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TAMPA, Fla. -- MacDill operator 37 was working the weekend shift when the call came in from a female soldier from parts unknown overseas. As they spoke, the operator, Linda Norman, heard a huge explosion in the background.
“Did you hear that?” the soldier asked her, quickly adding that she had to hang up and would call back.
“We were in tears waiting,” said Linda, who thousands of miles away found herself suddenly connected to the soldier, sharing her fears and the urgency in a far-off warzone.
The soldier called back. The explosion was a roadside bomb.
“It was overwhelming, “ said Linda. “I just wanted to be there, and was proud to be doing what I was doing.”
Linda said the incident was an example of how operators never know what they’re going to hear when on a call. That and thousands of other memories were dredged up this week, as operators wind down operations here and telephone operator functions are moved to Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
Many callers have become accustomed to the voices of 6th Communication Squadron switchboard Operators, some of them on the job for two decades.
Patricia Taylor, affectionately known as Pat, is the person behind the voice of Operator 18 and has provided first-rate customer service for 20 years. Hers and the voices of her fellow operators will fall silent starting July 16, when MacDill Air Force Base says good-bye to a dozen 6 CS operators when base operator functions are consolidated at Travis AFB.
Working five days a week, Pat still remembers the days when all phone numbers were on paper. She still keeps a manual or two lying around. Call it nostalgia.
“We had stacks of manuals back then,” said Pat. “All the research was done through hard copy.”
Researching numbers on paper wasn’t the only thing that was different then. Quality Assurance checks have come a long way, as well.
“QA called four times a day timing the operators’ responses,” she said, noting that after 20 years, the job remains exciting.
“I have never found this job boring,” Pat said. “Every day there is something different. It is definitely fast-paced and keeps us thinking quickly.”
Pat is not the only longtime operator at MacDill AFB. Deborah Johnson, now working with the U.S. Central Command Freedom of Information Act section and on Sundays as an operator, has been an operator for 14 years.
Like Pat, she has also has years of excitement and memories.
“I can remember getting calls from places like Korea asking us to just put them on hold so they could hear American music,” said Deborah, known to the operators as Debbie. “Back then we played a local radio station for callers placed on hold.”
In November of 2000, a year after MacDill AFB contracted with Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind, Robert Biggs, informally known as Bobby, was hired on as an operator. Bobby, operator 10, didn’t start out at MacDill alone. He was part of a team.
“When I began working at MacDill, I had a seeing eye dog named Clyde,” said Bobby. “He loved coming to work just as much as I did.”
Originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Bobby met his wife working at MacDill.
“I met Charlie in 2005,” said Bobby.”We started dating in 2006 and got married in 2007.”
Charlie, Teresa Sullivan, has been at MacDill since October of 2005.
“I just want to thank whoever I need to thank for giving me the opportunity to be a small part in something really big,” said Charlie, Operator 11. “I appreciate that opportunity.”
Joyce Grimsley, Operator 3, has been an operator at MacDill for more than eight years. She is a former military spouse and got the job from Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind.
“I have been so fortunate to work at MacDill,” said Joyce. “It gave me a chance to work for my country.”
Another veteran of the operators, and the current supervisor, is Sheryl Laxson. A Tampa native and Operator 14, she’s been at MacDill for seven years. Sheryl has seen the call volume change in her many years here.
“On average, we take 70 to 80 thousand calls a month,” said Sheryl. “On occasion we can even receive as many as 100,000. Seven years ago, we were averaging 125,000 calls a month.”
She has also seen a change in the technology.
“Before, we had actual phones that rang,” said Sheryl. “Now we hear a buzz in our headsets.”
The operators that are visually impaired wear a special headset. In one ear they hear the caller and the other ear the computer system reads them the number they are looking for. The process works like this: the operators hear a buzz in their ear and use their computer to accept the call; once the caller tells them the number they are looking for the operators will type in the section or the individual’s name. The computer will find the specific number, or a list of numbers, and the operators will scroll through the list until they hear the number the caller is asking for. Once they hear the number they will give it to the caller.
Most operators listen to the voice with speeds of one or two, but for John Follis it is hard to listen at that slow of speed.
“To understand what the computer is saying, I need to listen on the fastest speed,” said John, Operator 6. “After working with computers since the 6th grade, I am used to hearing at such high speeds.”
John, now 24, has been working for MacDill since 2007. He’s an Idaho Falls, Idaho native and came to MacDill after graduating from a school in St. Augustine in 2006. He received the job through Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind.
In February of 2008, John met up with a former acquaintance when Madeline Ramos,
In February of 2008, John met up with a former acquaintance when Madeline Ramos, known to the operators as Maddie, joined him as an operator here. Maddie, Operator 36, has enjoyed her short time at MacDill.
“There is nothing better than getting paid for doing what you love,” said Maddie, a New York native. “Customer service, that is what this job is all about.”
Team MacDill has shown Maddie and the rest of the operators their appreciation in many ways.
“We once had a colonel bring us donuts,” said Maddie. “We have also received thank you gifts from service members returning from overseas.”
These gifts were thank you for the many morale calls made possible by the operators. It was a general consensus that morale calls will truly be missed.
“The hardest part about leaving this job is interacting with the deployed troops,” said Pat. “We felt like we were a part of the big picture. Sometimes we get calls just asking how the weather is in Tampa. They [service members] just want to hear a voice.”
Operators unavailable for interviews, but still greatly appreciated are Dennis Castillo, Operator 9; Joshua Burch, Operation 7; and Esther Burton, operator 15.
| Date Taken: | 07.02.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2010 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 52510 |
| Location: | TAMPA, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 95 |
This work, Base operators have heard it all; reflect on years at MacDill, by MSgt Katherine Holt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
