FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter, commander of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, thanked four civilian air traffic controllers for going above and beyond to keep the sky over Fort Drum safe.
Jon Brophy, Jeff Michaud, Johnny Towery and Ken Rupp were honored for their actions on the job Aug. 9, 2011, during the garrison commander's update briefing Monday in the Eagle's Nest. The four men, along with two others from Fort Campbell, Ky., were named IMCOM's "Heroes of the Day."
The air traffic controllers, who work for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security's Aviation Division, used their expertise, training and skills to ensure that not only military, but civilian aircraft, were able to pass through the surrounding airspace safely.
When the tower received an emergency call from Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center explaining there was a critical radio outage, the air traffic controllers stepped up to provide radio assistance to approaching civilian and military aircraft.
"Fort Drum's airspace goes up to 10,000 feet above the surface (of the earth)," Rupp said. "Boston Center, the sector that runs the airspace east of us and over top of (our airspace), lost their radio (capability). All we did was work the traffic that was within our radio range that they would normally work had their radios been working."
"Thanks for all you do," Ferriter said via video teleconference. "To (people like you), it would just be (like) you're headed home and your wife asks 'how was your day' and you just say 'it was busier than normal.'"
"You're really affecting the lives of hundreds and thousands (of people) and also preventing tragedy when there's not a controlled hand over the aircraft," he continued. "You continue to demonstrate and inspire leadership. I thank you for all that you're doing, and I ask you to continue taking care of business each and every day."
Col. Noel T. Nicolle, Fort Drum garrison commander, told Ferriter how pleased the command group was with the team.
"We're extremely proud of this crew of air traffic controllers," he said. "We're proud of these guys on a regular basis. We interact with all the airspace in the area, as well as being up here around the northern border of the United States. … These guys operate without a hitch."
Controlling a much larger workload may seem like an easy feat to well-trained, veteran air traffic controllers, but taking on the workload of a major control center required a lot of organizational skills and experience.
Initially, Boston ARTCC didn't know what was going on with their systems and asked the ATCs to relay messages to the aircraft, Towery explained. It was later discovered that a landline in Rome was accidently cut, causing the loss of all radio frequencies.
"We had to do more coordination with Canada and Syracuse, and we also had fighter planes trying to use the MOA (or military operations area), and Boston couldn't work any of the fighter aircraft," he said. "We had to know who we were talking to at all times."
Michaud added some of the fighter planes were coming from a sector as far away as Burlington, Vt.
Fort Drum's air traffic controllers manned the extra airspace for 10 hours until the radio systems were up and running again. Their dedication to duty prevented many aircraft from being diverted from their original destinations.
Even after hearing Ferriter's and Nicolle's comments and thanks, the air traffic controllers remained modest about their accomplishments.
"We were just scheduled to work that day," Michaud said.
Towery, who was in charge of the tower that day, said he was humbled when he heard the team was going to be recognized.
"We're very honored that our actions have been noticed and taken into consideration, and that our extra efforts were appreciated," he said. "Anybody in this facility would've done the same thing."
Brophy agreed and said being recognized for the team's accomplishments was "overwhelming." He attributed their success to their training and experience -- all four men served as air traffic controllers in either the Air Force or Army.
Rupp agreed, adding that just because the radios go down doesn't mean the airplanes stop flying.
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