JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Students and instructors in the 12th Flying Training Wing’s
flying squadrons spend thousands of hours in the air and classroom each year to
confirm the wing’s reputation as the “Source of America’s Airpower,” but their
mission would be grounded if not for the efforts of a diverse support group.
The 12th Operations Support Squadron, part of the 12th FTW’s
12th Operations Group, is responsible for a range of support functions, from
simulator training and air traffic control to international training and
aircrew flight equipment.
“Our role is to make
the mission happen,” said Lt. Col. Stephen LePrell, 12th OSS director of
operations. “We support every squadron in the 12th FTW. They can’t do their job
without us.”
Headquartered in building 740 on Joint Base San
Antonio-Randolph’s southeast side, the 12th OSS’ reach extends to 14 other duty
locations, including two traffic control towers, two simulator buildings, five
hangars and base operations, home to airfield management and the squadron’s
weather flight.
More than 200 members strong, the 12th OSS comprises 165
Department of Defense civilians, 42 contractors, six active-duty officers and
one NCO.
LePrell said the number of civilians in the 12th OSS is a
rarity in Air Force operations support squadrons.
“You won’t find that anywhere,” he said. “A large number of
them are retired or separated officers or enlisted service members who bring a
lot of experience to their jobs.”
The squadron is responsible for “the busiest tower facility
in the Air Force” through the airfield operations flight and its air traffic
control and airfield management functions and terminal instrument procedures,
or TERPS, LePrell said.
“We’re the only Air Force base with two towers – one for the
T-6 and one for the T-1 and T-38,” he said. “Different rules apply to these
airframes, so the controllers have to be very proficient. Their proficiency is
a testament to the skill level we have in our towers.”
Gary Thompson, 12th OSS air traffic manager, said the
squadron’s 21 civilian controllers previously served as controllers in the Air
Force.
“They average more than 27 years of experience, with nearly
eight years’ experience at JBSA-Randolph alone,” he said.
Thompson said controllers must complete rigorous
certification programs, undergo annual re-evaluation, work a minimum number of
hours monthly to retain their qualifications and are subject to a variety of
evaluations to validate their competencies.
He said they also face challenges that “come with the
territory.”
“There is a degree of pressure endured in adhering to and
applying a vast array of complex rules, and that pressure is magnified in
knowing mistakes have potentially dire consequences,” Thompson said. “However,
the controller overcomes that with confidence derived from competence, which is
an outcome of proficiency.”
Thompson also said the “least-talked-about challenge” of controllers’
profession is that they are “handcuffed to their position – not literally, but
figuratively.”
“They can’t put a sign on the tower and say we are closed
for training, out for lunch or we'll be back,” he said. “Each position must be
staffed continuously to support flying activities.”
The flight also includes airfield management, which is
responsible for three separate airfields, oversees an airfield driving program
for 13 organizations and includes eight civilian airfield management operations
specialists, and a TERPS specialist responsible for building and maintaining 19
instrument procedures for three types of aircraft.
LePrell said 12th OSS members are “widely regarded as
experts at what we do,” and this is especially true at the operations support
maintenance flight, which provides support at 33 sites on three geographic
locations.
The Air Force’s only all-civilian air traffic control and
landing system equipment flight, OSM maintains more than $11 million worth of
equipment for the 12th FTW that directly supports flying operations, said Kris
Kite, 12th OSS OSM flight chief.
“Our systems give our pilots and controllers accurate data
on weather conditions, precision approach signals, broad-range navigation,
ground-to-air communication, real- time radar feeds from the San Antonio
Terminal Radar Approach Control and legal recording of all flight operations on
Randolph,” he said. “We physically perform touch maintenance on all electronics
on the Randolph Airfield and our auxiliary field at Seguin. It is important because it allows our pilots
to confidently navigate both during visual flight rules and instrument flight
rules where their visibility could be severely limited and get them back on the
ground safely.”
Kite said the flight began as a pioneer program more than 10
years ago when overall manning was cut by 40 percent.
“We have since reduced our manpower an additional 25 percent
with no loss of service to our customers,” he said. “I attribute that to the
fine work ethic of my personnel and their ‘can-do’ attitude displayed by each
and every one of them.”
The squadron’s largest flight is ground training, whose
civilian simulator instructors “produced 10,733 simulator sorties and conducted
more than 2,600 hours of classroom academics in fiscal 2015,” said Frank King,
12th OSS Operations Support Training lead supervisor.
“12th OSS civilian simulator instructors provide the
foundation for all future Air Education and Training Command instructor
pilots,” he said. “T-1, T-6, T-38 and T-38 Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals
simulator mission profiles cover a spectrum training from basic flying skills,
instruments, and low-level and formation flying to advanced acrobatic and
fighter maneuvers. CSIs’ key mission responsibilities are to apply aviator
experience as a simulator and academic instructor for pilot instructor
training, IFF and instructor combat system officer training. These CSIs also
train other DOD pilots from the Navy, NASA and other unique DOD flying training
programs.”
The 12th OSS’ other flights are life support, current
operations and weather.
The life support flight supports three different airframes
and features a chute repack and fabrication shop, and egress and survival
training.
The current operations flight comprises wing scheduling,
which is responsible for flying hour program management; host and squadron
aviation records management, which maintains more than 800 flight records; the
registrar office, which tracks student training from entry to graduation;
airspace management; deployment management; the international military office,
which provides administrative support for more than 245 international officers
from 23 countries each year; a bookstore; and quality assurance.
The squadron’s weather flight is responsible for mission execution
forecasts and supports distinguished visitor, airlift and transient aircraft.
The 12th OSS’ efforts have been recognized at both the AETC
and Air Force levels with several unit awards, including AETC’s Top Operations
Support Squadron of the Year in 2012; AETC’s D. Ray Hardin Air Traffic Control
Facility of the Year in 2011, 2013 and 2014; and AETC’s Ronald D. McCarthy
Airfield Management of the Year in 2013 and 2014. Individual members have also
been cited, including the Life Support Flight’s John Bock, who was named the
2014 Air Force Aircrew Flight Equipment Category II Civilian of the Year.
“We’re fortunate to have a team that truly believes in what
we are doing here at JBSA-Randolph,” LePrell said. “The men and women of the
12th OSS keep things running smoothly so the training mission continues. As
long as the other squadrons of the 12th Operations Group can continue doing the
phenomenal work that they do, we feel we’re doing our job.”