Shindand tower prep for handoff

SHINDAND AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN

08.01.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Bryan Lewis 

16th Combat Aviation Brigade

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - As the presence of U.S. troops begins to draw down in Afghanistan, units begin to transition and pass off security operations to the Afghan military forces, which includes control of the land and sky.

Air traffic controllers from Company F, 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion under Task Force Warhawk have been on watch over the skies around Shindand Air Base since April 2014, and instead of preparing to hand off operations to a follow-on U.S. unit, they are training one of the first Afghan military air traffic controllers.

"Anywhere the U.S. goes we have the responsibility to build the capability and capacity of our partner forces," said Lt. Col. Jason Miller, TF Warhawk commander. "We're making sure we set the conditions so the Afghan forces can take over the roles of ATC and the responsibility of running an airfield."

Soldiers and noncommissioned officers of the Arctic Fox Company have been training Afghanistan Air Force 1st Lt. Alishah Rahimi since May 2014 to progress through an ATC program that will allow him to work to his superiors' expectations and beyond.

“What he'll be doing is called an advisory control tower. In an advisory control tower, you don't provide clearances," said Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Redondo, Shindand tower facility chief. "You provide traffic calls. You can provide weather advisories. You are there to mitigate risk and assist the pilots."

Within a few training sessions, Redondo and his team recognized Rahimi's potential to surpass previously set guidelines.

"At the very beginning, we were only going to train him in advisory but when we started working with him, I sat down with my Italian counterparts and asked ‘What are my left and right limits?’ They said he is my Soldier so train him as I see fit," Redondo said. "So I sat down with 1st Lt. Rahimi and told him ‘I want to make sure you can do ATC anywhere you go.’"

Redondo and his ATC team used air traffic controller regulations and pulled relevant material to design a manual for qualifying Rahimi as an ATC for an advisory control tower.

"What we provide is positive control, so when you enter our airspace, you have to talk to us and you have to be in two-way communication with the tower at all times. We give landing clearances … clear airspace … we are the sole owner of five miles outside of SAB," Redondo explained.

As Rahimi continued to soar through each portion of his training, which included flight data, ground data and local control, his instructors pushed for further testing to allow Rahimi to be a self-sufficient ATC.

"One thing that we're trying to do is get him an International Civil Aviation Organization rating. I am an FAA examiner but I'm not qualified to say he can work by himself over here, so we're trying to get myself to be an ICAO examiner or have one of the Italian examiners come down to check him off to be a positive controller," Redondo said.

The air traffic controllers of Company F and Rahimi continue to work together as a bridge between two countries and adding another piece to the puzzle that is a self-sustaining Afghanistan.

• Date Taken: 08.01.2014
• Date Posted: 08.08.2014 06:04
• Story ID: 138689
• Location: SHINDAND AIR BASE, AF