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Scott AFB builds Drop Zone with hopes to increase air traffic

  • Published
  • By Karen Petitt
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  

Scott AFB has taken a cue from the 1989 film “Field of Dreams”: Build a drop zone on its flightline in hopes that “they will come” as a way to increase ramp and airspace activity and keep its Airmen deployment ready.

Just like Kevin Costner’s character built a baseball diamond in the middle of a corn field to encourage people to watch baseball games, the 375th Operations Support Squadron spent the past six months building Scott’s first-ever drop zone area to attract more customers to the ramp.

“We are ready to receive customers and are excited for the opportunity to work with our Total Force and sister services who need a place to hone their combat skills,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Getty, 375th OSS commander.

He explained that Scott AFB had not been previously considered a viable option for airborne drops because of the numerous restrictions that had been levied on airfield operations throughout the years.

“We found that many of these restrictions were obsolete and while our mission sets were evolving, our procedures and services were not,” he said.

“As a result, both home station and transient air traffic began looking elsewhere to meet their training requirements.

“This, combined with reduced flying hours across the DoD has eroded the readiness of OSS Airmen who depend on aircraft operations to maintain their combat readiness.

“We found that it was taking our Airmen an inordinate amount of time to get up to speed in the deployed environment, which is something we cannot afford to continue doing.”

He said that during the past five years, the airfield has seen roughly a 40 percent drop in aircraft operations. However, with several initiatives, his unit has already increased airfield traffic by 25 percent in the past six months.

Initiatives such as redefining useable airspace, adding new aircraft instrument approach procedures and eliminating unnecessary restrictions have opened the door for nearby and home station units to sharpen their skills here instead of going elsewhere.

The 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron has also played a key part in increasing operations by coordinating their training missions with various Total Force flying units to include the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria, Ill. And by building a drop zone, they hope to entice even more units to consider Scott AFB as a viable training option.

Maj. Maureen Trujillo, 375th OSS director of operations, who was instrumental in this effort, said that this drop zone area is perfect for units that need to practice low level, static jumps.

“But more importantly, it gives our Airmen great practical, live training,” Trujillo said.

“While we do have the latest airfield simulator technology that our air traffic controllers use, the best experience comes from live activity in our airspace and on our ramp.”

Typically when a new drop zone is surveyed a combat controller completes the survey, and that task fell to the expertise of Tech. Sgt. Nick Gianoli, the base’s only Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE, specialist.

“I had not done this before so I contacted the Air Mobility Command SERE to learn the process, and then teamed up with Rick Hupp (OSS) and Lt. Col. Brian Broekemeier to complete a physical survey,” said Gianoli.

“We took the coordinates to the civil engineering shop where Senior Airman Joseph Dimaio and Airman 1st Class Alec Lippmann created a fantastic product that clearly defined the dimensions of the new DZ and noted every possible hazard for fliers and jumpers.

“The entire process took about six months, and it was a great learning experience! It was fantastic to see the team members at Scott pull together and tackle this new project which, although challenging at times, ultimately resulted in a solid product that should stand the test of time. All the work will be worth it when the first jumper exits the aircraft.”

Scott AFB’s runway will be an ideal location for that type of activity as the word gets out that it’s a great place for all types of aircraft and airborne training, said Getty.

“Due to our relatively light operational footprint, the 375th AMW cannot rely on local aircraft alone to meet our readiness needs,” Getty said.

“That is why we’re constantly reaching out to visiting aircrews to ensure their visit with us is world class and provide them the type of support and training they require; and we are hopeful that our new DZ will meet that objective as well.

“I am also looking forward to the increased activity we’ll be experiencing as we near the base’s Centennial Celebration with our airshow and open house on June 10-11, 2017.

“By then we’re hoping that the Scott community will be able to see up close the same aircraft that now frequent our airspace on a daily basis.

“That’s why we love being in the Air Force! We love working with and supporting aircraft and aircrews, and we’re doing all we can so that ‘they will come.’”