Courtesy Photo | Spc. Chris Donovan, an air traffic controller assigned to Maryland Army National...... read more read more
Soldiers working at the air traffic control tower here monitor and direct the flow of aircraft in and around northern Baghdad. Their primary responsibility is managing airspace and coordinating arrivals and departures of aircraft.
Every helicopter in flight has at least one air traffic controller watching the aircraft or listening to the crew over radio communication.
Soldiers from Company E, 111th Aviation Regiment (Air Traffic Service), which is supported by the 4th Infantry Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, consists of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and Maryland. These Soldiers carry out the job of ensuring skies are safe for each takeoff and landing in the Camp Taji airspace.
Capt. Mark Parent, the commander of Co. E, 111th Avn. Regt. (ATS) stated, "The CAB has given us several opportunities to support the war fighter in ways that Air Traffic Control would not usually do," he explained. "By being a part of the war fighters" information flow and advising them (pilots) of sectors to where the enemy is and other means of working with the CAB to overcome those enemy actions."
Parent, a National Guardsman from Louisiana, works as an offshore pilot in the civilian sector. He said being in the air traffic control tower is a lot different than his normal job.
"It's not as much fun being on this side of the glass as it is on the other side," said Parent, comparing working in the tower versus flying.
According to Spc. Chris Donovan, an air traffic controller assigned to Maryland National Guard's Co. G, 224th Avn. Regt., the importance of the job goes without saying.
That includes controlling the ground vehicles operating on the airfield. The ATS Soldiers are responsible for checking the skies to ensure no aircraft are approaching or departing, before allowing ground vehicles onto the runway.
Donovan said the operations tempo is dependent on several variables, including weather conditions and the amount of scheduled missions.
"It really varies depending on how the weather is," he said. "On a clear day, we'll have a good amount of aircraft coming in and out."
Donovan said being in Iraq has given him an opportunity to experience training he wouldn't normally have a chance to experience back in the United States.
"Here we actually apply our training more often than we do back in the states," he explained. "We are required to keep up on our training, but it's not an everyday thing as it is here."
The job is both challenging and enjoyable for Donovan.
"It's challenging because we have the task of keeping the helicopters separated so nothing happens," he said. "The enjoyment I get is meeting new people and talking to the pilots. Some of them are pretty fun to talk to over the microphone. It's still amazing to see the big aircraft as they are flying through the sky."
In addition to commanding the Soldiers of Co. E, 111th Avn. Regt., and Co. G, 224th Avn. Regt., Parent also commands a team from Company D, 358th Avn. Regt. He has 55 Soldiers located at three different airfields located throughout Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2006 11:01 |
| Story ID: | 6680 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 133 |
| Downloads: | 91 |
This work, Aviation unit keeps MND-B air travel lanes safe, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
