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552nd flies by the 10,000 hour mark during deployment

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Kinder L. Blacke
  • 552nd Air Control Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla --  During their latest deployment to Southwest Asia, the 963rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron helped the 552nd Air Control Wing surpass the 10,000 flying-hour mark since the E-3 AWACS returned to the desert in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom in March 2007.

"This is a significant milestone and shows the commitment and dedication of the 552nd ACW and 380th Air Expeditionary Wing," said Lt. Col. Robert Haines, 963rd EAACS commander. "Every hour is important and represents air power support to our coalition forces in the air and on the ground."

Colonel Haines deployed in January with 144 Airmen from the 963rd AACS and 75 Airmen from the 552nd Maintenance Group as the wing's sixth rotation to the area of responsibility.

According to Colonel Haines, the squadron's main job while deployed is "to make sure the right air assets are safely in the right place at the right time to support the ground war."

During every hour of the E-3 AWACS mission, crewmembers are constantly managing air operations to enhance combat effectiveness and ensure safety, he said.

In the past two years, Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadrons have controlled more than 19,000 aircraft, assisted more than 700 troops-in-contact events, supported more than 10,000 "kill boxes," and enabled the off-load of 126 million pounds of fuel from tanker aircraft . However, these accomplishments did not come without challenges.

"The extremely congested working airspaces and number of agencies coordinating in those airspaces" make the job far from easy, explained Lt. Col. George Wilson III, 963rd EAACS director of operations.

On top of that, for every hour spent in the air, many, many more hours of hard work are logged on the ground.

"Ten thousand hours represents a lot of sorties," said Capt. Jason Troutman, Sentry Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge, 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, "but that is really just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more hours of preparation mission planning and still more hours out on the flightline in maintenance and generation."

Despite the hard work, Colonel Wilson says "it is rewarding to know that we are actively either protecting coalition lives on the ground or eliminating enemies every single day we fly." And there have been almost 800 days of flying since March 2007; however, these two years are just a tiny piece of a much bigger picture.

The 552nd ACW has been engaged in mission-critical operations in Southwest Asia and around the world almost continuously since October 1980 -- an achievement which only the 552nd ACW can boast.

The wing has supported counter-drug operations in South America since 2004, and has deployed at a moment's notice in support of the President of the United States, natural disasters and Homeland Security interests.

While the 10,000 hour milestone during this most recent deployment to the AOR is significant, it is a drop in the bucket when considering the more than 20,028 E-3 sorties flown and 206,109 hours tallied in support of America's engagement in Southwest Asia, according to Mr. Swift's and Ms. Ovitt's calculations.

"The last two years are a small representation of what we have been doing for the past 29," said Col. Pat Hoffman, commander, 552nd ACW. "While it has taken hard work, determination and unwavering commitment to reach the 10,000 hour milestone during these critical current operations, these 10,000 hours are less than five percent of the total time we have spent providing premier Command and Control/Battle Management in Southwest Asia."

These hours do not even take into account the work of the Expeditionary Air Control Squadrons that are part of the 552nd Air Control Group. The EACSs operate Control and Reporting Centers (CRCs) that provide a C2 capability comparable to the E-3 AWACS, but do so using a ground-based system.

The CRCs have also been continually deployed to the CENTCOM AOR since 1980.

"The CRCs are so integral to C2/Battle Management within both OEF and OIF that they now occupy fixed sites in the CENTCOM AOR," said Col. Scott Fischer, commander, 552nd ACG.

The total number of hours that CRCs have monitored the skies of Southwest Asia is indeterminable; the grand total would approach the age of some of the Airmen who are responsible for maintaining and operating the CRC weapons system, said Colonel Fischer. This means, for almost the past thirty years, Airmen from the 552nd ACW have been packing their bags and leaving behind family and friends to spend months in the desert, helping to ensure our Nation's freedom.

"The amount of time and effort that our Airmen have committed to supporting our Nation's engagement in the CENTCOM AOR is tremendous," said Colonel Hoffman. "As a wing, the Airmen and their families have made huge sacrifices to meet the needs of our Nation and provide top-notch Command and Control capabilities to commanders in theater."

"The Airmen of 'America's Wing' have been doing amazing things in the AOR, not just since March 2007, but every day since we've been there," said Colonel Hoffman, "and will continue to answer our Nation's call anytime, anywhere!"