GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- A C-130 Hercules from the 133rd Airlift Wing out of Minneapolis St-Paul International Airport, Minnesota, performed several touch-and-go landing missions supporting landing zone safety officer training, Nov. 18, 2024, here.
The aircraft served as the centerpiece for the total force training and provided the Air National Guard C-130 aircrew an opportunity to maintain proficiency hours.
In a contingency situation, or austere environment, landing zone safety officers will rapidly designate and set up a landing zone before an aircraft prepares to land. In this training scenario, careful planning and coordination between air traffic controllers and the landing zone safety officers was required to mitigate regular flight operations with the training.
“It’s a team effort, the air traffic control tower is always communicating back and forth with us and the incoming pilot,” said Master Sgt. Angela Huguley, weather operations flight chief for the 319th Operations Support Squadron. “We’ll communicate with them to take control of the airspace, let them know when it’s hot, clear the plane for landing and so on.”
Landing zone safety officer training benefits both the pilot and the landing zone safety officers, allowing them to practice agile combat employment tactics, and landing maneuvers, such as the touch-and-go.
A touch-and-go is where an aircraft performs a quick, efficient touchdown on a designated landing zone and quickly takes back off to practice additional approaches and allows aircrew to abort a landing in the event of an emergency.
Landing zones afford flexibility to military operations by allowing aircraft to arrive and depart areas less stable than a traditional runway, such as on dirt, ice or snow.
“I’ve personally set up a landing zone in the wilderness of Alaska, both on a dirt strip and even snow,” said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Stimer, senior watch supervisor with the 319th Operations Support Squadron. “If we have access to a more stable environment like today, it’s a great opportunity for the pilot to get their proficiency as well.”
Landing zone safety officer certification is offered to personnel in the air traffic control, airfield operations and radar weather and air systems, referred to as RAWS, career fields. The training hinges on the multi-capable airman construct, and after certification these Airmen are able to perform their cross-lateral functions when operating a landing zone.
Grand Forks AFB’s airspace, airfield, all-seasons training opportunities and now landing zone safety officers provide a blueprint for agile combat employment exercises to the Air Force at a grand scale.
“We went from one proficient landing zone officer to five and increased this location's capabilities to push multiple airfields at one time,” said Stimer. “It’s great to be able to do this, especially here, where we have a runway that provides clear and easy practice for everyone involved.”