420th ABS houses, feeds RIAT personnel

  • Published
  • By Capt. Brian Maguire
  • 501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs
RAF FAIRFORD, United Kingdom --  Editor's Note: This article is the second part in a three-part series about the support the 420th Air Base Squadron at RAF Fairford provides to the Royal International Air Tattoo.

The 420th Air Base Squadron maintains RAF Fairford as a contingency operating location capable of receiving deploying forces within 48 hours of notification. Every year the 420th ABS hosts a different sort of deployment as they turn the airfield over to the Royal International Air Tattoo, the world's largest military airshow.

To support deploying forces, the 420th ABS has an air traffic manager and airfield manager to receive inbound aircraft and guide the crews around the airfield. The Chief of Security for the 420th ABS works closely with the Ministry of Defence Police to secure RAF Fairford during regular operations, and with security forces squadrons within the 501st Combat Support Wing to provide security for various aircraft during RIAT.

Civil Engineering

The successful bed down of forces, whether during contingency operations or RIAT, is dependent on the facilities and grounds being capable of housing the necessary personnel and equipment. The civil engineer section of the 420th ABS maintains the grounds and structures of RAF Fairford to support aviation operations in whatever form is necessary.

"I sort of like to think that the airfield, or the whole base, is like a piece of canvas, and basically the operators paint what they want on to it," said Andy Davies, 420th ABS base civil engineer. "We just need to maintain the basic level of infrastructure that you need to be able to do that."

While RAF Fairford is capable of receiving contingency forces within 48 hours of notification, planning for the next years' RIAT support begins shortly after the current show closes here. While most requirements are consistent from year-to-year, as unnecessary facilities are demolished the 420th ABS and RIAT work to determine the best use of the remaining facilities.

"The planning for all of this starts now," said Martin Thompson, 420th ABS chief of CE operations and deputy base civil engineer. "We have a very close working relationship with Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises, and it's of mutual benefit in terms of ideas and trying to make things better."

The 420th ABS CE division works with RIAT throughout the planning stages for the show, from before the initial RIAT "wish list" of support in January, through the formal Air Force/RIAT coordination leading up to the show itself.

"During the year, we provide over-the-shoulder advice to them in terms of the contingency facilities and ensuring the utilities are up and running," said Thompson. "We also provide spill response to them during the show itself, as well as emergency response to facility and utility problems during the show."

Throughout the planning stages and RIAT itself, personnel work to protect the contingency installation mission, ensure Air Force interests are looked after and the appropriate reimbursements are made.

"We represent the interests of the United States Air Force in the planning and mobilization on public days and demobilization associated with the airshow - ensuring that we protect our mission requirements during the show and they're not compromised by RIAT's activities," said Thompson.

Crews from the 420th ABS CE division work with RIAT facility personnel to locate temporary structures on the showground to avoid damage to underground utility lines. Cable clearance crews cover the showground area highlighting the various underground utility lines to prevent spiking of cables and damage to government property, said Thompson.

Support is provided through the contingency billeting and messing facilities to RIAT personnel, in addition to operations around the showground site. Preparing the contingency billeting and messing facilities is an important part of CE personnel preparation for the show as they ensure the facilities are healthy and habitable. Using the facilities here helps the 420th ABS ensure the smooth preparation and reception for deploying forces, another benefit to hosting RIAT.

"The things that we learn from RIAT have a benefit to how to build for some of our contingencies," said Davies. "It gives you a feel of what you can do with some of the facilities."

Force Support

Housing and feeding incoming personnel is a tremendous job irrespective of the numbers involved. With nearly 1,500 bed spaces and the ability to feed more than500 people an hour in the dining facility, the 420th ABS has the capacity to support deployments and RIAT.

"We actually do more for RIAT as their operation is considerably larger than our normal 400-500 person deployments - they have 2,000 volunteers," said Gary Dixon, 420th ABS services director. "When you do 5,000-6,000 meals a day, it's a major operation and the dining facility becomes a major tasking to ensure everything is continuously operational."

The preparation and planning for a contingency operation is similar to the preparation for RIAT, as the force support division works to convert services activities from cold storage into an operational status, said Feargal Glennon, 420th ABS contingency manager. Determining room assignments, numbers, arrival and departure dates, and male/female ratio's are just some of the functions the force support division performs for arriving forces.

"The support provided is very similar, though daily checks of facilities are increased due to the face that RIAT has 'down time' for personnel," said Glennon.

In addition to the housing and food operations, the force support division also manages several social areas for the volunteers, aircrew and medical personnel beginning the week leading up to the airshow, said Dixon. The RAF Fairford Bowling Center is also opened as a coffee shop and wi-fi hotspot for volunteers during their downtime.

"RIAT allows us to have one guaranteed program per year that requires usage of all the facilities we have been maintaining," said Dixon. "This ensures we can be confident that when the U.S. military need it, we are ready."