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Spangdahlem commemorates opening of new tower

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Jamie Schofield
  • Leaders from the 52nd Fighter Wing, the Army Corps of Engineers, surrounding communities and local c
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Leaders from the 52nd Fighter Wing, the Army Corps of Engineers, surrounding communities and local contractors, came together to commemorate the opening of Spangdahlem Air Base's most recognizable landmark, the new Air Traffic Control Tower March 13, 2009.

Following 21 months of construction, the 109-foot, $7.5 million facility is open and supporting both 52nd FW and Air Mobility Command operations.

Spangdahlem's old tower, which stands more than 60-feet tall, was first erected when the base was built in 1953 by the French. During the last 55 years, it received only minor upgrades and modifications to adapt to the changing mission and operations that have been based here. With the execution of the Rhein-Main Transition Project, which included the addition of the 726th Air Mobility Squadron ramp and facilities on the south-east side of the runway, it was time to start from scratch with a new tower to meet the base's requirements, not only for today's mission, but into the future as well.

"The new tower enhances our ability to maintain the airfield weapons system by directly supporting our F-16 and A-10 combat preparations," said Lt. Col. Shaun McGrath, 52nd Operations Support Squadron commander. "It ensures a constant seven-days-a-week transit point for our tenant AMC global airlift operations, and providing integrated operations with our partner nations when necessary to meet NATO objectives."

The dramatic difference in height between the two towers is easy to see. The superior vantage point this height provides allows the tower controllers from the 52nd OSS to visually monitor critical areas of the airfield that up until now were beyond their capabilities. With the significant increase in ground traffic traveling between the fighter wing and air mobility sides of the base, this capability provides a crucial boost in the safety of the wing's operations.

"One of our first responsibilities as tower controllers is to ensure the runway is safe and clear for arriving aircraft," said Master Sgt. Marcus "GQ" Wright, 52nd OSS chief tower controller. "The height of the new tower allows us to do this both procedurally and visually. This is much better compared to the old tower where we needed to rely strictly on radio confirmation."

What is not so evident from the ground view is the improved floor plan and increased workspace that the new tower provides. The tower cab can be a busy place and the new facility provides each of the tower's essential functions the necessary room to perform their duties without interfering with their counterparts working within the same confines.

During daily wing flying operations, there is a team of five personnel manning the tower cab. A local controller communicates with pilots as they fly within the tower's airspace. A ground controller directs all movements of aircraft on the ground as they either prepare for takeoff or taxi to their parking spots. There is a specialist who manages the flight data of callsigns and flight clearances, in addition to takeoff and land times. Coordinating and overseeing these interrelated positions is the tower watch supervisor. Last, but not least, is the supervisor of flying who serves as the "eyes and ears" of the operations group commander for all flying operations of wing assigned aircraft. It is the skillful blending of all five of these individuals' effort that ensures the safe execution of aircraft operations at Spangdahlem.

In much the same way the unified efforts of the controller team ensure their mission success, it was the successful coordination of many specialized efforts, both U.S. and German, which led to the competition of the new tower construction project.

This project was truly a joint effort, from continuous project monitoring by the 52nd OSS to construction oversight by the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron combined with the invaluable expertise of the Army Corps of Engineers. All of that was combined with the oversight of the Landesbetrieb LBB with more than 40 local contactors who took part in the construction. The solid partnership between the 52nd OSS and 52nd Communications Squadron was evident after a flawless cutover to the new tower that not only mitigated impact to wing and airlift flying missions, but permitted the facility to open a day early. The day's ribbon-cutting ceremony highlighted the synergistic role the local community plays in the wing's accomplishment of U.S. and NATO mission requirements.
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