Keeping the lamp lit: Airmen serve as modern lighthouse keepers

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  After crossing more than a thousand miles of ocean, every pilot flying over Japan relies on a small unit of Airmen here to guide their planes and passengers safely home. Although technology has changed over the last hundred years, the lighthouse is just as useful as ever. The Airmen of the 374th Communications Squadron Airlift Systems keep that lamp lit today.

Most people wouldn't give the small block building in the corner of the airfield here a second glance. Except for the half-dozen radio spires that stand outside, the purpose of the building would be hard to guess. However, the Airmen that work inside of it day and night are responsible for the safety of every plane that takes off, lands or crosses the airspace above them.

It takes more than 200 separate systems to operate the airfield, and less than two dozen Airmen are responsible for making sure the computers and equipment are working.

"For the most part, people don't think about us too much," said Tech. Sgt. Eric Uptegrove, the NCO in charge of airfield systems. "However, when a system goes down, they remember us pretty quickly."

Two of the most vital pieces of equipment airfield systems monitor and maintain are the tactical air navigation system and localizer. Together, these systems act as an electronic lighthouse for both civilian and military aircraft. One serves as a homing beacon for planes, and the other makes sure pilots can land in even the worst weather conditions.

"If any of these systems go down, the wing commander is notified, and we get called in," said Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, an airfield systems supervisor. "That is why we do our best to keep these systems operational more than 98 percent of the time."

The tactical air navigation system emits a signal 15 times per second over 250 nautical miles, reaching planes all over the Pacific Ocean and Japan. Pilots use this signal to tell them how far away they are from land and, if needed, a runway. Unfortunately, it is notorious for breaking down for no apparent reason.

"We're pretty superstitious about the tactical air navigation system," said Miller. "We think it gets lonely in the building all by itself, so we leave the radio on for it when we leave."
Another Airman remembers having to change his tone of voice when he is around the twenty-year-old piece of equipment.

"When it goes down," said Airman 1st Class Leonel Crespo, an airfield systems specialist, "I sweet-talk it."

When the noise and sweet-talk stop working on the system, some Airmen find that bribing the machine seems to help keep it functioning.

"We give it an allowance each week," said Airman 1st Class Lucas Dugan, an airfield systems specialist. "We leave a few dollars next to it. It seems to do the trick."

Once a pilot uses the tactical air navigation system to find their way to Yokota, they have to land their plane. For an area that is notorious for its seasonal rains and bad weather, this can be a daunting task. When a pilot can't see the runway, they rely on the work of airfield systems and the localizer to find the center of the runway.

"If the localizer is working correctly, a pilot's on-board equipment can track the center of the runway from five miles away," said Miller. "If this piece of equipment is misaligned, the pilot could find themselves landing anywhere but the runway. People's lives depend on this working correctly."

The localizer relies on 7 antennae pairs that airfield systems Airmen regularly align. A slight misalignment could mean the difference between the center of the runway or an adjacent field or mountain, Miller added.

"This piece of equipment is so important that we calibrate it to stricter standards than even the Federal Airline Administration uses in civilian airports," Crespo said. "If it goes down, there's a backup system that kicks in to keep it functioning."

For the personnel who work in airfield systems, there is never a boring day. Because of the variety and location of equipment they maintain, they have to be both technically proficient in troubleshooting computer systems and in accessing its unique locations.

"We'll be roped in, climbing to the top of a tower one day and helping to dig up old cable the next day," said Crespo. "Sitting in an air-conditioned room all the time isn't something we get to do in this part of the communications mission."

Ironically, when all the equipment that airfield systems monitors is functioning, these Airmen often go 'under the radar.' Although their job can be a thankless one at times, they know that every time a plane lands, takes off, or flies above, they had a part in making sure the flight was successful.

When it comes to maintaining this life-saving equipment, Miller commented: "For those of us in airfield systems, no news is good news."