GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- Two
jet aircraft racing toward each other at over 300 mph, then maneuvering just
miles apart to connect for inflight refueling at exactly the second they were
scheduled isn't just amazing, it's reality here at Grissom.
Working behind the scenes to make that midair connection happen are planners
and schedulers with the 434th Operations Support Squadron who coordinated
nearly 1,300 successful missions in 2014 alone.
"On average, we fly 20 sorties a week, not including the deployed
missions," said Lt. Col. Todd Thibault, 434th OSS chief of scheduling.
"Preparation for the actual mission begins months in advance and requires
coordination efforts with several other organizations before the aircraft leave
the ground."
Those missions include various training and real-world operations to include
inflight refueling, cargo operations, personnel movement and aeromedical
evacuation missions.
Each year the 434th Air Refueling Wing is allocated a number of flying hours,
which require schedulers to balance flight hours and missions to stay on
target.
"Last year 4,884 flying hours were allocated, but to stay within those
parameters we overschedule to compensate for an estimated 15 percent attrition
rate," explained Thibault. "That means if we do not fly due to
maintenance, weather or for a variety of reasons we still fall within our
allocated flight hours.
"In addition, our allocated flight hours are constantly shifting to
maintain mission requirements such as deployments," he added.
Despite all of the variables, schedulers were able to meet their mark with
4,866.5 flight hours flown during fiscal year 2014 out of 4,884 allocated, and
that process began with coordination through the 434th Maintenance Group.
"We begin by communicating with maintenance for an amount of sorties we
want to fly to create a long-range schedule," said Maj. Dave Curl, 72nd
Air Refueling Wing pilot tasked with flight scheduling and planning.
Throughout the scheduling process communication with receiver units with aerial
refueling requirements is critical, said Thibault.
"It's my responsibility to communicate with all the units that have an
aerial refueling requirement," he elaborated. "I look at our schedule
and determine if there is a refueling track, aircraft and all essential
personnel to complete the requested mission; I then correspond with maintenance
to ensure we will have enough aircraft to complete that particular mission.
"In addition to maintenance, we also plan to ensure we have enough pilots
and boom operators for the missions," he added.
After the task of the long-range planning is completed, schedulers go through
another planning process to ensure nothing has been missed, said Curl.
"Two weeks prior to the mission, we iron out all of the maintenance and
aircrew schedules in addition to coordinating with standardization and
evaluations and training flight to confirm the mission is still a go,"
explained Curl. "Planners then take the details and build a packet with
all essential paperwork for the mission."
However, after a mission gets its final go, schedulers go one step further to
ensure aircrews are taken care of.
"Between family and civilian jobs, reservists are limited to the amount of
time they have here, so we ensure they are taken care of by setting up
transportation, lodging and any other needs they might have for a particular
mission," said Thibault. "This allows them to spend their time here
focusing on the mission and getting the most out of it."
Ultimately, getting the most out of the allocated flight hours to ensure
aircrews remain mission ready is what it is all about, said Thibault.
"The majority of refueling missions are used to complete required training
for the aircrews including the receiver pilots," he concluded.
"Successfully scheduled missions here ensure when aircrews deploy
somewhere they have the experience and certifications needed to be mission
ready."
Grissom is home to the 434th Air Refueling Wing, the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve
Command, as well as three Army Reserve units. Airmen, Soldiers and
Marines routinely deploy from Grissom around the world in support of the
Department of Defense mission and U.S. strategic objectives.
Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)