Photo By Kris Patterson | Members of Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic’s Polar Programs team pose in...... read more read more
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CHARLESTON, S.C. – Two Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic teams were honored as winners of annual Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) awards in a virtual ceremony Feb. 8.
NIWC Atlantic’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) Special Programs team won the 2022 ATCA Team Award for Outstanding Achievement, military category, for its work upgrading the ATC capability at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (MSAB), Jordan during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NIWC Atlantic’s Polar Programs team won the 2022 ATCA Award for Exceptional Service for its support to the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) during the 2020-2021 Antarctic field season.
“These awards are the result of the dedication of our employees who consistently demonstrate excellence in the performance of their job responsibilities and, as a result, consistently produce the highest quality of services, even in the most challenging situations,” said Rick DeForest, head of NIWC Atlantic’s ATC Engineering division. “It’s a testimony to these great people and their work.”
For more than 60 years, NIWC Atlantic’s ATC Engineering division has been instrumental in the modernization of ATC infrastructure for the Navy and Marine Corps, providing complete ATC and meteorology systems engineering, ATC operations, airfield management, electronics maintenance, and meteorological forecasting and observation services.
The division provides aviation engineering services to support the National Science Foundation and its Polar research programs, and serves as the Navy’s Center of Engineering Excellence for shore-based ATC systems worldwide.
As cases of COVID-19 began to surge in early 2020, and countries rushed to close their borders in an attempt to thwart the spread of the coronavirus, the ATC Engineering division’s teams encountered unprecedented challenges that required extraordinary feats to overcome.
In late 2019, the ATC Special Programs team had been tasked to build and install a completely transportable ATC facility to address an existing flight safety risk at MSAB. The original tasking included engineering, assembling, integrating and the pre-installation test and checkout of the system in Charleston before sending a team of four government employees and eight contractors to the site to install the system and perform a system operational verification test.
But within weeks of news of the COVID-19 outbreak, MSAB leadership implemented protective measures, including restricting travel to and from the base. The contractor installation team left the air base within 24 hours of arriving in-country once they learned the country was closing its borders and the base was restricting movement.
Members of the ATC Special Programs team, electrical engineer Susan Marsh and senior electronics technician Rudy Diaz, moved on base and remained in place for the next nine months, working seven days a week to complete the assembly and integration of the transportable ATC facility.
Senior electronics technician Aaron Scott supported the effort from Charleston through September, when travel restrictions lifted in Jordan and he joined the team on the ground.
Even though they faced more challenges of equipment getting held up in customs, on-site heavy equipment breaking and rotational changes of U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel, they finally accomplished the installation of the transportable ATC facility, preventing flight safety hazards and mission stoppage.
“It was their drive and determination to complete these mission-essential tasks in support of the warfighter that allowed these professionals to complete such a monumental project,” said Clayton Fronk, ATC Special Programs team lead.
Nearly 9,000 miles away, on the opposite end of the globe, the ATC Engineering division’s Polar Programs team experienced their own bout of unique challenges due to COVID-19.
Also in 2019, the ATC Engineering division’s Polar Programs team had been tasked to deliver, install and commission a new precision landing system at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Once COVID-19 became a threat worldwide and lock-downs began, the team faced limited access to the manufacturer's facility in Oregon, and New Zealand’s government implemented unprecedented immigration restrictions, causing the Polar Programs team to deploy with a 33 percent reduction in staff and complete 14 days of managed isolation in Christchurch, NZ.
Using video teleconferencing tools while in isolation, the team executed more than 90 hours of ATC ground school, something that would have normally been accomplished upon arrival at McMurdo Station.
The Polar Programs team leveraged the capabilities of NIWC Atlantic’s Remote Operational Facility back in Charleston to enable U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo missions to continue. This “air bridge” extended the normal season by seven weeks, through multiple delays and rapid schedule changes, all while maintaining full ATC support.
Members of the Polar Programs team volunteered to extend their deployment to accomplish the mission at hand.
In spite of unprecedented challenges and with minimal staff, the Polar Programs team delivered and installed a new precision landing system; set up and sustained all airport navigational aids; designed, built and completed FAA flight certification for all flight procedures; delivered and installed new remote weather stations to the field; sustained the operation of the station’s aviation communications systems; and provided safe ATC and operational weather services.
“Challenging schedules are common for Antarctica projects, but this team accomplished this already-difficult delivery in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, delivering on time and within budget,” said Matt Rushing, Polar Programs team lead. “Throughout the ongoing effort, from contracting through completion of the installation, the team demonstrated a high level of collaboration, strategic planning and technical expertise. Their dedication to excellence was the driving force behind the project’s success.”
NIWC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Nicole Nigro lauded the teams for their accomplishments.
“We are extremely proud of our teams who overcame all obstacles to successfully upgrade air traffic control capabilities at two of our most remote locations,” said Nigro. “Their achievements ensure the safety of our warfighters, air traffic controllers and aviation service providers, and underscore that NIWC Atlantic is a trusted, valuable and enduring ally to our partners during national and international challenging circumstances.”
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2022 11:35 |
| Story ID: | 416191 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 279 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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