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Prior service experience gives contract airfield management aerial edge at 386th

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Patrice Clarke
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  An airfield manager's job is a big one, whether deployed or at home station. The airfield manager plays a vital role in a pilot's ability to safely land, take off and taxi on airfields. It doesn't stop there; airfield managers are also in charge of managing, inspecting airfields and monitoring any airfield construction.

With the high operations tempo of this airfield here at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, experience and dedication is needed to ensure the mission is executed safely day in and day out. The 386th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron has an ace in the hole with their 12-person contract airfield management and air-traffic control flight that are able to keep the Marauder mission moving.

"Airfield management and air traffic control is the continuity that keeps the EOSS together and allows the continuation of flight operations on a daily basis," said Lt. Col. Lynn Irwin, 386th EOSS commander.

Currently, Midwest Air Traffic Control Service, Inc. provides the team, which is comprised of retired and prior service Air Force and Navy air traffic controllers and air field managers, with the collective years of experience exceeding the hundreds.

"All of us are doing the exact same thing we did when we wore the uniform," said Benjamin Council, 386th EOSS air traffic manager and a prior airfield operations flight commander (captain) while in the Air Force. "The safety of everyone is our top priority."

The six people assigned to the airfield management side of the office have a big job to do. The airfield operates two parallel runways and services both host nation and coalition aircraft.

"We have a hand in everything on the airfield," said Sam Cutler, currently the 386th airfield manager and a retired senior master sergeant who spent 26 years in the Air Force. "If there is construction on the airfield, we have a hand in it. If there is construction on the Rock [main base] we still have a hand in it based on aircraft building clearance levels."

Along with monitoring airfield construction, airfield managers also run the flightline driving program, and heavily monitor the runway for any sign of cracks or breaking that could result in foreign object debris damage to the aircraft.

"We are constantly on the airfield," said Mr. Cutler, a Springlake, N.C., native. "We check everything, from rubber build up from aircraft tires, to cracks and breaks in the asphalt and concrete."

Air traffic control liaisons make up the other half of the air traffic management flight. The host nation owns and operates the air traffic control tower here.

"The host nation controls the air but we are there as an extra set of eyes," said General Fail, an air traffic control liaison who retired from the Air Force as a master sergeant after 26 years of service. "We are also there to assist with any real time language barriers that might arise between pilot and controller."

The air traffic control liaisons are an important piece to the air operations here, Mr. Fail said.

Liaisons are there to maintain overall situational awareness of air operations. They furnish safety guidance when questions arise and provide procedural and operational guidance upon host nation request.

It was the current air traffic management team who implemented the pilot controller liaison meetings here. The meetings bring the host nation controllers, all of the pilots and representatives from the squadrons on the flightline to hammer out any major issues that might arise.

"These meetings are in place so that everyone is on the same page," said Mr. Fail. "The safety of everyone on the runway is paramount."

Executing the mission safely is at the top of the list for Colonel Irwin.

"Several of our airfield management team have been on station or in the area of responsibility for more than three years," said Colonel Irwin. "Their vast experience and knowledge of the AOR makes them crucial to our mission. Additionally, they provide mentorship to our young Airmen and support the morale and welfare of the EOSS and the EOG as a whole with participation in our group and squadron functions. They epitomize the motto of the EOSS ... Combat Power ... Enabled."