OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea - "Watch it. Bring it in carefully!" said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Calhoun, narrowing his eyes in the sunrise.
The Launcher Platoon sergeant for Delta Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery had reason for caution.
The crew drill for a launcher reload operation was underway.
Pfc. Jordan Crawford nodded and waved to the forklift operator to move closer.
The missile canister, a training simulator built to the exact weight and dimensions of the real missiles used in air defense operations, hung from the forks.
Crawford and safety Sgt. Anthony Brinkman guided it into position.
Spc. Kenneth McKellar drove closer, carefully maneuvering the massive machine, and lowered the missile canister into place on the back of the giant launcher.
The missile reload drill is just one part of the complex task of certifying a Patriot battery as fully mission capable.
Delta Battery is the first of three firing units for the 6-52nd "Iron Horse" Battalion to undergo certification in the next three weeks. This three week period is a "certification season" for the Battalion, as it provides a window of opportunity for batteries to get their certifications.
Meanwhile, the Engagement Control Station crew practiced its march order drill to prepare the Patriot unit for movement to another location.
2nd Lt. Emily Neumann led her crew through the steps to carefully disassemble the line of sight antenna, shouting instructions from atop the truck mounted control station.
Spc. Anthony Frayne and Pfc. Craig Wall, both members of her crew, carefully and quickly prepared the station for movement.
While crew drills, individually, are critical pieces of the puzzle, the certification is only given from battalion evaluators after exhaustive checks of every piece of operations.
The battery as a whole must conduct a movement and be able to achieve operational readiness within an hour of moving onto the position.
"The Soldiers know their jobs like the back of their hands," said Sgt. Albert Guerra. "It's the paperwork that trips them up."
Therefore, Guerra conducted inspections of dispatches, driver's licenses and maintenance records.
Delta Battery moved forward and received its certification.
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