At Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, the Air Traffic Control Maintenance Division operates around the clock to ensure safety in the skies. Their unique set of responsibilities, unknown to most, plays an essential role in mission readiness, airfield operations and aviation safety.
While both the ATC Maintenance Division and air traffic controllers are important to aviation operations, their roles are different. A common misconception about ATC Maintenance Division is that they are the ones who talk to the pilots which is not the case.
The ATC Maintenance Division team is comprised of U.S. Marines and civilian personnel. Together they are responsible for ensuring all systems and equipment pertaining to ATC are maintained, fully functional and operate within aviation standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“The purpose of ATC maintenance is to maintain all of the air traffic control assets directly used to control aircraft in this airspace,” said U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Eric Peterson, the Staff noncommissioned officer in charge with the ATC Maintenance Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron. “We ensure these systems remain operational and meet safety standards.”
Their area of responsibility extends beyond Yuma, the equipment utilized by ATC to communicate to pilots and guide aircraft stretch all the way to Twentynine Palms and El Centro, California.
Air traffic controllers are responsible for controlling aircraft, communicating directly with pilots to ensure safe takeoffs, landings, and air traffic flow. The ATC Maintenance Division operates behind the scenes, ensuring that the essential communication, radar, and navigation systems used by controllers remain fully operational.
“The biggest difference is that we’ll never talk to aircraft. Our job is to work behind the scenes … One could say we’re just the shadow behind the operator of aircraft control,” said Peterson. “We make sure the systems they rely on are always functioning, so they can do their job without interruption.”
The division operates continuously through 24-hour days in order to ensure the air station is always open. An important aspect of this division is that the team is comprised of radar and communication technicians as well as navigation aid (navaids) technicians.
Radar technicians maintain radars that are used to locate where the aircraft is in order to direct and land them safely. Communication technicians maintain all radio, phone line communication, voice recordings, weather information and ATC information displays. The navaids technicians maintain the Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) beacon which tells the pilots where they are in relation to the air station. The division focuses on scheduled preventative maintenance and addresses corrective maintenance as issues arise. Technicians perform routine inspections on critical systems to ensure they are within FAA and Navy and Marine Corps standards.
The division is responsible for maintaining several critical assets, including the Digital Airport Surveillance Radar, which consists of two radars called the Primary Surveillance Radar and Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar. They also oversee the Precision Approach Radar, Standard Terminal Automated Replacement System and other communication equipment that is used by controllers in order to see and identify all aircraft in the area of responsibility.
“We conduct daily, weekly, and monthly preventative maintenance to ensure equipment functions as required,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Alex Soja, a radar technician with the ATC Maintenance Division, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron. “If a system fails, we are the first to respond to get it back up and running.”
Another crucial piece of this division is that civilian employees work alongside the Marines. The decades of experience held by the civilians gives them an opportunity to guide, lead, mentor and instruct junior Marines on equipment that is new to them.
“Having government employees and Marine Corps technicians working together is very important because our civilians are subject matter experts,” said Soja. “They trained the Marines, such as myself, to be able to perform all planned maintenance and all corrective maintenance. They let us be very hands on to make sure it gives us the experience.”
Notable to their experience is the fact that most of the civilian employees also devoted their time into the armed forces. Civilian employee Joe Kussey, deputy director of the ATC Maintenance Division, who has been in his position since 2015 and has over 40 years of experience through the Marine Corps said, “I take pride in the fact that we are able to train theses Marines based on our past experiences. They are able to develop their skills so that they can enhance and improve their career.”
He continued: “Obviously this is not the final stopping place for these Marines, whether they decide to stay in or go to the FAA or something civilian oriented, we feel proud that we are able to give them a head start and move them on.”
MCAS Yuma is one of the few Marine Corps air stations that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, supporting military training, emergency landings, commercial airlines and civilian aviation through Yuma International Airport.
In addition to routine maintenance and preventative measures, the division also supports MCAS Yuma’s notable training operations, such as the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course. WTI is a biannual training event that relies heavily on the ATC Maintenance Division and air traffic controllers to ensure a fully operational airfield capable of handling an increased volume of aircraft and airspace usage.
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Yoselyn Avilaramirez, an ATC Maintenance Division communication technician with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, recalls an event where she was called to action when one of the units’ Tactical Base Radio went defective. The unit was having trouble receiving and transmitting messages to communicate to the pilot and in order to get them to land safely the unit called upon the ATC Maintenance Division to assist in trouble shooting the situation.
“I know they had trouble transmitting and receiving over that radio. So, they called us. We tried to troubleshoot from our end because they needed it [the radio] for that pilot to land.” Avilaramirez expressed how dire the situation was by stating, “because if not, they [the pilot] were just flying in circles around the airfield. So, I went out there and I took one of our spare ones we have.” Ailaramirez continued, “while they were talking to the pilot, I had to change the radio. So, I stopped their communications and then replaced the radio and they were able to land.” She expressed with a smile, “like I was right there which I thought was kind of cool.”
MCAS Yuma stands out among Marine Corps air stations as one of the around the clock air stations. The presence of civilian subject matter experts and Marine technicians ensures that knowledge and experience is preserved and passed on. This mentorship allows new Marines to develop their technical skills while maintaining the intense operational tempo of MCAS Yuma.
The ATC Maintenance Division is a lifeline for MCAS Yuma’s aviation mission. From troubleshooting critical failures to routine maintenance, the team ensures that every piece of equipment operates at peak efficiency. Their work may be behind the scenes, but without them, the mission would not be accomplished.
For more information, visit www.mcasyuma.marines.mil.
