14th OSS flight RAWS into existence

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Though callers to a particular 14th Operations Support Squadron may be caught off guard if they hear a soft roar on the other end, they will no longer be confused as to who exactly they are calling.

As of Nov. 1, the 14th OSS Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems Flight is now the Radar, Airfield and Weather Systems Flight.

Though the name is changing, the service the flight provides is not.

The flight provides around-the-clock support of base and regional radar equipment, ground-to-air radios and weather systems that support Air Traffic Control, The National Weather Service, and command and control across the wing.

“Everything on the flight line that doesn’t take off, we maintain,” said Tony Clements, RAWS Flight Chief. “The name ATCALS was partly correct for our base-level support functions, but it left out a lot, like the weather radars. Now, RAWS basically says everything we take care of – radar, airfield and weather systems.”

The flight’s name change is due to the creation of the 1C8X3 RAWS career field, created by the Air Force’s merger of the 1C8X1 Radar and 1C8X2 Airfield Systems career fields.

“This merger aligns our specialty closer with the Federal Aviation Administration construct,” Clements said. “It’s built off of our job, so it better matches what we do. It will also help the career field maintain a steady rate of Airmen coming from technical training and eliminate surges.”

Staff Sgt. Andrew Snyder, 14th OSS RAWS Assistant NCO in Charge, said the best part is that the merger also means more qualified technicians are now able to be spread across the RAWS mission.

“Before, when someone called with a job, we would have to find a specialist,” Snyder said. “This gives us cross-utilization between the radar and airfield systems technicians, which means instead of possibly waiting for someone, we can now ask either section.”

He said this is crucial at a base where even a 30-minute delay in flying can impede the mission.

At Columbus Air Force Base, the career field change also came with a “mascot.” The endearing, locally developed image includes the name of their flight, silhouettes of some of the equipment they maintain, and a mountain that represents Lima Site 85, which speaks to their history. Lima Site 85 was a top-secret radar site attacked during the Vietnam War.

Clements said he challenged the flight to work together to develop the image.

“I wanted to give them something to help them feel like they had a part in the merger here,” he said. “It’s taken off and has spread across the community.”

Otherwise, and to customers, the flight name will be the only change. The same people will answer the same phone numbers and fix the same equipment.

“We will make every effort to stop answering the phones saying ‘ATCALS,’ and instead will attempt to say ‘RAWS’ in a non-threatening way,” Clements said with a smile.