Transient Alert: Helping Air Force build partnerships around the globe

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The well-known "Follow Me" vehicles are constantly seen driving along the RAF Mildenhall flightline, leading transient aircraft (many from NATO air forces) into their parking spots.

Though Trailboss Enterprises Inc (referred to base-wide as "Transient Alert") is a contractor, it falls under the 100th Maintenance Squadron, providing vital assistance to aircraft not permanently stationed here.

"We provide servicing and maintenance support for all aircraft transiting through RAF Mildenhall, which includes pretty much all NATO partners, most of which are the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Netherlands and Belgium," said Steve Walkley, the contractor's regional vice president (Europe and Middle East).

"Everyone in transient alert has a background in aviation of some sort, and we cover pretty much all areas, such as hydraulics, electro-environmental and engines, and crew chiefs," he said. "Though our work force is all civilian, most are retired or prior military."

Though most of the NATO air forces speak English, there are occasions when the communication barrier has its challenges.

"Sometimes we have members of the Turkish Air Force who might not speak much [or any] English," Mr. Walkley said. "But I did some research online to get some simple Turkish words and phrases which will help both our folks by learning them. We'll print them on cards, so when we have Turkish aircrews, the transient alert folks can take them along to either reference them for practicing Turkish, or simply use them to show the aircrews a basic English-Turkish, Turkish-English format.

"That way, if any of the crew don't speak English, we just show them the cards so between us we can still 'speak' to them; it's just simple things like, 'Hello,' 'What can we do for you?' and 'How much fuel do you need?'" he said. "You just have to try and work through those challenges. Everyone has different ways of doing things. You just get used to it."

That going the extra mile is noticed and appreciated by the Turkish Air Force, among many.

"When we have a malfunction, they help us," one of the Turkish pilots said. "Today, we asked for a B5 maintenance stand. They [transient alert] immediately asked if we had maintenance problems, and asked how they could help us.

"But, we didn't have any problems. We just needed a stand to help us do our (post-flight) maintenance checks," he explained. "It's really important [working alongside the U.S. Air Force]; they help us with refueling and maintenance, which is vital to us - especially when we have a long flight the next day. They help us coordinate everything here, and we haven't run into any problems so far."

Another Turkish pilot added that TA workers constantly show they care for other nations' air forces.

"They pay attention to us, and help us by looking out for malfunctions on the aircraft," he said.

The transient alert crew work around the clock, ensuring they have a team available every time an aircraft comes in. There are usually between three and five people working the day shift, and never less than two people at any time.

Mr. Walkley explained that on average, they work with three to four different countries' air forces per month, and see about 120 aircraft, including KC-135 Stratotankers from other U.S. bases, during that timeframe.

In TA, the day starts with receipt of a prior permission request from base operations, which provides information on transient aircraft arriving and departing RAF Mildenhall each day.

That gets logged into their system, along with any special requirements, including fuel needed, or distinguished visitors board.

"We use that information in conjunction with GDSS2 [an Air Mobility Command-product] to track the missions, which gives us a clear picture for each day," said the company's vice president, who also performs many of the other jobs his staff does, including driving the Follow Me truck and marshalling in the aircraft.

Base ops then informs transient alert of any changes or cancellations, so they have an up-to-date picture of what is happening, including which aircraft are on the ground, and any inbound or outbound. They are also notified of any maintenance problems which mean the planes have to be kept here for longer than originally planned, and the status of their vehicle inventory: three Follow Me trucks, three tow vehicles, two deicers and one high-reach maintenance platform.

"Each morning, our folks head out to the flightline to prepare the hardstands with any equipment needed for inbound aircraft," Mr. Walkley said. "When the aircraft lands, we lead it in with the Follow Me vehicle to its parking spot. We then chock the wheels and hook up the ground power, as soon as the engines are shut down."

The visiting crew are then debriefed to find out any requirements they may have, and if they have any maintenance problems. A member from 100th Security Forces Squadron is also waiting as the plane pulls in, and checks the aircrew for all the necessary approvals and paperwork to land here.

If aircraft do have maintenance problems, TA coordinates with the 100th Maintenance Operations Squadron Maintenance Operations Center to get help. They then order any parts required.

"We try to reduce their ground time to the greatest extent possible,"  Mr. Walkley said. "We need to keep them on schedule as much as we can," .

In addition to the constant flow of transient aircraft, DV missions - whether it be major command or local generals, and presidential missions - are the bread and butter of TA. Mr. Walkley said their office provided inputs for the rewrite of RAF Mildenhall's plan for Air Fete. This will help prepare for when another air show takes place here in the future.

"There are a multitude of aircraft here during air shows, and one of the many things we take care of is providing input to develop a parking plan, then parking them all on the day," the transient alert boss said.

"We're so busy during those times, we get augmentees from the 100th Maintenance Group and also our tenant units to help out ," he said. "Everybody loves the air shows, so we're never short of volunteers," he said.

Mr. Walkley said there are always improvements that can be made.

"I try to help overcome that by sharing knowledge and experiences that demonstrate likely outcomes, in the hope of redirecting energies in more profitable and successful directions," he said.

Lt. Col. Ralph Watson, 100th Maintenance Squadron commander, said other than just providing "Follow Me" capabilities to en route aircraft, transient alert brings far more to the flight.

"They provide invaluable continuity of operations to aircraft headed to, or returning from the [Central Command], [Africa Command] and [European Command] areas of operation," he said. "In the event an en route aircraft is non-mission capable, TA coordinates the ordering of critical parts, which enables en route maintenance, the 100th Maintenance Group and 352nd Special Operations Group personnel to make key repairs so the aircraft can continue on with its mission.

"In addition, they provide aircraft servicing to high-level visitors transiting through our area of responsibility," Colonel Watson said.

Editor's note: The names of the Turkish pilots interviewed have been withheld for security reasons.