of the battle area and forward lines of troops. Beyond that are the bad guys. They yellow is the fire support coordination line. Beyond the red line and up to the yellow line, you have to -- you have...
O'BRIEN: That's the Iraqi forces there right?
SHEPPERD: The Iraqis are between the two lines, OK?
O'BRIEN: OK. Got you.
SHEPPERD: Now, since you're so close to our troops you have to have forward air controllers beyond that red line and not up to the yellow line to hit any targets because they're very close to our troops. Our airplanes can't see who the good guys and bad guys are so they have forward air controllers embedded with the army, air controllers marking targets...
O'BRIEN: In the armor.
SHEPPERD: They're in the armor, in the vehicles and they are basically marking factors for the air support.
Here come the A-10s and the AVAV Harriers hitting targets between those two lines under close control of forward air controllers.
O'BRIEN: And this is where you really get concerned about this so-called friendly fire.
SHEPPERD: This is close-air support. You have to know who you're hitting and the forward air controllers are they key.
All right. Now beyond, of course, the red line out there you have other bad guys closing and you can hit those kind of at will once you find out where they are.
O'BRIEN: All right. In that zone -- this is a J-Stars or rivet joints or whatever?
SHEPPERD: J-Stars, airplanes, it sees those moving targets, it relays the coordinates to AWACS, it passes them to the fighters and them the fighters can hit them with precision-guided weapons and satellite assisted J-Dam weapons.
O'BRIEN: All right. Now these would come in after the close air support, A-10s, you'd bring the fighters in. Or maybe not.
SHEPPERD: Beyond the yellow line so that it's not close to our troops, you can hit it at all will and the J-Stars finds them, the fighters them hit them with the coordinates and close to our troops is close air support under forward air controllers supporting the army.
O'BRIEN: All right. That's almost like going to war college, Don Shepperd. That's a good explanation of how it all integrates. And when it works, it obviously is a very efficient thing.
SHEPPERD: This is the way it worked from Kuwait to Baghdad.
O'BRIEN: All right. Don Shepperd, thank you very much and we'll send it back to Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Miles.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 14, 2003 - 11:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
RET. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: ...good guys are going to come in contact with the bad guys pretty soon here.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now these helicopters are in close contact with what's going on on the ground.
SHEPPERD: Absolutely. They're shooting targets ahead and they're relaying information of what's ahead. FEBA -- forward edge of the battle area and forward lines of troops. Beyond that are the bad guys. They yellow is the fire support coordination line. Beyond the red line and up to the yellow line, you have to -- you have...
O'BRIEN: That's the Iraqi forces there right?
SHEPPERD: The Iraqis are between the two lines, OK?
O'BRIEN: OK. Got you.
SHEPPERD: Now, since you're so close to our troops you have to have forward air controllers beyond that red line and not up to the yellow line to hit any targets because they're very close to our troops. Our airplanes can't see who the good guys and bad guys are so they have forward air controllers embedded with the army, air controllers marking targets...
O'BRIEN: In the armor.
SHEPPERD: They're in the armor, in the vehicles and they are basically marking factors for the air support.
Here come the A-10s and the AVAV Harriers hitting targets between those two lines under close control of forward air controllers.
O'BRIEN: And this is where you really get concerned about this so-called friendly fire.
SHEPPERD: This is close-air support. You have to know who you're hitting and the forward air controllers are they key.
All right. Now beyond, of course, the red line out there you have other bad guys closing and you can hit those kind of at will once you find out where they are.
O'BRIEN: All right. In that zone -- this is a J-Stars or rivet joints or whatever?
SHEPPERD: J-Stars, airplanes, it sees those moving targets, it relays the coordinates to AWACS, it passes them to the fighters and them the fighters can hit them with precision-guided weapons and satellite assisted J-Dam weapons.
O'BRIEN: All right. Now these would come in after the close air support, A-10s, you'd bring the fighters in. Or maybe not.
SHEPPERD: Beyond the yellow line so that it's not close to our troops, you can hit it at all will and the J-Stars finds them, the fighters them hit them with the coordinates and close to our troops is close air support under forward air controllers supporting the army.
O'BRIEN: All right. That's almost like going to war college, Don Shepperd. That's a good explanation of how it all integrates. And when it works, it obviously is a very efficient thing.
SHEPPERD: This is the way it worked from Kuwait to Baghdad.
O'BRIEN: All right. Don Shepperd, thank you very much and we'll send it back to Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Miles.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
