Air traffic control training: A day in the life

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Ronald Baldinger
  • 71st Operations Support Squadron
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  It's 5:15 a.m. and the alarm rings, seemingly just a blink of an eye after falling asleep. Reality quickly sets in; exciting work lies ahead.
The day starts with academics -- aeronautical terminology, navigational theory and standard operating procedures. Class is quickly followed by the pressure of actually having to translate academic instruction into action.
The instructor critiques every action from a seat directly behind, occasionally even taking control when safety is at risk. Sometimes success seems an impossible dream. The amount of data required from memory is staggering, and of course, the studious voice on the other end of the radio doesn't often make things any easier ...
Just another grueling day in the life of an undergraduate pilot training student, right? Wrong! This scene comes right out of a day in the life of a trainee in one of Vance's lesser known, yearlong training courses - Air Traffic Control training. We all know about the Vance academic and performance marathon of pilot training. It's visible to us on every corner of base, especially with that ever-present, reassuring sound of freedom overhead. But there's also a less visible, extremely demanding course of instruction occurring behind the scenes every day at our pilot training base. It is the training program taking young Vance Airmen down the challenging path to become U.S. Air Force air traffic controllers.
One of the primary functions of the 71st Operations Support Squadron is to manage and execute the ATC training program. Most trainees arrive at Vance fresh out of a 14-week technical school taught at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., where they concentrate on basic air traffic and aviation studies. Once at Vance, the Airmen enter training for either radar approach control or tower control duties. For most of these men and women, usually grades E-1 through E-3, Vance is their first real duty assignment out of basic training. Here they receive the concentrated training that will set the foundation for the rest of their careers.
As with any program that results in the awesome responsibility for the safety of fellow lives, the information is fed with a fire hose. Air traffic courseware has a great deal of overlap with materials taught to UPT students. Navigation, airspace and instrument procedures are just a few of the topics required along with complete immersion into Federal Aviation Administration rules and instructions.
Qualification is earned in several different control positions, each with specific responsibilities and challenges. These range from controlling the busiest departure and arrival sectors in the RAPCON track, to being able to handle emergency aircraft while potentially controlling simultaneous operations on up to three runways for our tower trainees. While the duration of training varies for each individual, the average completion time is about one year, culminating in an air traffic control badge pin-on ceremony attended by supervisors, friends and family. Luckily for Vance, once training is complete, our Airmen do not head off to another unit with their new qualifications, but remain right here to execute their duties "solo," enabling our UPT mission, and eventually upgrading to be instructors for the new trainees we see come in every month.
I admit to being a shameless advocate for every single outstanding professional of the 71st OSS. Many Team Vance Airmen are so visible in day-to-day operations such as weather, flight records, Phase 1 and international student management, so I never pass up a chance to put on display some of our more "behind the scenes" mission makers at Vance AFB.
So the next time you talk to a Ghostrider air traffic controller, whether on the radio or at the club, you will have a little better idea of the demanding journey each has taken, or is taking, to safely and professionally conduct air traffic operations at the busiest airfield in Air Education and Training Command!