Photo By Staff Sgt. Eric McDonough | Members of the 1st Airfield Operations Battalion, 245th Aviation Regiment, 90th Troop...... read more read more
Subscribe
Soldiers with the 1st Airfield Operations Battalion, 245th Aviation Regiment, 90th Troop Command, Oklahoma Army National Guard conduct pre-deployment training at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, this month.
The AOB specializes in air traffic control and airport operations. The unit is prepared for deployment to the Middle East this summer. Their time at Camp Gruber was spent training on Soldier's skills necessary for deployment.
“Our upcoming deployment could be a very diverse deployment and it’s constantly changing,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Travis Rollins of Stillwater, Oklahoma, an air traffic and airspace management technician with the AOB. “So it’s good to have the basics down just in case.”
What Rollins refers to as “the basics,” are a set of warrior skills set forth by the Department of the Army, to ensure every deployed service member is prepared for the possibility of armed conflict.
The AOB received refresher training in land navigation, weapons systems familiarization, radio operations, basic first-aid skills and other soldier skills that are part of a Guardsman’s yearly training.
Additionally, the unit will receive training in new skills such as Improvised Explosive Device recognition, basic Arabic phrases, advanced first-aid, vehicle rollover safety procedures and tactical movement training. For Soldiers who have never deployed, this will be an opportunity to learn these valuable skills.
“For the folks that I have now, perfectly half of them have been deployed before,” said Capt. Scott Collins of Edmond, Oklahoma, commander of the AOB and an Army aviator. “This unit is definitely leaning hard on the leadership, knowledge and experience of its Non Commissioned Officers and is definitely driven by the NCO’s.”
The AOBs specialized mission makes the leadership of its experienced enlisted leaders, or noncommissioned officers, especially valuable. Due to the uniquely stressful nature of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator’s mission, Soldier’s must pass a rigorous 15-week certification program at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Soldiers must then maintain yearly certification requirements in order to continue to serve in the ATC career field.
“These folks work really long hours,” Collins said. “There are very specific regulations about how long they can stay on shift and talk to airplanes.”
The majority of the AOB’s NCO’s have deployed at least once and possess the real world experience necessary to train and mentor the unit's least experienced members. Due to the high stress nature of air traffic control the AOB’s leadership takes particular care to engage all Soldiers in the unit in social and morale bolstering events as a way to combat workplace stress.
An AOB must be capable of controlling both military and civilian airspace anywhere in the world. To accommodate international laws and treaties, Soldiers who graduate as ATC Operator’s are fully certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This situation creates unique challenges for the AOB’s commander.
“I’m not legally allowed to do their job, It makes it tricky,” said Collins. “It helps that I am a pilot and I do understand air space, air space confliction and things like that but it has definitely been a challenge.”
Guardsmen who successfully qualify as an ATC Operator, and prove they can handle the stressful work environment, have the opportunity to transition to working for the FAA.
The AOB finished its pre-mobilization training and moved to a mobilization site for final training before departing for the Middle East.
| Date Taken: | 05.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2016 14:36 |
| Story ID: | 199283 |
| Location: | CAMP GRUBER, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Hometown: | ENID, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Hometown: | MUSTANG, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Hometown: | NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Hometown: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Oklahoma Army National Guard's Air Traffic Controllers prepare for deployment, by SSG Eric McDonough, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
