Controlling an air war; what it takes

Published Sept. 8, 2014
By Senior Airman Gustavo Castillo
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany - -- Fourteen enlisted Airmen and officers work 24/7 to control an air war by staring at computers with a plethora of shimmering dots passing over a map showing 251,000 square miles of airspace. This is the job of the air battle managers and weapons directors, also known as 606th Air Control Squadron operators.

These operators maintain a real-time picture of the area of operations while communicating with air and ground assets. The three-dimensional airspace management includes allocation, de-confliction and integration of aircraft around the clock.

"All the unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance aircraft, air drops; when the joint terminal attack controllers request kinetic support, show of force and show of presence - All that stuff is run through guys like us," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Michael Acanas, a 606th ACS air battle manager and native of Sacramento, California.

The 606th ACS developed a six-week plan in order to prepare Airmen for the long hours and stressful work they will face. The constant training Airmen undergo allows them to be ready to deploy at a moment's notice

"It was six months of a crawl, walk and run phase," Acanas said. "Each ramping up in difficulty and making it so each crew position got to see certain things that would get them prepared for contingent operations."

There will be no time for a slow start. They will be thrown into 12-16 hour days of constant work that will require extreme concentration and attention to detail.

"From talking to the new people, they said it was like drinking through a fire hose," said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kristian Brown, a 606th ACS weapons director and native of Amarillo, Texas. "I believe them because that is how I felt last time. I think a little stress is good; it keeps you on your toes. When it comes to controlling aircraft, if you get relaxed you are much more likely to make a mistake."

The program consisted of 3,000 total man hours of academics, tests and simulations, including 100 simulated hours of maximum capacity aircraft representing the deployed environment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

"We gave them weekly tests to prepare them with call signs they will see, JTACs they will work with, the airfields and the air traffic control air route names and points," Brown said. "I think we gave them really good training and we had a bunch of really good controllers and surveillance personnel to get them ready, now it will be up to them."

Veteran operators oversaw the training and certification process. Having deployed at least once before, they have the knowledge and expertise of exactly how operations run in a deployed location. This allows them to give laser-targeted training points to the Airmen.

"We have a lot of experience so people know what to expect, but even then you don't know what the area of operations is going to be like," said Acanas. "Even six months later it could be completely different, so that is what we did, we built that framework."

The training has prepared the 606th ACS Airmen to perform at their best. Operators emerging from this six-week crash course will be able to provide timely, decisive airpower to meet emerging challenges and execute the mission during any contingent situation down-range. These forward, ready forces will be able to support combatant commanders and global operations.