By LACW Simone Liebelt
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Flight
Lieutenants Charles Robinson and Chelsea Dunn back at work
in Australia after their time in Baghdad.
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Photos
by CPL Katrina Johnson and LAC Steve Duncan
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SET
the challenge of taking over full Air Traffic Control (ATC) operations
at Baghdad International Airport within days of arrival, the team
of Air Force members deployed as part of the ATC mission were
determined to achieve their goal, regardless of the obstacles
they faced.
Flight Lieutenant Charles Robinson, of the School of Air Traffic
Control, and Flight Lieutenant Chelsea Dunn, of No. 44 Wing Williamtown,
were among the first 13 Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) to
arrive at Baghdad on April 29, accompanied by 45 support personnel
from No. 395 Expeditionary Combat Support Wing.
“We arrived in the middle of the night, flying into the unknown
with a personal sense of both apprehension and excitement,”
FLTLT Robinson recalled. “It is something ... that will stick
in our minds.”
FLTLT Dunn said the first challenge was finding somewhere to sleep.
More than 400 Americans occupied the adjoining building, so the
58 Australians had to sleep in the building’s foyer with
no running water, sewage or electricity.
Despite the hot and cramped conditions and lack of privacy, the
ATC team – which included medical, communications, intelligence
and airfield engineering specialists – worked tirelessly
and without complaint over the first two weeks to help begin ATC
duties, establish communications and perimeter defences, and provide
hygienic living and working conditions in the deserted control
tower.
Digging outside latrines and showers, building fences and manning
vehicle check points and pickets were all part of the process.
FLTLT Robinson described the American-supplied ration packs they
had to live on, called Meals Ready to Eat, as a novelty that quickly
wore off. Fresh rations were a rarity so food packages from home
containing goodies such as tuna, dried fruit and biscuits were
“heaven-sent”.
With ATC operations in full swing, the ATCOs worked on a roster
basis to control the large volume of air traffic and fulfil ground
defence duties. The average traffic was more than 400 movements
a day, coming second to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports.
“Darwin, our busiest RAAF base, averages about 250 moves
a day, so that should give you some idea of the volume of traffic,”
FLTLT Robinson said. “There was a mixture of helicopters,
civilian aircraft and large military aircraft. This variety of
traffic gave us ATCOs a real buzz.”
FLTLT Dunn said it was a very different type of controlling to
her other experiences at RAAF Bases Townsville and Williamtown.
“Initially there were no set procedures in place, so we had
to make them as we went along while complying with international
ATC standards. It was very busy and sometimes quite complex, but
very rewarding as well,” she said.
Returning home in August, both ATCOs admitted it was a challenging
but memorable experience that left them with a new appreciation
for their training, family, work colleagues and the lifestyle
they took for granted.
“I missed my husband the most but I also missed the freedom
to be able to do what I want, like walk down the street or go
to the beach,” FLTLT Dunn said.
FLTLT Robinson said: “Each day tended to be a memorable experience
in one way or another and there were so many things you missed
about home.
But the lasting experience I took away from the deployment was
seeing 58 people from different backgrounds, locations and skill
sets bond so well together to get the job done.
While I am now home, there are still 13 of my colleagues over
there. Some of them were with me on the original detachment and
will have been there for six months before they get to come home.
I think of them every day.”
Thanks to the efforts of the first ATC rotation, members deployed
in Baghdad can at least enjoy some degree of comfort with an established
social club featuring air conditioning, refrigerated soft drinks,
snacks and a DVD player and movies.
A Baghdad surf life-saving club has also been established.
