The Army and Air Force joined efforts on October 27 at Joint Base Lewis McChord to conduct Joint Fires Observer Training. Joint Fires Observers, or JFOs, are Army Forward Observers who have been trained jointly by Air Force and Army personnel on delivering close air support, AC-130 fires, naval gunfire, attack helicopter fires and artillery fires to support combat troops on the ground. Wednesday's training was conducted at the Air Force 5th ASOS Close Air Support simulator on Ft. Lewis by their units Joint Terminal Air Controllers, Air Force personnel trained and qualified to conduct Close Air Support missions for the Army and Air Force.

The training covered simulated missions where troops from 2-3 Infantry's Fire Support Teams called for close air support, AC-130 gunship support, and Army attack helicopters in various combat situations ranging from open desert to urban operations. In all, 12 soldiers were trained during the day long event.

The classroom portion in the morning followed by actual simulator time in the afternoon greatly enhance the overall understanding of JFO skills for non-qualified 13F's in the Patriot Battalion.