Air tower, air power

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kristoffer Kaubisch
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Ensuring the safe flow of air traffic at Minot Air Force Base remains one of the most essential components to securing the B-52H Stratofortress's success in its flying mission of nuclear deterrence.

Those making sure its success continues day in and day out are the 5th Operations Support Squadrons air traffic controllers who are in charge of directing movement of aircraft in and out of the airfield here and tracking aircraft by radar, among various other duties.

Team Minot's air traffic control tower also supports air traffic for the 91st Missile Wing's UH-1N Hueys of the 54th Helicopter Squadron.

Tech. Sgt. Gerald Null, 5th OSS control tower assistant chief controller, said the tower's operations tempo is dependent on the amount of incoming and outgoing flights. Last year, the tower supported 10,000 operations in and out of Minot AFB.

Null explained that training is the most critical part of the job and is essential for mission readiness.

He said the technical school located at Keesler AFB, Miss. is approximately four months long and has a washout rate of 26 percent.

"Once an Airman completes tech school, they are sent to their first duty location where they spend anywhere from six months to a year completing their initial upgrade training," Null said. "Add to the fact that air traffic control is already an undermanned career field with a 400 percent training load and a young work force with little experience."

Air traffic controllers have an important responsibility while on duty and the ATC profession can be very stressful depending on many variables explained Null.

Null added that air traffic control itself is a challenging AFSC. He added that they have their hands full, but regardless, they get the job done.

Senior Airman Andrew Koski, 5th OSS air traffic controller, is one of the 27 members assigned to the control tower. He said that one of the challenges of air traffic control is keeping up with the book work or in other words the constant change of air traffic rules and regulations.

"Satisfaction after successfully completing a job and safely getting the pilots down are all worth it in the end," Koski said.

Overall, Null said they have a pretty tight group of controllers and that they have to be, given there are so many of them in such a small space.

Nonetheless, Null said, "ATC tower controllers have the best view on base."