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Airfield management: strategically maneuvering across chessboard

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Racheal E. Watson
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

While sitting at a chessboard, your heart suddenly starts racing. Your hand trembles as you move the next piece toward your opponent, planning a few strategic moves ahead and the possible outcomes of the action you are about to take.

The 386th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron airfield management crew plays its own game of chess by maneuvering each piece of the mission across their playing board, the airfield. For the team to win, they have to make a move. Knowing which piece to move comes with insight, knowledge and lessons learned along the way.

August marks the one year anniversary of Operation Inherent Resolve. In order to call checkmate on the Da’esh- Service members, Host Nation and Coalition partners must work cohesively to strategically move their pieces across the combat chessboard.

“Our job is to ensure a safe airfield operating environment for all the aircraft and personnel,” said Senior Airman Andrew Henggeler, 386 EOSS airfield management shift leader.

To begin their day, the team inspects the playing board.

“We go out on the airfield, ensuring the runway is suitable for takeoffs and landings,” said Henggeler.

Mother Nature also takes her toll on the airfield with intense heat and occasional sudden bouts of flooding. The team constantly looks for possible damage and contacts the agency responsible for repairs.

“No matter the weather conditions that day, we still need to operate the airfield,” said Henggeler.

Since August 2014, the U.S. Air Force has flown 70 percent of the airstrikes against Da’esh, making airfield management an integral strategic component.

When the team is not out on the airfield, they are in the office working.

“When we are back in the shop, we are working on our flight plans, which essentially tell the Host Nation and all the other air traffic control centers what the aircraft are doing, where they are going and how they are going to proceed to their destination,” said Heggeler.

“We also work on our transient flow, ensuring we have the appropriate parking for the aircraft coming in as certain aircraft can only park in certain locations,” continued Heggeler.

With American, Italian, British, Canadian, various Coalition partners and Host Nation pieces simultaneously moving all over the playing board, airfield management has to keep a finger on the pulse of the operations.

“We all pretty much operate the same way,” says Staff Sgt. Kristopher Sosebee, 386 EOSS deputy airfield manager. “We may use different words, but in the end we understand what is needed to get the job done.”

Safety is a joint effort and understanding the rules and regulations, no matter which language spoken, is the key to success.

“Control Movement Area Violation is if a vehicle, person or aircraft break a Visual Flight Rules hold line threshold without permission, but they don’t actually go onto the runway,” says Sosebee.

Crossing a VFR, a set of regulations which allows a pilot to operate an aircraft where it is going, without permission can endanger the safety of the aircrew and everyone on the ground.

“People can die,” said Sosebee. “It’s similar to a car crash, but on a much greater scale. The outcome is never good.” 

To revamp the current safety concerns on the airfield, three projects are in the works. One project is enhancing the deteriorated VFR hold lines, especially at points of high trends of CMAVs. Another project is repairing and reinstalling mandatory signs, which indicate the control movement areas and the position of the VFR line. The final project is to install non-standard markings along and in front of the VFR hold lines, stating the need for tower approval before entering the area.

“The non-standard markings are just another visual marking, in red and white lettering, to ensure vehicles, pedestrians and aircraft are reminded to contact tower before proceeding into the area,” said Sosebee.

“Airfield management is all about safety of the aircrew, drivers and personnel on the ground,” said Sosebee. “Being safe on the airfield is as simple as knowing how to navigate around the airfield properly.”