RAPCON keeps eye on the sky

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mike Andriacco
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Hidden away in a building near the runway here, a group of Federal Aviation Administration employees work to keep the skies above the base and local region safe for air traffic of all kinds.

The Shreveport Radar Approach Control is unique because, while it's housed on the base itself, it serves a region that spans a 60-mile radius.

All the FAA employees also work in the air traffic control tower at the Shreveport Regional Airport and their involvement is critical to all base air operations, necessitating a close working relationship with their counterparts in the 2nd Operations Support Squadron.

"Our operations control all aircraft in that radius and up to 12,000 feet," said Karen Harris, FAA air traffic manager and RAPCON lead. "Barksdale is one of our customers and we work with just about every entity on base."

Representatives from the RAPCON attend the regular air operations board meetings on base, support the Green Flag East training missions and are currently planning for Barksdale's annual air show in April.

The RAPCON personnel are key players in air show preparations, as they enforce the airspace restrictions that extend five miles in every direction, Harris said.

Several things set the RAPCON apart from others of its kind. For instance, most military installations have their own RAPCON, staffed by active duty personnel or Department of Defense civilian employees. Few on Barksdale are even aware that FAA employees serve alongside them.

"We are one of the best kept secrets on Barksdale," Harris said.

Harris added that so few knew about the RAPCON that in the high-security days after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, she and her coworkers were often delayed at the base's gates while security personnel ensured the FAA identification cards were acceptable for base entry.

"We were one of the few locations that was working air traffic when everyone else was grounded that day," she said.

The Shreveport RAPCON is also the first and only location to receive the new small-footprint tower simulator system. Comprised of five, 55-inch flat display screens and powered by several computers, the tower simulator allows the 11 trainees at the RAPCON to see exactly what they would see if they were looking outside the tower windows at Shreveport Regional Airport.

"The simulator allows us to throw just about any problem a controller is likely to encounter at the trainees," Harris said. "That way, when we get them up in the real tower, they are already familiar with common problems and how to handle them."

The team at the RAPCON has the ability to create new problem scenarios on their training simulators if it ever becomes necessary. The simulator is also equipped with voice pattern recognition software, which means when a trainee responds verbally into a headset as they would in a tower, the computer program knows if they've done it correctly.

Beyond training new controllers, having one-of-a-kind, state of the art equipment, and helping with special events, the RAPCON is critical because of what it does every day with the base.

"The RAPCON is exceptional," said David Hodges, 2 OSS chief of airspace and ATC procedures. "My experience working closely with the FAA spans 22 years and includes many productive experiences with the FAA."

Hodges went on to say the working relationship the 2nd Bomb Wing and Shreveport RAPCON have built and enjoy here at Barksdale transcends all of the others in his experience.

"From affording priority handling to the Secretary of Defense aircraft to ensuring the Space Shuttle Ferry missions go off without a hitch, the RAPCON and control tower are always working together in support of Barksdale flying operations," he added. "On a daily basis LIFEFLIGHT helicopters transit the airspace around Barksdale to save lives and respond to urgent medical needs. The RAPCON works hand-in-glove with the controllers in our tower to minimize the impact to our flight operations while ensuring life saving flights get where they need to go, when they need to be there."

The control tower at Barksdale is only the first link in a long chain of activity by air traffic control to support Air Force flight operations at Barksdale.

"Within a few miles after take-off the Shreveport RAPCON takes over and provides the ATC service that allows our jets to fly to destinations all over the planet," Hodges said. "They also provide the ATC arrival service that enables our aircrew instrument flight training, Exercise GREEN FLAG operations, keeps our jets safe, and all the while ensures operations at the Shreveport Downtown and Shreveport Regional airports continue unhindered. Without the FAA's support our daily flying mission would become much more challenging."