Airfield management maintains aircraft safe haven

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jeff Parkinson
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  In today’s Air Force, aircraft and their crews can be called upon at a moment’s notice. It’s up to the Airmen who maintain the airfields to make that happen.

The 1st Special Operations Support Squadron airfield management operations flight assumes this responsibility by ensuring runways are clear of foreign objects, lighting systems function properly, as well as responding to ground emergencies and communicating possible hazards to aircrew.

Airfield management operations Airmen receive flight plans, input them into the aeronautical information system replacement and track aircraft movement.

“A typical day consists of 50 sorties – making sure take-off and landing times are tracked to ensuring the airfield is presentable for distinguished visitors,” said Tech. Sgt. Dominique Bonapart, 1st SOSS airfield management operations NCO in-charge. “We also make sure people are driving safely on the flight line.”

Airfield management is responsible for keeping the 120-acre airfield safe and operational all the times.

Daily inspections and airfield checks every two hours are implemented to remove any foreign object debris and make sure anything that could affect aircraft movement, doesn’t.

“We make sure these aircraft have somewhere to take off and land safely every time they’re doing a mission,” said Bonapart. “Additionally, we ensure pilots and vehicles on the flightline are secure.”

When an in-flight or ground emergency occurs, the air traffic control tower will call airfield management over the primary crash alarm system.

The PCAS dials out to airfield management and the fire department so the air traffic control tower can inform both agencies the nature of the emergency.

“Once we get the information we go to our secondary [crash phone] so we can relay the information to other emergency agencies on base,” said Senior Airman David Rios, 1st SOSS airfield management operations shift leader.

Finally, once airfield management relays the information to the other agencies, they will go out and ensure the scene is secure for the arrival of the appropriate emergency personnel.

“If we didn’t do our job every day to maintain the airfield by inspecting the pavement for crack and debris or preventing wildlife from being a hazard to our aircraft, then the aircrew and the aircraft are at risk,” said Rios. “We make sure that doesn’t happen, and we keep the mission going.”