Intel analysts sift spy plane feeds for ISIS targets
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. — Airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, aided by intelligence reports developed by airmen here from spy-plane feeds, have helped stem the momentum of Islamic State fighters in the key city of Kobane, according to top military officials.
Through Nov. 16, Air Force warplanes have conducted about two thirds of the 956 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Air Force figures show. The air war began with attacks on fighters from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS on Aug. 8. Weeks later, the attacks on ISIS targets spread to Syria.
ISIS fighters have besieged the Syrian town of Kobane, on the Turkish border, and threatened to overrun it in October. Airstrikes, including nine over the weekend, combined with reinforcements from Kurdish peshmerga fighters, have begun pushing back ISIS fighters, Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said.
"It's incremental," Warren said. "The tide hasn't turned. It's block by block, but it is progress."
President Obama and the Pentagon have ruled out deploying American forces in combat roles. Last week, however, the Pentagon announced that it was doubling to nearly 3,000 the number of U.S. advisers it has in Iraq. In Syria, the U.S. military's plans to train and equip moderate opponents of the Bashar Assad's regime and ISIS have yet to begin.
That means the fight is being waged, from the American side, almost entirely from the air. Without U.S. combat troops near the fighting in Iraq or Syria to act as spotters, the U.S.-led coalition has had to rely primarily on intelligence gathered by drones, warplanes and satellites.
Air Force Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, the top officer at Air Combat Command, told reporters here that distinguishing friend from foe from in Iraq and Syria is "pretty hard to do." Given restrictions, such as the lack of U.S. ground troops, the airstrikes have been "very successful," he said.
Airmen based here at the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing pore over video taken from drones and other data, such as intercepted cell phone conversations and radar images, to help develop a picture of ISIS activity that can be used to target their fighters, according to Col. Timothy Haugh, the wing's commander.
Most of the 6,000 analysts here and at other sites around the world are young — in their 20s — and work 12-hour shifts for three or four consecutive days. They sit in a sprawling, dark complex filled with nests of plasma screens with feeds from Predator drones, U-2 spy planes and lines of chat conversations with pilots.
The analysts at Langley, none of whom would be identified by full name for publication for fear of retaliation, deal with issues largely unique to their profession. Watching traumatic events, such as ISIS massacres, unfold on their computer screens has led to rates of post-traumatic stress that are slightly higher than average, said Lt. Col. Cameron Thurman, the wing's surgeon.
To help keep the airmen calm, a therapy dog, a yellow Labrador retriever named Lily, walks the floor.
Monitoring video feeds from a Predator drone for a single person to move means hours of sitting in the same position, Thurman said. That has led to chronic lower-back problems among analysts and the need to work on core strength.
The culprit for the signature wound for analysts could be sugary, high-energy drinks that help them keep their edge during a long shift, Thurman said.
"We have the worst cavity rate in the Air Force," he said.
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