The Wild Blue Yonder

Coordinating the wild blue yonder

When people hear what Tech. Sgt. Christopher Royal does for a living, they have the same question: "Isn't that stressful?" Royal, a Scott Air Force Base air traffic control watch supervisor, has a simple answer.

"It isn't that stressful," he said. "To me, it's just like anything else."

Along with 25 active duty soldiers and five Department of Defense civilians, Royal, 29, keeps watch over the skies of the region. The base each year coordinates more than 24,000 flights. In addition to managing military aircraft, the tower also oversees civilian planes at adjacent MidAmerica Airport.

Encased in windows and surrounded by control panels and screens, Royal and his comrades typically work 8-hour shifts in the 14-level, 265-foot tall tower.

"You might work with 50 jets for that shift," Royal explained, adding that four controllers staff a shift, making sure there is coverage when someone takes a break.

Keeping a close eye on radars and establishing communication with pilots, they have the unique task of landing everything from tiny private jets to a mammoth C-130 cargo plane with a 135-foot wingspan.

"Whatever (military) aircraft is in America has probably landed here," said Master Sgt. Thomas Geraldsen, tower chief controller at the base. He said flight volume isn't as heavy as a civilian airport, the base does not facilitate commercial airlines. With sensitive cargo and objectives, controllers at Scott Air Force Base have to be flexible.

"Most of it is mission dictated," Geraldsen said of military flights. "As they're in the plane ready to go, things could change at any moment."

Call of duty

Royal said the demand for excellence in air traffic control is what drew him to the field.

"I wanted to be an air traffic controller because I wanted a job that was challenging," he said.

His first day on the job was nerve-wracking, he said, but with time, it got easier.

"It's kind of like getting the keys to the car for the first time," he said.

To ensure fluency in phrasing and protocol, trainees undergo in-depth instruction. After completing a 16-week course at a Mississippi base, trainees report to their assigned bases for simulation and on the job training.

"That can last anywhere from 6 months to 15 months, depending on the complexity of the traffic," Royal said. Hooked up to a radar and video screen identical to the control room a floor above, trainees learn the specs of the air base on a simulator. Facilitated by another controller, trainees respond to a variety of possible scenarios and receive immediate feedback on their progress.

Into the wild blue yonder!: Pilot # 38!

I know I know...., you all wanted to see what the dresser looks like now that it's "complete".  Kristen hasen't sent me any updated pictures of it!  But I have seen it on Skype.....and let me tell you.  She did an AWESOME job!  It is a brand new dresser!  I'm proud of her.  Maybe she'll send me a picture so I can share it with everyone.  The picture I have here is after stain but before polyurethane... it looks even nicer now! Well, as you can see in the title, I've moved to pilot number 38!  I'm done with the 40's.  It is kinda moving fast over here.  I feel like I just got here yesterday with #57 on my sleeve and now I'm #38....wow.  The time is moving fast because I never stop over here.  If I'm flying, which is everyday lately, the hours just roll by.  I just wake up, work out, bus to work, brief, eat, fly, debrief, eat, bus home, shower, sleep......rinse....repeat.  Haha.  Everyday.  Time is flying! This week I got a package from my squadron.  It was really nice of them (whoever its from over there).  There are two of us here from Dover and we both got a package from the 9th.  It was filled with the most randomly awesome stuff. Like 4th of July decorations, soap, chocolate, gum, cookies, mini sports balls and random candy....haha.  It was pretty funny opening it.  But everything in the package found a home.  It was nice of them. Someone/business sent us a bunch of huge boxes filled with Old Navy clothes.  Anything and everything from Old Navy.  I think they just went to a few Old Navy's and raided their clearance section.  Some people have been taking underwear/boxers and socks, but that's about all we can use that they sent us.....sad..., and funny at the same time.  Haha. We had a tour of the "Jolly Greens" offered to us if we could make it out to them this week.. I really wanted to go and the tour fell right after I landed so it was perfectly timed!  The Jolly Greens are the Air Force's rescue helo's.  They are the dudes that will come and pick up downed pilots (so we love them).  Those dudes are so BA!  They fly at 50' off the round.  They have a duty to bring downed pilots or critically battlefield injured soldiers to ROLE3 (hospital) within one hour of the call......which is tough if you think about the scenario here: The heat, dust, mountains oh and people shooting at you.

The wild blue yonder

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