Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Justin Boling | Cpl. Leon Martinez, an air traffic controller for Marine Air Control Squadron 2,...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, S.C. -- Marine Air Control Squadron 2, Detachment A held a Marine air traffic control mobile team training exercise on the Air Station flight line, July 19, and on Page Field aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, July 26.
During the night operation, Marines constructed a runway with some of the same tools they would use in the field: phantom lights, 550 cord and sand bags.
The strength behind an MMT is that it creates the ability to set up operational landing zones for refueling and other strategic purposes in almost any location.
“This capability can aid almost any Marine Corps operational unit or Marine Air-Ground Task Force allowing expedient exit for ground units and creating a place for supplies to be delivered,” said Staff Sgt. Patrick Bowles, a MACS-2 MMT Leader.
The exercise began by assigning the team members their role in the exercise. The team operating as the base element set up the beginning of the rural air strip. The Marines counted their paces to get the initial 60 foot width of the box - the desired landing area. Marines, assigned to do pace and reference, counted steps and set sand bags at every 500 feet, then used the 550 cord to maintain the correct width. They then held up a fluorescent fabric sheet and received adjustments from the station at the start of the runway to line up the phantom lights. The lights exposed the runway area to the pilots flying the aircraft.
The lights are remote controlled and can be switched to a setting only visible with night vision, allowing an MMT team to land aircraft covertly.
According to Staff Sgt. Christopher Hearn, one of the MMT instructors for the exercise, the lights are a tremendous asset. They do not require a lot of man power to operate and have many remote operated features, such as the ability to remotely adjust color.
Despite how innovative the lights are they still have to be attached to the ground in some way. For this exercise, Marines attached them to sand bags at every 500 foot increment running the entire 3,000 foot expanse.
After the construction of the runway, the Marines would aid the C-130 Hercules in landing.
“We radio to tell the pilots how close to bull’s-eye or how far off they were, so they can correct themselves on the next approach,” Bowles said. “This was a good learning experience for the Marines.”
According to Hearn, the best educational factor is that Marines receive this education on the Air Station instead of having to go to Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. Yuma is the only place that Marines can receive MMT certification, but doing this training puts MACS-2 Marines ahead of others when they go to be certified.
“It is good to get outside and learn the operational side of what we do, I have done this exercise three times before, and I always learn a lot more than I knew before,” said Cpl. Leon Martinez, an air traffic controller for MACS-2. The Marines of MACS-2 completed an exercise proving that Marines have the capability to continue and support the fight in any climate or place.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2010 13:59 |
| Story ID: | 53644 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 131 |
| Downloads: | 63 |
This work, MACS-2 develops night vision, by GySgt Justin Boling, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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