Story by SFC Larry Lane
Originally printed in Soldiers Magazine
Pathfinders accomplish their missions through infiltration by foot, parachute, rappeling, vehicle or watercraft.
Wearing a night vision device, the pathfinder silently watched the stranger move around the landing zone. Who could the intruder be, the watcher asked himself, the opposing force or one of the good guys? The stranger used the tree line for cover as he searched for something or someone in the dark.
He came ever closer. He stepped over the pathfinder without seeing him, got into his Humvee and drove off.
Later, the pathfinder got a call on his radio from the stranger, an artillery officer who'd been attempting to link up with the pathfinder and confirm the conditions of the ground. The officer asked the pathfinder where he had been.
"Well, if you're a captain and had a helmet on, and were walking around the northern end of the LZ about five minutes ago, you almost stepped on me," Sgt. Paul Cromer, the pathfinder, told him. Not knowing who the stranger was, Cromer couldn't reveal himself without possibly compromising the LZ and forcing a last-minute change in plans.
Cromer and a fellow pathfinder were busy that night. Seven lifts came into "their" LZ. Each lift averaged between three and five aircraft, mostly CH-47 Chinooks carrying soldiers and sling-loaded vehicles.
"I had more than 100 people coming into my LZ, and about 20 vehicles," Cromer said. "If I'd compromised myself and the LZ, those vehicles and people would have been taken out of battle. You have to exercise self-discipline, and just sit there and be quiet."
Cromer is one of 52 pathfinders in the 101st Aviation Regiment's Pathfinder Company at Fort Campbell, Ky. Managing landing zones is one of the pathfinders' more important missions.
Working in teams of three to five men, pathfinders are inserted up to 72 hours before a flight operation to establish and maintain security on and around the LZ. They determine if the ground can handle an aircraft, assess how many aircraft can land at one site, and gauge if the slope of the ground will hinder a landing.
The pathfinders feed intelligence on enemy activity to the incoming aviators and other concerned elements. Pathfinders also give search and rescue support in the event an aircraft is downed and, if necessary, can destroy the aircraft. They also manage and inspect slingload operations.
Pathfinders accomplish their missions through infiltration by foot, parachute, rappeling, vehicle or watercraft.
The pathfinders' last combat action occurred during Operation Desert Storm. They set up forward aircraft release points so long-range air assault missions would not get lost.
"Nothing beats having that guy on the ground giving you human intelligence," said Maj. Rick Crosson, operations officer for the 5th Battalion, 101st Avn. Regt. In a recent field training exercise, Crosson counted on the pathfinders to provide him safe landing zones and updated, "eyes-on-the-objective" intelligence.
"They are an aspect of intel gathering that is vital for the commander to make a competent decision," Crosson said. "All the technology in the world will not replace the guy assessing the situation. That's something a piece of equipment can't do."
Pathfinders have a long and colorful history. Perhaps their best-known exploits took place on June6, 1944, when they parachuted into France ahead of the D-Day invasion forces. The pathfinders have taken part in each of the nation's conflicts since then, and were on call for the recent drama along the Kuwait-Iraq border.
The pathfinders' last combat action occurred during Operation Desert Storm. They set up forward aircraft release points so long-range Allied air assault missions would not get lost in the desert.
Pathfinding is not for everyone. The acceptance requirements are strict. First, a candidate must be an airborne-qualified infantryman with no history of U.C.M.J. actions against him. His GT score must be 107 or better. He must complete 60 push-ups, 70 sit-ups, six chin-ups and complete a five-mile run in 40 minutes. Candidates fulfilling these requirements are interviewed by the first sergeant and commander of the pathfinder company.
"With the missions we're assigned, we can't afford to have any slackers," said SFC Daniel Whitney, first sergeant of the company. "They have got to be the best of the best."
The older, more-mature soldier generally makes an ideal pathfinder. Some 39 of the company's 52 soldiers are sergeants, which guarantees the unit a wealth of experience and maturity. That experience is what creates a confident and competent soldier, Whitney said.
The physical challenge of the pathfinder's job begins with a heavy ruck, a radio, NVDs, an infrared strobe for signalling aviators and the individual equipment the pathfinder needs to survive for three days.
Pathfinders are inserted at night, some distance away from the LZ. If obstacles are encountered on the LZ, the soldiers must determine if they should reduce, remove or mark them.
Contact with the enemy or unexpected problems with the landing zone can force the pathfinders to move many kilometers to an alternate LZ. If the soldiers don't get extracted after completing their mission, they may have to walk out.
Because they are on their own, each pathfinder is combat-lifesaver qualified. These skills are also necessary for their other duties: searching for downed aircraft and rescuing their crews.
At the LZ, pathfinders use mathematical formulas to determine if a landing will be hampered by variables such as wind condition and ground slope. They often do this at night, number crunching with a pocket calculator.
For most pathfinders, these challenges and equally weighty responsibilities make the job more attractive.
"There's always a mission here. We have so much responsibility, we never feel unimportant," said Sgt. John Blanton, an assistant team leader.
Training is always "for real" Blanton said, because the aircraft is not simulated. The helicopter is in the air with a real pilot who needs the information to land or complete a mission.
"We train realistically in every way possible. It's going to keep these guys alive. And that's what it boils down to -- keeping soldiers alive and accomplishing the mission."
And there are other real-world missions as well. For example, pathfinders have assisted the Kentucky National Guard and state police in the war on marijuana growers. In Operation Wildcat, combined military-police teams used UH-60s to search for the illegal substance.
When a marijuana patch was found, troopers or Guard soldiers rappeled into the area and either cut down and burned plants or airlifted them out for later destruction. In a three-month period, the task force destroyed about 431,000 plants.
"I had an excellent time," said Sgt. Kevin Breedlove, a team leader during the counterdrug operation. "We were shot at a couple of times. That's probably the closest to combat I've ever been."
Explosive ordnance disposal personnel had to be called in occasionally to deal with booby-traps. Drug merchants would also use fishing lines with hooks at eye level as obstacles. In one incident, a team used a Black Hawk to chase a grower through the Kentucky mountains until state police could apprehend him.
"It was some of the best training I've had since I've been in the Army," said Sgt. Ronald Marrs. "We were constantly going. We took off at 9 a.m. and sometimes didn't get back until the evening. It was rewarding, because we felt like we trained all day."
Supporting the training schedules of three brigades has the pathfinders working around the clock through the year. It's a sacrifice, but worthwhile for a job that offers all the training opportunities a soldier could want.
"Our main focus when we do any type of training is for it to be tough, realistic and for it to train us for combat," Cromer said. "We train realistically in every way possible. It's going to keep these guys alive. And that's what it boils down to -- keeping soldiers alive and accomplishing the mission."