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At the top of the air traffic controller tower Air Force Duke
Field, F-35s zip by at eye level. Staff Sgt. Brian Morris keys up
his headset to tell those fighters where to go, when to turn and who
to talk to next. A few steps behind Morris is Steven Kates. He
monitors the action throughout the tower and keeps a keen eye out
across the 360-degree spectrum of the bright blue yonder.
Morris, who’s new to the Duke Field tower and its ATC flight,
just completed his qualification in the three controller positions
(flight data, ground and local) on October 4, 2017. This means he
can control aircraft on his own, without being monitored by a
trainer. Some of his training was conducted by Kates, the tower’s
watch supervisor.
During Morris’s training, the trainee and his trainer discovered
they shared a generational ATC bond dating back possibly before the
new staff sergeant was born.
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October 4, 2017 - Steven Kates (left) watches the Duke Field
airspace as Staff Sgt. Brian Morris, 96th Operations Group,
communicates with an aircraft at the air traffic control tower.
Kates, a tower watch supervisor and controller for 37 years, trained
Morris’s father in ATC in the early nineties. This year, he also
helped train Morris and supervised his tower certification. (U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King)
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“We were basically getting to know the new guy on the
crew,” said Kates, whose controlled aircraft at Eglin and
Duke Field for 20 years. “We discovered his father and
myself were at Davis Monthan (AFB) tower at the same time in
the early nineties.”
Kates remembered training and
supervising Morris’s father in the tower between 1990 and
1992. Kates was a technical sergeant and Brian Morris Sr.,
was an airman 1st class.
“It took a bit, but my dad
did remember a Sergeant Kates,” said Morris, who followed in
his father’s footsteps as an Air Force ATC.
Kates
joked about possibly seeing Morris as an infant at unit
events or family functions. Morris, who was born in 1991,
went even further speculating that Kates may have signed his
father’s leave paperwork so he could be at his son’s birth.
Presently however, Kates looked on as Morris issued a
bird sighting to an incoming F-35 during his final tower
evaluation. Kates helped both father and son become
qualified air traffic controllers approximately 26 years
apart.
Morris is one of a few new Airmen assigned to
the 96th Operations Group flight to help with the increased
traffic above the Duke Field runway.
The 14 Airmen
and civilians of the day and night crews control aircraft
from every base in the local area to include Tyndall AFB and
Pensacola Air Station. This means a continuous rotation of
all varieties of aircraft from helicopters to the F-22
Raptor. The bulk of their traffic is F-35s and Air Force
Special Operations Command aircraft.
The demand for
runway approaches at Duke Field challenges new controllers
and keeps veteran controllers on their toes. Recently,
Runway 18/36 has become the go-to path for unique training
opportunities. The controllers work all requests for
nonstandard approaches, atypical special operations
landings, parachute drop training and night vision flights.
“It is something new every day we come to work,” said
Kates, a retired master sergeant and Texas native. “The
constant changes make it challenging and overall very
satisfying work.”
He compared controlling aircraft to
a 3d chess board with moving the pieces (planes) to the
right places and ensuring they accomplish their goal.
Kates also said when training a new controller he always
tries to impart some wisdom from his years of experience
that could benefit the trainee in his current position and
possibly throughout their career.
“He really helped
me grasp how different Duke Field traffic is from Eglin,”
said Morris, whose now qualified at both Eglin ATC towers.
“He made me understand how the puzzle fits together.”
Kates estimates he’s trained more than 40 controllers
over his 37-year career. He only has five more years before
he can retire and he said he plans to keep sharing his
knowledge and techniques until he finally hangs up his head
set.
Morris has two more years in the Air Force and
plans to again follow his father’s path and become an air
traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration.
By U.S. Air Force Samuel King
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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