Control tower maestros orchestrate airfield operations

Published Oct. 31, 2008
By Senior Airman Clinton Atkins
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

Southwest Asia -- Jargon bellows in rhythm from the intercoms to the timing of commands. Windows of opportunity fade and emerge. Like a great symphony, timing is everything. With a nod from the controller, a crescendo of roaring engines fills the night sky right on cue.

The 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron Control Tower here conducts the symphony of air traffic movements for U.S. and Coalition Forces here around the clock.

"Nothing happens on this airfield without it going through us," said Master Sgt. Jimmy Mull, 379th EOSS Control Tower chief controller. "Nobody lands, nobody takes off, nobody taxis and nobody moves without it first going through the tower. We're responsible for all aircraft here from the start of a mission to the end of that mission - from wheels up to wheels on the ground.

"The service we provide keeps the aircrews and aircraft safe and we ensure all missions take off on time," said the Canton, N.C., native. "Everything we do has a far-reaching impact beyond our own airfield."

A three-person team of air traffic controllers ensures the safety of more than 1,200 operations weekly by following ATC guidelines.

"By using the principles of air traffic control and the rules and regulations that apply to keep the airplanes separate, there are certain things you can and cannot do," said Sergeant Mull, deployed from Vance Air Force Base, Okla. "There are time restrictions, altitude restrictions, taxi restrictions or whatever the case may be. It's like being a traffic cop up (in the tower)."

Each crew member in the tower plays crucial and specific roles in each operation, he said.

There is the watch supervisor, responsible for daily operations, who manages the crew; the local controller, call sign 'Tower,' is responsible for controlling landings and take offs; and the ground controller monitors all of the ground movement of aircraft and vehicles. The ground controller also works with the host nation radar approach control facility for take off clearance.

"The ground controller is the busiest person up there," Sergeant Mull said. "There is a lot of coordination that has to be done with (the host nation RAPCON). When a pilot calls for engine start (the ground controller) has to reply to the aircraft and then notify (the RAPCON) who will in turn work on the clearance for take off."

The ground controller will end up talking to the RAPCON four or five times before the plane even gets off the ground, he said.

"What's even more difficult is all air traffic communication happens over a loudspeaker," Sergeant Mull said.

Multiple intercoms going off at once in the tower can sometimes cause confusion during a high ops tempo, he said.

"One of the things that make this a difficult operation compared to a stateside operation is the equipment," Sergeant Mull said. "Everything is done visually around here. You can only see two to three miles at the most and the runway is nearly two miles long so your visibility is very limited. We end up not seeing the aircraft until their three-mile final, which makes it difficult when you are trying to clear aircraft to take off."

Improvements are in the works, but in the meantime the control tower must be extra vigilant.

"It requires a lot more coordination on our part to find out exactly where the airplanes are out there," Sergeant Mull said. "You'd think visibility would be great with how flat it is, but that haze is horrible."

Though the weather may sometimes throw a small wrench in the gears, the control tower doesn't typically get overwhelmed.

"The flow of planes coming in is pretty steady so we don't have to worry too much about several planes trying to land at once," he said.

All of the difficulties only add to the excitement, said Senior Airman Eloy Reyes, 379th EOSS ATC journeyman.

"The best thing I like about being here is that rush you get when you have multiple things going on at once that you have to keep track off, because if one slip up happens you can mess up the whole thing," said the Riverside, Calif., native.

Sergeant Mull shared his not-so-secret tricks of the trade.

"One thing you have to realize about the assets you're controlling is there are lives on board," Sergeant Mull said. "You can't simply look at that airplane as an inanimate object and say, 'oh, it's just a piece of machinery and I'm just landing it on the runway.' There are people in there; people that have lives, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, and if you don't take that seriously then you're not cut out for this job."

The orchestra may never cease, but the directors need their rest and one thing that helps them sleep is their track record.

"At the end of your shift, if you can look back and say I've landed all of those planes without incident that's something to be proud of because you're directly responsible for countless lives and billions of dollars in Air Force assets," said Airman Reyes, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.