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Wasp, Marines Conduct Deck Landing Qualifications

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100628-11
6/28/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Rebekah Adler, USS Wasp (LHD 1) Public Affairs

USS WASP, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Wasp (LHD 1) air traffic controlmen (ACs) had the opportunity to work with pilots from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing June 16-19 as the Marines earned deck-landing qualifications (DLQ).

Wasp ACs manned the Air Amphibious Control Center (AATCC) this week to help approximately 75 pilots receive their qualifications.

"The amphibious fleet has been so over tasked; these guys haven't had a big deck to work with in almost two years," said Air Traffic Controlman 1st Class (AW) Morgan Foister, AATCC chief. "Some of them are going on six to eight years in the service and have never gotten the chance to conduct DLQs partly because of their operational commitments. They are required to get a certain number of deck landings for both day and night in order to qualify to operationally land on a LHD class ship at sea when they go on a mission."

According to Marine Maj. Andrew Smith, Wasp's air operations officer, DLQs are critical for Marine pilots because many of them have been taken out of the amphibious environment, mainly due to war fighting commitments. The landings conducted aboard Wasp are essential for the Marines to hone their amphibious skill sets.

"The operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in many pilots and squadrons shifting from sea-based to land-based operations," said Smith. "We're filling a requirement and a necessity for the pilots to be prepared for upcoming marine expeditionary unit and amphibious ready group deployments."

Smith also noted that the DLQs have an added significance because landing on a ship presents a unique situation for the pilots.

"Whether you're the new lieutenant or the salty major, flying around a shipboard environment presents different challenges than a desert environment. Given the requirements of Iraq and Afghanistan, these skills have atrophied. The DLQ evolution is crucial to regaining those skills and helps build confidence in our pilots for future amphibious operations," said Smith.

On average, it takes a total of 15 minutes for each pilot to complete their DLQ. The ACs guide the pilots through a variety of approaches to meet all of the criteria.

Not only does this variety and intensity of operations sharpen the skills of pilots, it also gives the ACs an opportunity to complete some of their own in-rate qualifications. Prior to the event, the ACs invested many hours in preparation and the revisiting of all operational procedures to ensure they were ready to provide the best training possible to the Marines.

"It's a win-win situation for us because we don't do a lot of flying here. We are trying to get the most out of it and earn as many qualifications as we can. Because we do a lot of training and stay in the books, I'm very confident of my Sailors' many capabilities," said Air Traffic Controller 1st Class (AW/SW) Rafael Cabrera, division work center supervisor.