OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- In the vast expanse of the sky, where military aircraft graze the clouds jockeying for airspace, Offutt’s air traffic controllers are there to help pilots safely navigate on approach to land or ascend upward, onward and beyond.
Peering through tinted glass 11 stories up, the 55th Operations Support Squadron’s air traffic controllers know safety on the ground and in the air is paramount whether guiding an RC-135 Rivet Joint, or any number of military or commercial aircraft that utilize Offutt’s airfield and airspace as they approach the runway,
“So that’s kind of step one – we make sure that there are no animals, people, birds, vehicles, what have you, on the runway. Also making sure that nobody’s off the departure end,” said Tech. Sgt. Andrew Kalina, 55th OSS NCO-in-charge of air traffic control training and standardization. “We’ve got to keep that safe because we have multiple airports in the vicinity that have aircraft flying also. It’s kind of our job to coordinate with other controllers and other aircraft to make a safe space for our planes to take off first and foremost.”
For some members of the 55th Operations Support Squadron, air traffic control is like directing ground vehicle traffic at a stop sign or following traffic lights.
“You just look at a map and see a highway system that is mirrored in the sky. There are just highways everywhere,” said Master Sgt. Michael Jaeger, 55th OSS assistant chief controller. “All those highways as air traffic controllers it’s our job to provide a safe and expeditious flow of that traffic and avoid conflicts.”
As Offutt averages roughly 14,000 flights a year, it’s not unusual for Offutt’s air traffic controllers to sometimes face some unique challenges. When the air traffic control tower was having its cab windows replaced due to leaks in November 2022, the team had to find a different way to operate until the work was complete.
“We were doing air traffic control from a truck,” said Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Sluss, 55th OSS tower chief controller. “It just took a lot of pre-planning because we did not have our facility. There were a lot of construction delays and a lot of things that kept pushing back to the reopening of our tower cab.”
After working out of a truck for two weeks, they brought in a small shack where they continued operations near to the control tower in a grassy field. For eight weeks total they ran flight traffic from the ground ensuring there were no interruptions to Offutt’s flying mission.
According to Sluss, all they needed was the ability to see the aircraft and runway and be able to talk to the pilots, which they were able to accomplish.
“You got to bring the planes in, you just got to find a way to do it,” Sluss said. “Leading up to it was very chaotic, but on the actual day of opening and recovering the aircraft, everything was extremely smooth, very low stress because everything was already set and ready to go. At that point, it was just us doing air traffic control and that’s something everyone could do very well.”
For Sluss and his team, they value the young Airmen that they take under their wing to reach important air traffic control milestones, whether its completing technical training or getting Federal Aviation Administration certified to guide air traffic. While the work may be challenging, some Airmen embrace their role.
“The thing I enjoy most about air traffic control is that the military gives me the opportunity to control millions or even billions of dollars in aircraft and they put their trust in me,” said Senior Airman Daniel Mills, 55th OSS air traffic control trainer. “I entered air traffic control training at 18 years old. I’m 20 now and I have all this responsibility, which is going to help me out in life because gaining the trust of such a big and important thing … it’s just a very big character builder, it’s very enjoyable and fun as well.”
For some Airmen, looking out that tower cab onto a busy runway is a sight to see and a perk of the job.
“It is the best view on base,” Jaeger said.