Planes soar thanks to Baghdad's ‘tower of power’

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Tudor
  • Air Force Print News
BAGHDAD, Iraq --  Except for a thick dusty haze squatting on the city from day to day, Baghdad and the surrounding Iraqi countryside would be completely visible from here.

Being 180 feet taller than almost any other vantage point in the city, Baghdad International Airport's control tower has certain advantages.

The control tower is also a target and transient beacon to dozens of civilian and military pilots each day. To ensure safe travel, Airmen here are partnering with Iraqi air traffic controllers to take over these duties one day.

The airport is the military entry point for almost all cargo and people going somewhere in Iraq. The six Airmen and 12 Iraqis in the tower see up to 35 airplanes coming or going each day. More than 9,600 air traffic control "operations" happened in June -- 13 landings, launches or contacts every hour for 30 days, officials said.

"It's a life experience, to be sure," said Staff Sgt. Dale Drake, a controller with the 447th Expeditionary Airlift Group. "I get to see a lot of things most people my age have not seen."

Iraqi civilians primarily control air traffic during the day, while Airmen take over at night when the majority of military air traffic starts up. The initial wave is HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters from Balad Air Base, some doing medical-airlift missions. Soon after, with lights out inside the massive control tower "cab," the bulk of military flights touchdown.

Meanwhile, the equipment and operations are a throwback to “35 years ago,” said military tower controllers. There are no headsets or whirling radars in the cab. Most of the communication with pilots is done on handsets, and much of the data needed to land airplanes is pulled from laptop computers, binoculars and night-vision goggles.

"This is really roughing it," said Senior Master Sgt. Ronald DuPaty, one of the tower supervisors. "Trying to work aircraft in total darkness with 35-year-old equipment is a different challenge."

Night landings and launches are the biggest challenge, Sergeant DuPaty said. Despite his 11 years of Air National Guard time, eight years of active-duty service and civilian experience at the Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, night landings still can be tough.

"It takes a special perception to land airplanes at night," he said. "With the equipment and these conditions, it makes a real difference.”

Staff Sgt. Charles Aguilar said this sort of work suits him fine, but others might find it trying.

"Some people wouldn't like being out here," he said. "I don't think it's for everyone."

None of this activity -- landing airplanes in blackout conditions or the primitive equipment -- is strange to Lt. Col. Ray Schindler's crew. His unit, the 259th Air Traffic Control Squadron, does this for a living. The Louisiana Air National Guard squadron was also responsible for initial setup of air traffic control towers at other military locations in Iraq, the colonel said.

According to tower controllers, the key to the success of tower operations is the relationship between Americans and Iraqis.

Airmen here are working with their host-nation counterparts to ensure safety of flight for all air traffic, said Colonel Schindler, the airfield operations flight commander. For now, Americans and Iraqis are working through natural barriers -- language and culture primarily -- to get the job done.

"This is a real success story," said Colonel Schindler about the relationship. "They are very grateful we're here. They are afraid we'll leave too soon."

For the Iraqi workers, working here could mean a death sentence. An Iraqi air traffic controller's son was killed last year when someone discovered he was doing work associated with the Americans, Colonel Schindler said. The Iraqi workers who have other jobs to supplement their income keep their employment at the tower secret.

Meanwhile, Airmen wear flak vests, Kevlar helmets and come to work armed. Mortars and rockets have landed less than five football fields away from them. Seen through the glass, they are easy targets for snipers, though the area is patrolled by both military and civilian security patrols.

Despite the adversity, the goal is to ensure safety of flight, continue to move flights in and out of the country, and, to ultimately build the fledgling democracy. Colonel Schindler said when the Iraqis take complete control of the tower -- breaking through the haze of language and cultural barriers -- their work will be complete.

"Every day, it's less and less common for us to be involved with air operations over Baghdad, and that's a good thing," the colonel said.