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Nato awacs fly over american airspace Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20011024/us/attacks_awacs_1.htmlhttp://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20011024/us/attacks_awacs_1.html
Wednesday October 24 4:51 PM ET
Crew Watches Skies From AWACS Plane
By JENNIFER L. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
ABOARD NATO AWACS 25 (AP) - The AWACS plane - an air traffic control center with wings - lifted off at daybreak and turned toward the first pink line of sunlight for another day of protecting the East Coast.
With Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma left far behind, the crew members began staring at radar screens tracking planes hundreds of miles away. For more than 10 hours, they watched their scopes for wayward aircraft and planes that weren't transmitting, or ``squawking,'' the proper code.
The overlapping, round-the-clock AWACS patrols over major U.S. cities are intended to prevent terrorist attacks like those that occurred in New York and Washington last month. F-15 and F-16 fighter jets are on call across the country, ready to shoot down an airliner if necessary.
``I never imagined in my career, in my lifetime, I'd be doing something like this,'' said J.R., an Air Force master sergeant from Tennessee aboard the plane. ``But Sept. 11 changed the world.''
J.R. is one of four Americans aboard a flight with an international cast: The Airborne Warning and Control System plane is one of five from a German base that are participating in the first NATO patrols over American skies. Tinker's 552nd Air Control Wing, which has 28 AWACS airplanes, is participating in the U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan.
An AWACS is a modified Boeing 707 with a big rotating dome on top of the plane that emits and collects radar from aircraft.
The mission aboard NATO 25 on Tuesday was typical - a few suspicious planes turned out to be OK upon further checking. But it provided a look at the long days that 180 crew members from 13 countries are spending above the nation's skies.
``We are very proud to help you guys,'' said Capt. Eddie, the Belgian pilot.
The rest of the cockpit crew - an Italian co-pilot, Italian flight engineer and a Norwegian navigator - spoke accented English to each other. The two Italians occasionally slipped into their native tongue.
The crew has had to work out the kinks of flying in unfamiliar airspace and figuring out the runways at Tinker. Eddie had to stop taxiing the plane when he came to a fork in the runway because he wasn't sure which way to turn. His staff quickly flipped the pages of their manuals looking for an answer.
Later, in the sky, co-pilot Luiji pointed to an East Coast state on a U.S. map. ``This is where we are going,'' he said. ``What's it called?''
It is sometimes challenging for the crew to understand directions from traffic controllers, whose accents vary
from a Southern twang to Northern variations. And the skies, especially on the eastern half of the country,
seem busier than what the crew has dealt with in missions over the Balkans and elsewhere.
``That's a challenge for us, with the combination of the language,'' Eddie said. ``We talk English, but the accent
is a little bit different.''
Reporters aboard AWACS were asked to omit the last names of the crew, their hometowns and the cities
patrolled. Beyond the cockpit, there were no windows.
The jet, crowded with mechanical equipment and about 30 seats, grew cold after dusk. Throughout the
14-hour flight, the crew took turns warming boxed meals in an oven or reclining in a chair for a quick nap.
Some chatted about their families, sports and their plans for the night.
Sparky, a radar technician in the Canadian Armed Forces and the only woman on the crew, watched a screen
of green radar blips representing aircraft and ground contacts, including big trucks traveling on highways and
even tall buildings.
It is up to Capt. Mike, a surveillance officer from Germany, to contact a ground crew when aircraft in the
surveillance area abruptly change flight patterns or switch off transponders. The ground crew can call in the
fighter jets. Mike never did that Tuesday.
Each NATO crew flies a scheduled 12-hour shift about once every three days.
In the air, they drink a lot of water to stay hydrated in the dry cabin air, and coffee, too.
``That's the only way to stay awake and stay concentrated,'' Mike said. ``Otherwise, you look at your scope
and you will see too many dots.''
J.R. said he joined NATO so he could work on AWACS overseas. His wife and three small children, the oldest a kindergartner, live in Germany.
``You don't get used to it, but you kind of do,'' he said. ``It's still not easy, especially for the children. I told my wife, `I love you' and `I don't know when I'm coming back.' And I told my little boy, my oldest, he's got to be a man now.''
The mission ended up lasting 14 hours because the AWACS plane that was supposed to relieve NATO 25 had radar trouble and had to return to Tinker. Eddie and co-pilot Luiji discussed late-night plans as they guided the jet down from a moonlit sky into the gleaming white lights of the Tinker runway.
``I don't need dinner,'' Eddie said. ``I need a beer.''
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