Keeping tabs on the airfield

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Loftin
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  When many aircraft need space on a limited airfield, a small section steps in to ensure there is room for all.

Like a game of musical chairs, Airmen in the 379th Expeditionary Operations Squadron airfield management section here constantly shift assets around to maximize use of the airfield, ensuring each aircraft has the parking it needs.

"The biggest challenge we face here is coordinating parking," said Senior Master Sgt. Charles Washington, airfield manager. "Because of the number of transient aircraft and the sharing of many of the spots between the assigned aircraft and maintenance, it takes a lot of coordination to determine how planes are going to come in. 

"As missions are executed, their times change so we're constantly moving aircraft around to have everybody parked where they need to be so they can get fixed, loaded and serviced," he said.

"The assigned aircraft are probably 20 to 30 percent over the capacity of the airfield," said the Sacramento, Calif., native. "Then when you throw in the transient aircraft, it makes parking difficult. We sometimes have planes parked where we normally wouldn't park them. The KC-135 (Stratotankers) are constantly flying so that gives us the ability to park aircraft. It's like musical planes."

Coordination is the name of the game for the seven-person section. Its members constantly work with Airmen in the control tower, Air Mobility Command control center, transient alert and other organizations to keep everyone on the same sheet of music.

"Our job is basically to be the central hub for coordination on flightline information," said Sergeant Washington, deployed from Misawa Air Base, Japan. "All the information flows into us and we disseminate it to the appropriate agencies."

Of the two people on shift at any given time, one spends his or her time in a frenzy of coordination.

"I find it both interesting and hectic," said Senior Airman Amanda Therrian, airfield management operations coordinator. "(The tower) calls us any time an aircraft arrives or departs.  We keep track of it here and send out an e-mail to different agencies like the command post and the British operations just letting them know the times so they can keep track of everything."

A flurry of activity is generated every time a mission is early or late to ensure there is room for each aircraft. Phones ringing multiple times every few minutes and e-mails constantly arriving are business as usual as the coordinator works with agencies to establish or update parking permissions.

"I feel our job is really important," said the St. Petersburg, Fla., native. "We coordinate all the parking for the aircraft here."

The coordinator also inputs into a computer system around 100 flight plans a day for missions leaving the base.

"I feel like I'm supporting the war," said Airman Therrian, deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. "A lot of the flight plans we do are for aircraft going down range. That to me is the most rewarding part."

While the coordinator has his or her hands full, the other section member spends that time ensuring the airfield is safe.

"We make sure all the support vehicles and personnel are operating safely so the aircraft can get from the parking spot to the runway in a safe manner," said Sergeant Washington.

Part of monitoring safety is staying on the lookout for foreign object debris that could damage aircraft. Recently, one of the Airmen found a large amount of FOD on the runway.

"An aircraft departed and nobody knew it blew a tire," said Sergeant Washington. "They went out to do a check on the runway and started finding debris from the tire. They were able to notify the aircrew and tell them they had a blown tire so they could safely recover. They would have never known about it until the aircraft hit the ground. 

"(The Airmen) also picked up a lot of debris from the runway so other aircraft wouldn't be impacted by the blown tire," he said. "Other aircraft could have picked up that debris and possibly ingested it into their engines. That was one of the biggest things we did while we were here."

In keeping the runways and taxiways safe, the section personnel ensure every one operating a vehicle there has been thoroughly trained. Tech. Sgt. Antonio Cooper of the airfield management branch runs the wing's flightline driving training program. During each rotation nearly 2,000 people are trained.

Whether juggling parking spots for visiting aircraft, patrolling the airfield or training flightline drivers, the section plays a critical role in the mission here.

"Our job means a lot to us because we know every mission that comes in and goes out is important, whether going down range or bringing people back home," said the airfield manager. "These guys play a big part. It definitely gives you a feeling of satisfaction knowing you helped out."

Comment on this story  (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

View the comments/letters page