FORT RUCKER, Ala. (Dec. 17, 2015) -- No matter how long a Soldier has spent in the Army, there is always an opportunity to learn.
One such way Soldiers and civilians had the chance to learn more was through the Air Traffic Services Leader's Course, which was held Dec. 7-18 as a way to "enhance unit and Soldier readiness through leadership education," according to James Jones, Air Traffic Services Command deputy to the commander.
"Our goal is to bring these leaders in, expose them to principles, concepts and strategies, and discuss not only why air traffic control exists in the Army, but the different facets of air traffic control from airfield management, air traffic control in the tower and radar facilities, to airports and how we operate and function on an airport," he said. "This is to bring all of (those different units) together in a room and talk about all the things that we share in common."
Jones said the purpose was to get people from the different combat Aviation brigades and airfield operations battalions together to have a dialogue about issues or concerns, and help them to understand the doctrine, the training, the guidance, and the regulations and policies that govern their various responsibilities.
"With what is learned in air traffic control school or here at Fort Rucker, there has to be continual dialogue between controllers in the facility. So, if I'm operating an air traffic control tower, there could be as many as four operational positions in that control tower, and those controllers learn to communicate with each other so that they can provide safety and mitigate risk across all facets of the airfield," said Jones.
He added that what CABs do is different from what airfield operations battalions do, so in order for them to be able to work together well, they need to be able to better understand one another.
Although there are many differences between the units, there are also many similarities that will allow the units to be able to better communicate and understand what part of each unit is important to ATS.
"It's the cross talk that will cause them all to realize that there are some common things that they can share amongst each other in policies and regulations and concepts that will help them be better at their jobs," said the ATSCOM commander's deputy. "No matter their rank, they all share this common purpose, which is air traffic control and airfield management, so they all have to learn this common mission and that mission has to be how to safely mitigate risk, both on the airfield and in the air, and to provide that, they have to understand how those two things integrate."
An example would be how an aircraft or vehicle operating on the airfield can be just as dangerous as an aircraft that is inbound to an airfield, said Jones, adding that it's the goal of the conference to be able to get those two units that are operating different facets of the airfield to understand one another.
"They have to understand those concepts and how they all work together, so it's really about the mission, and how all those people play a part in executing that mission," he said.
Soldiers came from all over the U.S., from Hawaii to Alaska, with the purpose to learn, and that's precisely why CW3 Mark Head, 2-224th Airfield Operations Battalion, Pineville, Louisiana, wanted to attend the conference -- to build relationships and discuss what concerns they might have.
"We're the ones that have to be the go-to guy when it comes to that ATS question (from the commander)," he said. "We have to be the one sitting there with that answer or know where to find that answer. I think getting everyone in one room, we can be amongst our peers to ask questions, and I think this is a fantastic forum to do that.
"What I expect to get out of this is also the contacts," Head continued. "I think that's one of the biggest things that we all can take out of here. Those contacts that we make are crucial. Six months down the road when I have a question that needs answering, I'll remember a guy that knocked the question out of the park at this conference, and I'll give him a call and see exactly what he did to alleviate his issue."
In the future, Jones said he is hopeful that the course will become a staple for the Soldiers and civilians of ATSCOM to be able to come and exchange ideas.
"I think that the course being a first done here at Fort Rucker is an excellent opportunity for everyone, not only the folks here at Fort Rucker, but the folks across the Army," he said. "We do hope that this course will continue and perhaps down the road become a permanent fixture."
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