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FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. - With roughly 14 million square
feet of pavement, and 2,168 lights, Fairchild's airfield lights up
further then the eye can see after the sun goes down, and a
16-member team works in partnership with a few other agencies to
ensure the airfield is mission-ready throughout the night.
While many base members are heading home for the day, the 92nd
Operations Support Squadron airfield management night-shift team is
beginning the evening's tasks.
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Airman 1st Class Seam Hankins, 92nd Operations Support Squadron
airfield management operations coordinator, annotates a light out on
the airfield inspection checklist during their nightly light checks
Feb. 10, 2014, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. The airfield
management team conducts light checks every night to ensure all
2,168 lights are working on Fairchild's airfield. (U.S. Air Force
photo by Staff Sgt. Veronica Montes)
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“We work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a
year,” said Roberta Laporte, 92nd OSS airfield manager. “The
airfield management team is responsible for maintaining the
airfield. We need to make sure the airfield is safe, and
runways are ready to support aircraft.”
During the
short winter days, the night-shift tasks begin with light
checks. This requires checking the whole airfield, to
include the blue lights on the taxiways, the white lights
along the runways, the red lights at the end of the runways
and the approach lights at the far ends of the airfield.
“We check every light
on the airfield within the first two hours of darkness,”
said Senior Airman Alisha Laws, 92nd OSS airfield management
shift lead. “We have to ensure aircraft landing at night can
visually see the runway. This can be a challenge in the
winter because if it is snowing hard we have low visibility,
and must coordinate with the snow team to drive safe on the
flightline.”
The snow barn is just one base agency
the airfield management team works closely with, especially
in the winter. While testing the approach lights, the team
also works closely with the air traffic control members in
the tower to raise the approach lights' voltage to the
brightest setting. Communication is necessary to keep safe
driving and flying conditions on the airfield, and is
critical to the priorities of airfield management.
While checking lights, the team is constantly patrolling the
runways, and conducting runway condition reading tests,
breaking tests and checking the pavement for cracks and
deficiencies. Laporte said when there is a problem or a
light outage, they take care of it as quick as possible.
After checking the airfield lights initially, the team
patrols every two hours, and in inclement weather, they may
be out patrolling the airfield all night.
“We have
to ensure the priority route is always cleared out in case
of an alert and an aircraft has to take off,” said Laws.
“The most rewarding part of my job is being responsible for
the safety of any aircraft that takes off, and when they get
off the ground, I know I did my job right.”
Laws said
they also assist in ground emergencies and issues, along
with those in the air approaching.
“At night, we are
also here to make sure any in-flight emergencies can land,”
said Senior Airman Timothy Sunday, 92nd OSS airfield
management shift lead. “We also support the 36th Rescue
Squadron, in that if they need to perform a search and
rescue, they are able to land on the airfield.”
While airfield management is a year-round job, the winter
does propose different obstacles.
According to
Laporte, freezing fog and heavy snow are the biggest
challenges in winter. They must make sure the drivers are
safe, and that they continuously maintain the runway and
alert routes. They also monitor the snow build up to ensure
aircraft can taxi and park, and that aircrew can see the
center line.
“We also work with maintenance to make
sure everything is cleared from the runway, and are in
constant communication with those agencies who share the
airfield,” Laporte said. “We are like an information hub. We
get information, pass information and work with other
agencies to make sure the airfield is always safe and
mission ready.”
“Airfield management is a key player
in the airfield operations,” she continued. “But they
couldn't have mission success without all the other
agencies.”
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Veronica Montes
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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