Air traffic controllers are the eyes of the skies in Iraq

Courtesy Photo | Task Force Guardian, 1st Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment (Air Traffic Services), tower overlooking the runway at Washington Army Heliport in Baghdad.  

08.31.2006

Courtesy Story

159th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

In the Army, Soldiers are often told to 'take all commands from the tower'. Army aviation assets take this advice, which ultimately save lives and money.

Pilots in Iraq can't just fly anywhere they want. If this were the case, there would almost certainly be many conflicts in airspace around the skies over the places they fly.

Spread out over 10 locations in Iraq, the Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment (Air Traffic Services), Task Force Guardian, are literally 'the eyes in the skies' as they control the airspace in Iraq via their control tower in such locations as Baghdad, Mosul, Tal Afar, Kalsu and Balad.

These Guardian Soldiers safely assist any helicopters which come into its respective airspace and they control the areas by assisting the pilots on when and where to land. Even though this process is helped by state-of-the-art equipment, the Soldiers in the tower must remain cool when times get busy in their airspace. Army controllers need to be as proficient as their counterparts on the civilian side.

"I would say the stress on a controller in combat is at least equal to those in the civilian sector as far as controlling traffic," said Lt. Col. Steve Beltson, commander of Task Force Guardian. "Then you have to add all of the combat conditions such as mortar rounds impacting near towers, aircraft being shot at while in controlled airspace, and unmanned aerial systems mixed with manned aircraft."

Beltson's battalion is unique because the different companies are able to sustain themselves with minimal guidance from the battalion's headquarters. Although the battalion's headquarters provides overall command and control, teams are remotely located, led in some cases by just and non-commissioned officer, and are able to successfully complete the mission due in large part to the Soldiers initiative and technical expertise.

"Air Traffic Service units are structured to operate at locations separate form parent units, so what we do here is much more the norm than the exception," said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Harrington, who is the air traffic control chief and air field manager for Washington Helipad located in Baghdad.

"The reason why my Soldiers can handle being out in remote locations is simple; Centralized Command – Decentralized execution," said Beltson. "We tell companies what the mission is and allow them the freedom of maneuver to accomplish it relying on the initiative and hard work of the task force's junior leaders."

Beltson added that air traffic controllers regularly train as members of a team separated from its headquarters. Junior leaders become accustomed to executing the mission within the commander's intent.

Often the Soldiers manning the tower have to make split-second decisions in order to safely ensure aircraft can land. Sometimes the pressure is even greater due to rocket or mortar attacks, small arms fire or emergencies.

"For Mosul, the biggest challenges occur when we are deconflicting airspace for numerous agencies while receiving in-flight emergencies and/or rocket attacks to the airfield," said Capt. William Barrett, commander of Company D, 1st Bn. 58th Avn. Regt. Located in Mosul. "For example, there was one time we had an aircraft on short final (about to land) state they had an in flight emergency due to small arms fire they had just received. At the same time, the airfield was hit by a few rockets, one of which lit the center grass area of the airfield on fire compromising the runway.

This was all occurring as troops were in contact in the city of Mosul and our tower was deconflicting and controlling F-15 jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, OH-58D Kiowa Warriors and in-bound UH-60 Black Hawks. After coordinating with Crash and Rescue, the mayor cell, the combat support hospital, Warrior tactical operations center, Dragon TOC, the Air Force, Force Protection, numerous airfield agencies and higher; all was de-conflicted and all aircraft landed safely without further incident. On some levels, this multitasking is a daily occurrence.

Because his Soldiers are able to handle such stressful situations, Beltson believes they have the respect and confidence of the pilots which they serve.

"I would like to think the pilots understand the job of Air Traffic Control in combat and how well we do it," Beltson said. "If you were to ask the CH-53 pilot in Kalsu who only avoided a mid-air collision with a UAS because the controller was quick and anticipated the conflict, he would say he has the utmost respect for our controllers. I am sure most pilots flying in our airspace would tell you the same thing."

Even though he is located in Balad, Beltson and his command sergeant major, CSM Kenneth Musselwhite travel quite often to visit their Soldiers around Iraq. He said he believes the morale is high because of all the experience they are gaining.

"The morale is high because it is rare that air traffic controllers get so much air traffic and mike time. In the rear, controllers only talk to aircraft when deployed to Joint Readiness Training Center, National Training Center or occasionally for a local field training exercise." Other leaders in the battalion agree.

"Prior to deployment, only a few of the Soldiers in our company had Air Traffic Control experience of any kind," said Harrington. "It's been rewarding to see them grow as controllers. Each and everyday, they talk to hundreds of aircraft and provide support for thousands of movements."

"The Soldiers in this unit, like all others, benefit from constant utilization of their skills and the daily opportunity for improvement," said Barrett. "This is a prime environment for getting it right the first time and honing each skill you have on a daily basis."

Task Force Guardian will be completing their deployment to OIF this fall and bring to a close a very successful year of controlling the skies over Iraqi Freedom.

• Date Taken: 08.31.2006
• Date Posted: 08.31.2006 13:31
• Story ID: 7598