LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Tech. Sgt. Janine White, 47th Operations Support Squadron airfield systems NCO in charge, was chosen by wing leadership to be this week’s “XLer,” July 26.
The “XLer” award, presented by Col. Robert Pekarek, 47th Operations Group commander, and Chief Master Sgt. George Richey, 47th Flying Training Wing command chief, is presented to those who consistently make outstanding contributions to their unit, and Laughlin’s mission.
“[White] has helped us not only keep the base and everyone safe, but has also helped us continue our mission of graduating the best military pilots,” said Pekarek. “It’s hard to say how much we appreciate her work.”
White managed a major broadcast terminal outage, which would have grounded more than 200 training flights. She identified and remedied the issues in less than two hours, restoring operation of Laughlin’s Air Traffic Control and Radar Approach Control centers.
“This is the system RAPCON uses to advise aircraft in the air and communicate with outside ATC,” said White. “When it’s down – flying stops.”
She led a three-man installation team, upgrading the flightline’s advisory system. This system assures that vital airspace and runway agencies receive important alerts and information; ensuring the safety of flightline personnel and on-time graduation of Laughlin’s student pilots.
“It’s a completely new program that informs incoming aircraft on runway conditions,” said White. “For situations like Laughlin’s hail storm, it would be able to tell a pilot what’s going on before a piece of hail came crashing through their windshield, and as airfield systems, our main goal is flight safety.”
White also both diagnosed issues and improved performance of Laughlin’s base-wide broadcast system. This system, which airs both weather and emergency alerts, protects personnel and warrants both immediate and orderly flow of information during emergency situations.
Like many before White, however, she feels that no award recipients could have won alone. For her, the Airmen and mentors in her shop helped build upon the foundation of hard and innovative work, and seeing excellence as not an accomplishment but a standard.
“I work with a great group of Airmen, everyone is hard-working and hard-charging. Even the younger Airmen fresh out of [technical training],” said White. “No one can do this job by themselves. That [broadcast terminal] wouldn’t have been fixed in under two hours, the [advisory system] wouldn’t have been installed, the [emergency notification system] wouldn’t have been fixed, if it weren’t for the team.”