Airmen Ensure Runway Safety
Master Sgt. George Sims
(right) spends his day removing debris from the runway. That's not
an easy or cut-and-dry job at the coalition's Tallil Air Base in
Iraq. More than 1,600 pounds of debris has been removed from the
airfield since November. Sergeant Sims is the 332nd Expeditionary
Operations Support Squadron airfield manager, deployed to Tallil
from Langley Air Force Base (VA).
Sims works as aircraft come and go at Tallil. But without him, the
aircraft will not come, and the aircraft will not go.
Sims and his fellow airmen drive more than 40 miles a day while
inspecting the airfield to ensure aircraft can fly safely
supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The purpose of airfield inspections is to guarantee flight
safety by examining the condition of the runway, the bird activity
around the airfield and anything else that might affect safe
operation of aircraft and vehicles on the aerodrome, Sergeant Sims
said.
A part of this process is checking for foreign objects that
could damage aircraft. Since November, the airfield management team
has removed more than 1,600 pounds of debris, he said.
"The ability to maintain
a FOD-free environment at our permanent U.S. Air Force airfields
has always been a significant undertaking," said Capt. Kirk
Deitrich, 332nd EOSS airfield operations flight commander, deployed
here from Columbus AFB (MS). "To accomplish that same task at a
war-torn coalition airfield is the ultimate test of an airfield
management team."
Like many other jobs, the airfield management process here is
not necessarily handled the same as it is at home stations,
Sergeant Sims said.
"Our biggest challenge is the lack of resources and time to
ensure we accomplish our function in accordance with the standards
we’re accustomed to at our home duty stations," Sergeant Sims
said. "We cannot allow that fact to stop the mission, so we apply
the best fix to a problem and add that item to our list of things
to be completed correctly. There are nearly $5 million worth of
construction projects that need to be accomplished on this airfield
to bring it up to (Federal Aviation Administration) and U.S. Air
Force standards."
Besides the airfield, taking care of flight plans for the
aircraft is airfield management’s responsibility also. There
are differences between here and the states in that aspect of the
job as well.
"The main difference between the system we’re using here
and home is it’s not handled by a civilian air traffic
facility, it’s handled by military," said Staff Sgt. Shawn
Smith, 332nd EOSS chief of airfield management, deployed here from
Edwards AFB (CA). "The system here uses a template. It allows us
more possibilities to change flight plans. You can’t do that
at home. The system here is more malleable."
"Flexibility has become a huge part of airfield
management’s mission here," Sergeant Sims said.
Regardless of stateside and area of responsibility differences,
airfield management airmen make sure the job gets done, Sergeant
Sims said.
"Every wing member typically arrives and leaves Tallil via
aircraft," he said. "We help to provide and maintain the one
resource that everyone depends on … the airfield."
ANN salutes Staff Sgt. Chris Stagner, 332nd Air
Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, for contributing this
story