A TACP is a Tactical Air Control Party. It is comprised of a JTAC (Joint Terminal Air Controller) and a ROMAD (essentially a JTAC in training, though the reality is ROMADs are frequently seasoned operators in their own right, having completed lengthy and arduous blocks of training and lacking only the final JTAC certification). JTACs direct the action of combat aircraft operating in CAS (Close Air Support) and other offensive operations, calling in airstrikes and gun runs like an FO or an ANGLICO Marine calls in artillery or naval gunfire. The NATO is Forward Air Controller. A typical TACP (JTAC or ROMAD or both) might be on an infantry patrol one day to coordinate immediate CAS and attached to an ODA the next day for the same reason.
Calling in an air strike on just the right target at just the right time can change the tide of battle. Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Specialists imbed with Army and Marine units and do just that. One of the few true frontline combat jobs in the Air Force, TACP Specialists are known for their ability to bring overwhelming firepower to the battlefield in the form of artillery and air strikes. The training is physically, mentally and technically intense, as you'll have to be able to operate under any environmental condition alongside some of the military's most elite special operations teams.
A USAF TACP, is usually a team of two or more United States Air Force enlisted TACP journeymen or craftsmen (AFSC 1C4X1) aligned with a conventional or special operational United States Army combat maneuver unit to advise ground commanders on the best use of air power, establish and maintain command and control communications, and provide precision terminal attack guidance of U.S. and coalition fixed-wing and rotary-wing close air support aircraft, artillery, and naval gunfire. A TACP always includes at least one Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) qualified to control attack aircraft. It can also include an Air Liaison Officer (ALO), an Air Force commissioned officer who is typically aeronautically rated as a pilot or navigator/combat systems officer in fighter or attack aircraft who is often JTAC qualified and serves in a senior advisor capacity. A small number of non-rated officers, typically with special tactics backgrounds, have also been qualified as ALOs. JTAC teams are primarily stationed with and support Army combat units.
In the United Kingdom Armed Forces TACP personnel may come from the Royal Marines, Army or RAF Regiment[3] Every TACP has four members, one officer and one SNCO who are trained Forward Air Controllers. Two signallers (JNCOs) who are responsible for communication equipment and assist in tasking aircraft to FACs in forward positions. The FAC's role is to guide attack aircraft and fast jets to the correct target by providing descriptions and locations to the pilots via a range of telecommunications equipment. Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, served as a TACP commander in Afghanistan. FACs and TACPs in the United Kingdom are trained at the Joint Forward Air Controller Training Standards Unit (JFACTSU)..
