The Helicopter Unit Sample Clauses

The Helicopter Unit. Combined Air Assets‌ The combined helicopter unit consisted of two Swedish AW109 helicopters and one Dutch NH90 helicopter, bringing together two different helicopter systems. Like the LCCT, the helicopter detachment had a mixed Dutch-Swedish organisational structure with one senior officer in charge, also Dutch, who was responsible for tasking the entire unit.205 The integration of the helicopters was perceived as a logical consequence of the decision made on board HNLMS ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ to integrate the intelligence cells (see section 4.2.3).206 Combining the air assets was natural as the intelligence section is closely connected to the helicopter detachment in airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, which are a key task for Operation Atalanta, e.g. for tasking and imagery analysis.207 Normally in international operations, the intelligence section is an integrated component of Swedish helicopter units rather than a separate function. In the standard Swedish structure there is a flight commander, a flight crew, a maintenance crew and an intelligence section.208 This structure was, for instance, used in Afghanistan and was initially the planned organisational structure for the Swedish helicopter detachment of Operation Atalanta.209 In the Dutch structure, on the other hand, an intelligence officer is normally included in the unit, but not an entire section. There is also a difference between military branches in the Netherlands, where, in the Dutch Navy, the intelligence side is usually incorporated into the 202 Interviews 12 and 24. 203 Interview 17. 204 Interview 17. 205 Interviews 17 and 29. 206 Interview 24. 207 Interview 24. 208 Interview 24. 209 Interview 24. operations branch.210 Consequently, the end result was a compromise structural integration, with a combined intelligence function separated from the helicopter unit and the operations branch,211 but closely connected to them.212 The Swedish planning officer was part of the intelligence section at the start of the mission, but was later transferred to the helicopter detachment.213 According to one senior Swedish officer, this proved very useful in the sense that the planning officer was responsible for managing the synchronisation between the helicopter unit and the other enablers and assets.214 During the daily operations synchronisation meetings (opsync), representatives from the LCU, the combat boats, the Role 2 medical unit, the bridge deck on the ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ and ...