Local Troops Deploy To Nation's Capital

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Members of the 1st Battalion 265 Air Defense Artillery have mobilized and are on a plane headed first to Ft. Bliss, then for federal active duty in the capital region.

"It's going to be all right It's OK if he helps people and everything, and it's his job. He’s got to do it. He just got to do it," Jessica Ward said, whose father is being deployed. Click here to find out more!

Michael Ward and company are leaving for a year, and that weighs heavy on families.

They are ordered by the president to the nation's capital, where they will operate high-tech weapons systems against any potential air threat.

Yolanda McCormack is relieved husband Charles isn't headed to Iraq, but there is always a risk.

"Doesn't mean he won't be in the line of fire in Washington, D.C., but it does give me a little comfort," Yolanda McCormack said, whose husband is being deployed.

Families may get one or two opportunities to see loved ones during this year-long deployment, but it’s not encouraged. Though the solders are staying in the states, they are on serious business.

Staff Sgt. James Todd said duty at home is just as important as the mission overseas.

The unit is the 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment:

The 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment was initially constituted on 19 October 1923 in The Florida National Guard as the 1st Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps. It organized and was federally recognized on 14 November 1923 with Headquarters at Jacksonville. It was re-designated on 4 April 1924 as the 1st Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery and on 22 July 1925 as the 265th Coast Artillery Battalion. It expanded, reorganized and was re-designated on 20 November 1929 as the 265th Coast Artillery. It was inducted into federal service on 6 January 1941 at home stations. The unit disbanded on 31 July 1944 in Alaska.
It was reconstituted on 25 August 1945 in the Florida National Guard. Headquarters and the 1st Battalion, 265th Coast Artillery, reorganized and were federally recognized on 5 December 1946 as the 692nd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, an element of the 48th Infantry Division (later re-designated as the 48th Armored Division), with Headquarters at Jacksonville. It was re-designated on 1 February 1949 as the 148th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.
The 2nd Battalion reorganized and was federally recognized on 17 December 1946 as the 712th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion with Headquarters at Miami. It was ordered into active federal service on 1 May 1951 at home station; and released on 30 April 1953 from active federal service and reverted to state control. The Location of Headquarters changed on 22 June 1953 to Sarasota.
The unit was re-designated on 1 October 1953 as the 712th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. (Headquarters Battery reorganized and was federally recognized on 15 September 1946 at Jacksonville as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 227th Antiaircraft Artillery Group - hereafter separate lineage). The 148th and 712th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions consolidated on 15 April 1959 and the consolidated unit was reorganized and re-designated as the 265th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System, to consist of the 1st Automatic Weapons Battalion and the 2nd Howitzer Battalion.
It reorganized on 15 February 1963 to consist of the 1st and 2nd Automatic Weapons Battalions and the 16th and 17th Detachments; and on 20 January 1968 to consist of the 1st Battalion.
The unit was re-designated on 1 November 1972 as the 265th Air Defense Artillery. It reorganized pm 1 October 1988 to consist of the 1st and 3rd Battalions. It was withdrawn on 1 June 1989 from the Combat Arms Regimental System, with Headquarters at Daytona Beach and was reorganized on 20 April 1990 to consist of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions. [Source]

The 265th employs the Avenger Pedestal Mounted Stinger System to conduct its mission of air defense:

The Avenger Pedestal Mounted Stinger system is a lightweight, mobile and transportable surface-to-air missile and gun weapon system, mounted on a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). The Avenger weapon system is fielded on both the light M998 HMMWV and M1097 heavy HMMWV. Avenger is designed to counter hostile cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and low-flying, high-speed, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters attacking or transiting friendly airspace. The Avenger, manufactured by Boeing in Huntsville, is a shoot-on-the-move, totally automated, day-and-night capable short-range air defense system. A key element of the Army’s Forward Area Air Defense System, Avenger was deployed during Operation Desert Storm and is currently deployed in the Balkans.
Avenger fills the Line of Sight-Rear (LOS-R) portion of the Forward Area Air Defense System (FAADS). It has a two man crew and can operate in day or night, clear or adverse weather conditions. The system incorporates an operator's position with displays, fire control electronics, and the Standard Vehicle Mounted Launcher (SVML). The SVML supports and launches multiple Stinger missiles (Basic Stinger, Stinger-POST (Passive Optical Seeker Technique), or Stinger-RMP (Reprogrammable MicroProcessor). Additionally, the SVML incorporates a .50 caliber machine gun and necessary fire control sensors for both weapons. The contribution this highly mobile, short range air defense system makes to the Army's full-dimensional protection enhances the ground components prospects for dominant maneuver by preserving key elements of the force.
The Avenger weapon system includes a 360°, rotating turret mounted on a heavy HMMWV chassis with an upgraded suspension and 200 amp alternator. The baseline configuration consists of a gunner’s turret with missile pods mounted on each side. Each missile pod, called the standard vehicle-mounted launcher, can hold four missiles that can be removed and fired in the MANPAD employment configuration. The rotation of the turret and the elevation of the standard vehicle-mounted launcher is accomplished by electric motors powered by batteries carried in the base of the weapons system. The vehicle’s power system is in parallel with the Avenger battery set. The .50 caliber machine gun affords a measure of self-protection by providing additional coverage of the Stinger missile’s inner launch boundary.
The Avenger weapons system has an unobstructed, 360° field of fire and can engage at elevations between -10 and +70°. The modular design of Avenger allows complementary missiles and/or rockets to be installed on the launch arms in addition to (or in place of) Stinger missiles. The gunner has sufficient visibility out of the turret for visual target acquisition, tracking, and engagement. A combination glass sight is used through which the gunner looks to aim the missiles and on which a driven reticle display is projected. The driven reticle indicates the aiming point of the missile seeker to confirm to the gunner that the missile seeker is locked onto the desired target.
Avenger’s sensor package includes a forward-looking, infrared (FLIR), carbon dioxide, eye-safe laser range finder and a video autotracker. These sensors provide Avenger with a target acquisition capability in battlefield obscuration at night and in adverse weather. Range data from the laser range finder is processed by the Avenger fire control system to provide a fire permit for missile and gun use. A driven reticle and other data are displayed on the forward-looking infrared display in the same manner as the optical sight.
The turret drive is gyro-stabilized to automatically maintain the missile pod aiming direction regardless of the vehicle motion. The turret drive control is operated by the gunner with a hand controller on which the missile and gun controls are placed. The gunner can transfer tracking control to an automatic turret drive control system that uses signals for the uncaged missile seeker of the FLIR video autotracker to track the target until the gunner is ready to fire. The firing sequence is entirely automated, including superelevation and lead, so that the gunner need merely push the fire button to initiate the fire sequence and immediately select and prepare the next missile for firing. These systems enable Avenger to accurately and rapidly launch missiles.
Avenger is equipped with two VHF-FM frequency-hopping radios (i.e., SINCGARS) and an integrated remote terminal unit. When this capability is tied into the Marine air command and control system, Avenger can be configured to automatically slew to a target that appears on the radar display. This capability is known as “slew to cue.” Targets pointed out by ground-based air defense units, tactical air operations center operators, or the LAAD section leader can be accepted or rejected by the gunner. Until the gunner responds to the cue, the gunner maintains complete control of the Avenger turret. If the gunner accepts a pointer, the turret automatically slews to the azimuth of the target. The gunner then resumes control of the turret and completes the engagement process by acquiring, tracking, and engaging the target. “Slew to cue” is a capability inherent to any radar picture. [...] The AVENGER is operated by a two-man crew. The gunner operates from inside the turret, and the driver operates from the driver's compartment. The health hazard assessment identified heat stress as a potential health hazard. Testing indicated that both the gunner and driver became uncomfortably hot following 60 minutes of firing when the outside temperatures near 85°F. When the gunner and driver operated in Mission-Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP), significantly higher heat loads were observed. Actual firing missions for the AVENGER may last up to 12 hours, and the associated heat loads on the gunner and driver may be well in excess of acceptable levels. The health hazard assessment report recommended installation of a cooling system at all crew positions.
In early 1999 the Army exercised a $14.6 million option on future production of an upgrade kit for Avenger air defense units that will greatly increased their effectiveness beginning 1st Qtr FY00. The Slew-To-Cue (STC) subsystem, a major upgrade enhancement to the Avenger, is expected to improve Avenger’s target acquisition, tracking and engagement range by about 50 percent while increasing the number of engagements and kills by more than 50 percent. The system will also significantly improve Avenger’s battlespace performance. Using STC, the Avenger will be able to accept digital early warning data and automatically slew the turret in both azimuth and elevation, centering the target in the gunner's field of view. Targeting data is provided by Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I). The FAAD C3I equipment provides early warning/alerting, a complete air picture, slew-to-cue and target IFF information. This improvement not only improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the Avenger, but also allows it to kill the broadening spectrum of 21st century threats, including CMs and UAVs... [Source]

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