Cav Troop tests soldiers for joint missions

Sgt. 1st Class Jayson Mix, brigade fires operations sergeant, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, tests soldiers with 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd BCT, to become a joint fires observers within the Observer Fires Trainer Nov. 26, at Fort Hood, Texas. Mix, a Newport, Wash., native, evaluates each soldier individually as they work through 14 tasks within a two hour time frame. Once certified a JFO can facilitate the use of close air support on the battlefield, jointly with other services. Testing the soldiers in the OFT, which is a simulated observation point, allows Mix to closely observe the soldiers as he grades them for accuracy in each task. Once a soldier is certified they will receive a unique call-sign when deployed, which tells other military services that the soldier is qualified to call for fire and conduct CAS, Mix said. “It gives the pilots more confidence to the ground.” (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 3rd BCT PAO, 1st Cav. Div.)