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Ranger Mortarmen Mark Enemy Locations For Warthog Domination
Published 4 years ago
Video out of eastern Afghanistan reportedly shows US Army Ranger mortarmen and a unit from the 101st Airborne dropping 60mm smoke rounds on enemy locations to mark them for strafing by A-10 "Warthogs" close air support aircraft.
For the first several years of OEF, 60mm mortars were treated like their larger counterparts, and mortar teams couldn't engage while close air support was overhead and brigade and battalion level clearance would have been needed before their implementation. At some point it was decided that the 60mm was a platoon level asset and could be used at the ground commander's discretion.