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Volume 20, No. 17 NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen 24 September 2004 ATS keeps cooperative spirit of Olympics alive year-round, trains, shapes crews for AWACS mission Text and photo SMSgt. Vicky Cerino, “The doors to success for mission airspace for NATO and alliance- begins with academics, then moves HQ Nebraska Air National Guard operations open through AT”, said Lt. designated countries. “We monitor into simulator training and finally the Col. Scott Forest, squadron commander. radar and look for all and any airborne flying phase. The cooperative spirit of the “Everyone who is part of the E-3A flying aircraft to track and identify who Olympics is alive year-round aircrew team comes through here. they are and what is the extent of their The squadron flies a combination at the North Atlantic Treaty We take pride in that. We gain the capabilities. We can’t see everything, of training and operational NATO Organization’s Air Base in talent of those from 13 nations, train though the goal is to be able to see and missions and conducts 15 to 20 Geilenkirchen, Germany. This is them on the basics, and how to work track everything”, said Forest. “With simulator training sessions a month the home of the Aircrew Training together as a crew.” radar and sensors, we pick up then as well. “Students come here to get all Squadron (ATS) for the E-3A Since its beginnings in 1981 as the relay information to command and the knowledge and experience they Airborne Warning and Control Training Centre, the redesignated control on the ground and in the air.” need to be part of the team”, said Lt. System (AWACS) mission. Aircrew Training Squadron has trained Col. Forest. “Some of our students are military and civilian personnel from On the second Monday of every sometimes learning in their second or The ATS is NATO’s only training 13 NATO nations in E-3A aircrew month, 20 to 25 students enter the third language. It’s a pleasure to watch squadron for the E-3A. Every AWACS operations. It uses flight and mission squadron for basic or upgrade training them grow and become an aircrew. mission begins with ATS. The squadron simulators to train an estimated in one of 17different crew positions. All the high-tech equipment we have provides basic and upgrade training to 250 aircrews a year for NATO’s E-3A The average student spends four to means nothing if we don’t have a team the crews, all who ultimately work in Airborne Early Warning and Control six months in training, Forest said. that works together effectively. It’s the operational squadrons at the E-3A Force. Students arrive at the school with an immense challenge”, Lt. Col. Forest Main Operating Base in Geilenkirchen, varying degrees of knowledge and said. The commander said he’s and four Forward Operating Bases in Once trained, they join NATO experience. Some are right out of flight fortunate to have talented instructors Trapani (Italy), Aktion (Greece), Konya colleagues in Operations Wing from school, some have never been exposed in the squadron. “I’m extremely (Turkey), as well as Forward Operating 12 other countries who fly to provide to any flying and others have never impressed. They are diverse and have Location in Ørland, Norway. airborne early warning and control of seen an E-3A AWACS aircraft. Training great depth of experience. Some have been here 15 years”, said Lt. Col Forest. The workload of the squadron is high in an effort to help alleviate shortages of aircrew, Forest said. “That’s part of what this process is about.” One of the challenges during Forest’s first year as commander was dramatically increasing flying in April, May and June to overcome a shortage of missions last winter. In order to get the squadron back on schedule following a combination of bad weather, a NATO operations evaluation, and aircraft equipment upgrades, the unit surged its training 140 percent during the three months. The highlight for the squadron during his first year was to receive the Allied Command Operations (ACO) 2004 Hoyt S. Vanderberg Award. The award, signed by U.S. Marine Corp Gen. James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, recognizes the best flying training unit in NATO and ACO, and ATS’s exemplary military service to NATO and ACO. “Again, the talented people made it happen”, said Lt. Col. Forest. ‘Tool box’ of skills One of the unique aspects about the school is students go through educational blocks at their own pace. Individuals graduate every week. Instructor pilot Capt. Dimitri Pasqualetti discusses training in the Cockpit Procedures Trainer with (left to right, clockwise) Capt. Kev Meakin, Capt. Mehmet Eravsar, Capt. Stefano Marra and CMSgt. Sgt. Jon Miller. See ATS on page 7 Next NATO Skywatch: 5-Star Tents Roarrr 8 October Also in this issue: Deployment Training with the RAF. Tiger, Tiger, Tiger. Submissions due by: See page 3. 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Firman A large aircraft lands on a concrete strip and a couple dozen troops get off and get to work. Unloading equipment and gear from pallets is the first order of business as teams prepare to assemble a small tent city and begin a range of military operations. With nothing available at the ‘airfield’ besides a concrete strip, everything needed to survive and operate has to be carried in. Sounds like Afghanistan or other remote places, and certainly no place for a NATO AWACS crew – until now. A team of 47 Component members faced this scenario at Royal Air Force Station Waddington on 8 and 9 September, spending two days in training with the Royal Air Force Regiment, an infantry unit of the RAF tasked with air base defence. Preparing for Collective Training, a two-week Component members work together to construct a field tent during encampment and exercise with the Individual Deployment Training on 8 and 9 September at Royal Air Force RAF at the end of September and early I’d be the first guy in line signing up Station Waddington. During two days of training, RAF instructors October, they took the first step toward for the five-star hotel, the reality is we demonstrated essential field survival and operational skills. conducting NATO E-3A deployed don’t know where we’ll be operating operations in austere environments. in the future and we need people to be Through two days, Regiment ready for unanticipated circumstances,” instructors put the Component team said Lt. Col. Phillips. “We can expect to through IDT, or Individual Deployment be involved supporting the NRF when Training, required for all RAF members and wherever it goes, and we need to before deploying. be just as deployable with ready-to-go skill sets.” This training is important as NATO transformation in the wake Those deployment skills range from of the Cold War, and in response the very basic to the more complex, to the global threat of terrorism, but the IDT lessons began at the basic all but guarantees future level.