LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – The skies above Laughlin are consistently buzzing with aircraft as student pilots and their instructors train to become the best pilots in the world. These aircraft require an immense amount of support and coordination to safely train in the Texas skies, this is where air traffic control Airmen shine.
When they aren’t playing video games, hiking, or kayaking in lake Amistad, Airman 1st Class Kayla Kesterson and Airman Carson Thornton are the air traffic controllers responsible for guiding pilots in the skies around Laughlin, helping facilitate over 110,000 sorties every year.
Training for this difficult job starts with a 4-to-5-month technical training followed by training at their duty station that ranges from 12-15 months and includes both on-the-job tasks and in simulators before full qualifications.
“The hardest part of the job for me is all the information you need to learn and study from all our numerous regs,” said Thornton, “but being able to learn how to sequence and separate [aircraft in the sky] is a big part of the job that takes time to learn.”
Despite the difficulty, Kesterson and Thornton have strived to exceed standards, taking only half of the normal time for their qualification.
Everyone has something that drives them to move forward, for Thornton it was wanting to move into a more independent role with more obligations and responsibilities.
“Being able to work by yourself is a big thing and when you’re in training you have someone looking over your work the whole time,” said Thornton. “You get a lot more freedom when you get rated and you get to move onto the cooler positions.”
Kesterson on the other hand is more focused on getting into a position where she can focus more on being an air traffic controller instead of performing low-status tasks. This also allows her to have more time to spend with her family.
“When I first got here, Chief was telling us about the additional duties we would have before we got our qualifications,” said Kesterson. “I have a three-year-old at home, so I tried to get rated as soon as possible to spend more time with him. I want to see as much as I can. I want travel and I want to get new experiences with my son.”
For Thornton, being able to help guide and direct pilots and their aircraft helps bring a feeling of joy to and accomplishment their jobs. For Kesterson however, her love of the job comes from the excitement and the lack of monotony.
“My favorite part of my job is you never know what you’re going to walk in to,” smiled Kesterson. “You get in and it is something different every single day.”
Now that both Airmen have conquered the beginning of their careers, the next stage in their profession will be providing guidance to pilots while in the air and ensuring safe travel in the skies around Laughlin.
| Date Taken: |
09.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: |
09.08.2022 13:04 |
| Story ID: |
428527 |
| Location: |
TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: |
48 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Above and beyond: Training to guide traffic in the skies, by SSgt Nicholas Larsen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
