Taking a closer look at 71st Operations Support Squadron 'Ghostriders'

Published Nov. 29, 2006
By Lt. Col. Lawrence Reed
71st Operations Support Squadron

Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- In most wings, the mission of the operations support squadron is not well known to the men and women who serve beside them. The mission of the security forces squadron or a flying training squadron is obvious from its title, but operations support ... what is that?
Adding to the confusion is the structure of an operations support squadron varies from wing to wing. Operations support squadrons are tailored to meet the mission they support. Most have intelligence flights as well as weapons and tactics flights. In the undergraduate pilot training environment, our squadron has neither of those functions. Many operations support squadrons do not have a radar approach control to sequence or separate aircraft ...Vance Air Force Base does. So, as a proud commander, let me give you a look at the mission and people of the 71st OSS Ghostriders.
The Ghostriders are broken into six flights: air operations, current operations, weather, training, international student training and quality assurance. Of this group, air operations is by far the largest flight comprised of more than 100 military and civilian air traffic controllers. Although the 71st Flying Training Wing's mission of producing world-class pilots is well known, the wing also supports an "air traffic schoolhouse" that graduates rated air traffic controllers. Our controller trainees arrive from Keesler AFB after a four-month technical school emphasizing academics and simulators. At Vance AFB, it takes a tower controller an average of nine months and a RAPCON controller 16 months to earn their certification. It is a tough training program when you realize their "classroom" is the fifth busiest airfield complex in the Air Force, supporting more than 64,000 sorties and 266,000 flight operations annually. Although student controllers supporting student pilots might seem like a risky venture, our experienced cadre of NCO and civilian controllers and the wing's instructor pilot force keep the mission moving. The wing's two consecutive General Frank P. Lahm trophies for the best flying safety program in Air Education and Training Command shows this partnership does it better than anyone else in the command.
Current operations flight encompasses the wing programming, airspace and flight records functions for the 71st FTW. The wing programmers oversee the planning and execution of the 90,000-hour annual flying hour program for the T-1, T-6, T-37 and T-38. Flight hours are the life's blood of any flying organization, and the wing programmers work with the flying squadrons and maintenance to make sure Vance AFB can graduate its students on time and maintain the health of its aircraft fleet. Wing airspace manages 12,000 square miles of airspace including 19 low-level routes. As a direct U.S. Air Force liaison to the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense, wing airspace ensures the "friendly skies" of northwest Oklahoma meet our pilot training mission needs today and in the future. Finally, our flight records professionals are responsible for the yearly payout of $1.5 million in aviation career incentive pay and the monitoring of 890 flight records.
Since Vance AFB sits amidst "Tornado Alley," the 71st OSS weather flight is the base's primary eyes for severe weather. Last year, the eight-person weather flight issued more than 9,000 forecasts, 5,000 observations and 240 severe weather watches or warnings. A key part of their critical support is a state state-of of-the the-art Next Generation Doppler Weather Radar. Although the weather flight is normally on-the-job to support flying operations, they kick into 24-hour operations when severe weather threatens, in order to protect Vance AFB and the local Enid and northwest Oklahoma community.
Training flight and the international student training flight both directly supervise UPT students. Training flight is the first home for more than 400 incoming T-37 and T-6 student pilots. At the start of pilot training, these students get their initial ground training requirements accomplished to include classes on aviation physiology, weather, aerodynamics and T-37 and T-6 systems. In fact, the first T-6 students at Vance are now in the OSS getting prepared to hit the flightline in May. International student training flight supervises the men and women from foreign nations that attend pilot training here. Vance AFB currently trains 10 students from Italy, Portugal and Kuwait.
Finally, our quality assurance flight oversees $232 million in contractual support of the wing's academic, simulator and life support programs. Gone are the days when IPs on the flightline were also tasked to provide classroom academic instruction and serve as simulator instructors. Contractor simulator instructors (highly experienced former military pilots) specialize in this area of the pilot training syllabus and are subject matter experts for IPs and students on many facets of flying academics and simulator instruction. Furthermore, our contracted life support is one-of-a-kind in the command .... no other AETC base has life support run exclusively by a contractor. The quality assurance flight ensures the needs of the flightline are met as pilot training continually evolves and evaluates the contractors on their performance.
None of these important support functions would happen without the dedicated efforts of some of most professional military and civilian I have had the pleasure to serve alongside. Despite critical under-manning in certain career fields, the OSS led the wing last year for the number of personnel deployed. Twenty-two Ghostriders supported national objectives against world terrorism in places like Qatar, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Kuwait. They have also distinguished themselves above their peers with numerous group, wing, and AETC individual awards and are always a tough team to beat on the intramural front.
Every squadron, agency and contract partner plays an important role in our mission at Team Vance. Ultimately, we are all training tomorrow's Air Force leaders today. However, I'm a bit partial to our little corner of the mission at the OSS and hope you know a little more about the mission and people of the largest squadron on Vance AFB.