Andrews radio operators assist crewmembers worldwide
By Margo Turner
89th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AFPN) -- As an Air Force aircraft approaches
Yokota Air Base, Japan, the pilot sets his radio to a specified frequency and says,
"Main Sail, Main Sail" -- the call sign for any global radio station.
Within seconds, the pilot hears, "This is the Yokota operator." That operator
is actually with the 789th Communications Squadron at the Centralized Network
Control Station, or CNCS, here.
Many pilots and other aircrew members think they are talking with someone at
the location they contacted on the radio, but in reality, the operator sits in
front of a console in a building here at Andrews, said Capt. Kenneth ;Black,
789th CS operations flight commander.
The CNCS has 14 high-frequency ground stations located around the world, the
captain said. The transmitter and receiver for each station, however, is controlled from the CNCS. ;
"We provide air-to-ground communications for command and control of
aircraft as they fly around the world," Captain Black said.
The CNCS also provides phone-patch and message-relay services, ship-to-shore
communications and emergency assistance for Department of Defense users; and
high-frequency communications for the president, vice president, cabinet
members and other senior officials while aboard special air mission aircraft. Phone
patches are a connection between a telephone line and another communications
device, such as a radio.
Additionally, Spanish-speaking radio operators handle radio requests from
pilots and other aircrew members from Central and South American countries.
Each station in the CNCS has a console and a small speaker, which crackles with
high-frequency static all the time, said Airman 1st Class Corina
Arangure, 789th CS radio operator.
Radio operators spend 12-hour shifts monitoring designated stations, Airman Arangure said. They listen to military aircraft, ships and
other DOD users requesting assistance, such as a phone patch or to have a
message relayed to a ground location.
The radio operators have no way of knowing what to expect when they hear
someone using the "Main Sail" call sign, Captain Black said.
A person calling in may want to talk to the command post at the base where his
or her aircraft is heading, he said. The caller may not know the phone number
of the command post or doesn't have a phone on board the aircraft. The CNCS
radio operator can call the command post and then connect the aircraft operator
to a person at the command post, he said.
Another CNCS radio operator may receive a phone call from someone trying to
contact an aircraft, he said.
"A lot of aircraft don't have telephones," Captain Black said.
"We're given the call sign the aircrew uses and (we) broadcast it over the
high-frequency global communications system."
People call in seeking assistance for various reasons, such as engine trouble
or an onboard emergency, said Staff Sgt. Latoya Edwards, 789th CS radio
operator.
The 789th CS operations flight has 89 radio operators, who are all enlisted
Airmen, said Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Haynes, 789th CS operations flight chief.
Airmen manned the 14 high-frequency stations until six years ago, when the Air
Force upgraded its equipment and had the transmitter and receiver for each
station remotely controlled from the CNCS here.
Computer software is being upgraded in the CNCS, which will allow operators to
sit at a console, log in and monitor any of the other consoles, Captain Black
said.
The software upgrade will also enable the Air Force to have another CNCS at
Offutt Air Force Base,
Captain Black said the radio operators at Andrews provide a valuable service to
servicemembers, national leaders and the Department
of Defense.
"They maintain a listening watch to ensure global mission success," he
said.
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