TLR rocks round the clock

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rusty Frank
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  When the sun sets on the base, many people head home for the day, eat dinner, spend time with family and go to bed. However, there are others waking up, eating breakfast and preparing to get their day started.

At Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., some squadrons have night workers due to 24-hour operations. Though working at night has its challenges, there are some perks. These Airmen trade heavy traffic and high-manned facilities for the serenity of the night, and without them, the mission would be incomplete.

Providing combat airlift is a 24-hour-a-day mission, and the cover of darkness is a key ally in combat operations.

"Night operations are important to ensure our combat readiness," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Larson, noncommissioned officer in charge of airfield management. "To ensure safety of our Aircraft in the area of responsibility, personnel and cargo drops are made under the cover of darkness. Here at Little Rock, we fly 15-20 sorties per night to prepare our pilots for those critical missions in the AOR."

Airfield management ensures the inferred lights, and landing zone are properly marked and lite to ensure safe operations during hours of darkness. Inferred lighting is used light the landing zone so that the pilots can use night vision equipment to land.

"Night operations save lives, and allows us to drop personnel and supplies in hostile area," said Larson. "Night operations are also a requirement per the Federal Aviation Administration. We inspect, and identify hazards to ensure safety of flight, and ensure those hazards are eliminated. I would match our team of professional here at airfield management against anyone in the Air Force. We are truly the best at what we do."
Dedication, discipline and attention to detail are crucial elements amplified under the cover of night.

"For our job, we are out there inspecting the airfield; it's a little bit harder to do when it's night out," said Senior Airman Timothy Rose, a 19th Operations Support Squadron airfield management operations coordinator. "[However,] that's our main job, inspecting the runway, asphalt, for foreign object debris and checking the lights."

Training is key to surviving and thriving in the dark.

"Training is essential. You need to know the rules [for night operations]," said Senior Airman James Langley, a 19th OSS air traffic controller. Low visibility forces air traffic controllers to rely more on the radar as opposed to normal vision because depth perception is off.

Many training requirements still have to be met that can only be accomplished after dark.
"We have training requirements for night vision goggles, NVG low-level flights, NVG assault landings and NVG formations," said Maj. Barton Boma, a 53rd Airlift Squadron assistant director of operations.

Technical school students are also provided unique training opportunities while working at night. Their late shift training gives them hands-on experience and a taste of the night life.

"When there are people that are being certified, they will put them on night shift because it's less stressful after the aircraft land," said Senior Airman Prisilla Hughes, a 19th Airlift Wing command post controller. Hughes said the practical experience gleaned from working at night prepares trainees to answer the call of day time challenges.

For security forces, training for low light situations and working at night can mean the difference between success and failure.

"In our career field [Security Forces] it could be a difference between life and death whether someone heeds that training we give them," said Raines.

Even with all the challenges of working after dark, we as an Air Force own the night.
"I was once told by a [special ops] chief warrant officer that the C-130 has saved his life and the lives of his men on numerous occasions," said Larson. "When things were looking bleak, the C-130 delivered the cargo they needed to survive. Think of the men, and women in areas of Afghanistan that have no way of getting reinforcements, food and supplies other than what is dropped in by aircraft."

"Without the night operations, soldiers would not get the supplies that are needed, and we would lose lives," he said. "Night operations are key to the success of our troops on the ground. The C-130 supplies personnel, and cargo to troops of all branches around the world."