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U.S., Qatari air traffic controllers manage CENTCOM’s busiest airfield

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kia Atkins
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
At the busiest airfield in U.S. Air Forces Central Command's area of responsibility a contingent of U.S. and Qatari air traffic controllers orchestrate the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic 24-hours a day in support of coalition and joint combat operations in the region.

U.S. Airmen assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron and their Qatari counterparts, work from the highest vantage point on base –the air traffic control tower— to ensure decisive airpower is generated unobstructed from air traffic congestion.

“The operations tempo is kicking 24/7 here,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Martin, 379th EOSS air traffic control watch supervisor deployed here from Dover Air Force Base, Del. “Things are always moving--we’re always clearing aircraft for take-offs and landings, and there's not much downtime. We know there's a mission out there that has to be done so we do our best to get these guys off the ground, let them get to the fight and get them back whenever we can.”

Airmen remain in constant communication with Qatari air traffic controllers and aircrews assigned to the wing to initiate and issue air traffic control clearances, instructions and advisories to effectively manage the flow of air traffic.

“My favorite part about the job is basically clearing these aircrafts to land, getting them out to the mission and bringing them back,” Martin said. “It's really satisfying and rewarding when you see those pilots coming back and they're happy to hear your voice when they land. You can hear a sigh of relief in their voice. You know they've had a long flight so it's a nice rewarding experience, every day is something new.”

According to Martin, controlling aircraft at deployed locations is both a challenge and a learning experience because air traffic controllers get the opportunity to work side-by-side with members of the Qatar Emiri Air Force doing things they don’t traditionally do at their home stations.

“While working with the QEAF, we get an opportunity to see how they conduct air traffic control operations, and they get to see how we conduct operations-- it really helps us to improve how we do operations as a team,” Martin said. “It's a good working relationship and the Qataris appreciate us being here.”

Martin and his fellow air traffic controllers enjoy the working relationship they have with their Qatari counterparts and see it as the reason the mission continues to be accomplished.

“They are excellent controllers and great people. It's a lot of fun working with them and it's nice to see their perspective on things, they have a different rule set that they abide by. They're very accommodating with what we have to do and they understand the mission we have here. They help us get it done.”

In addition to managing one of busiest airfields in the CENTCOM AOR, Air Traffic controllers here contend with directing the launch and recovery of aircraft from an airfield that had limited parking. However, due to the recent opening of a new tactical ramp here, the congestion on the airfield has been alleviated, which essentially helped air traffic controllers better manage the flow of traffic.

“When the TAC ramp opened up, it helped us a great deal because a lot of the aircraft were being held up for at least an hour before they could get a parking spot,” said Tech. Sgt. Leonardo Sengco, 379th EOSS air traffic control watch supervisor. “Before it opened, aircraft were getting clogged up on the approach in and for their departures. Once it opened up, it freed a lot of space on the ramp so we could get the traffic flowing more smoothly for arrivals and departures.”

Some of the aircraft, controllers provide support to here are the KC-135 Stratotanker, C-17 Globemaster III, B-1 Lancer, RC-135 Rivet Joint, E-8 Joint STARS, Boeing 747, C-130 Hercules and C-21.