KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- The air traffic control tower oversees the base's entire flight line and its height allows air traffic controllers to see aircraft flying within the base's immediate air space.

The Air Force entrusts these 19 Airmen with the responsibility of ensuring that aircraft are safe while taking off, landing and flying at Kunsan around the clock, 365 days of the year.

Air traffic controllers are the individuals who can see where all the aircraft are, how fast they're going, how high they are and where they're trying to go. They then coordinate everything and relay it back to the aircraft; making sure the aircraft are safe by providing eyes on the outside to tell pilots where to go and what to do to prevent accidents.

“We provide direction for safe and efficient handling of aircraft in our airspace,” said Tech. Sgt. Alan Douglas, 8th Operations Support Squadron air traffic control watch supervisor. “Our procedures are dictated by specific situations. We have a checklist for almost any scenario and if anything out of the ordinary happens we rely on our experience and training.”

The air traffic control team is always training to remain up to date and efficient in their job.

“We have our mandatory monthly proficiency training that is sent from headquarters and major command,” states Douglas. “Basic air traffic is the same everywhere, but every base has different airspace and different local regulations, we have to not only know but understand so every time we go to a new base we reenter into that base specific training.”

Air traffic control operations can be a difficult job; the training alone has its own set of challenges. Keeping lives and millions of dollars of equipment safe can put a lot of stress on someone.

“Things can get pretty intense during a recovery,” adds Douglas. “However, we have one of the most experienced groups of controllers I’ve ever seen in one facility.”

While working together as a unit is critical, they also realize that cooperation with other units make for a stronger force.

“We have controllers from multiple backgrounds that have experience with almost every airframe that the Air Force or sister services have,” said Tech. Sgt. Wesley Corbin, 8th OSS air traffic control watch supervisor. “With this prior knowledge we can tailor our response and sequence all aircraft safely.”

Controllers train to handle the high operations tempo on a daily basis.

“Being able to meet the demands of the mission is key to the success of the tower,” stated Tech. Sgt. Marcus Levias, 8th OSS air traffic control watch supervisor. “We hold the controllers to a very high standard during non-exercise times to ensure that when the exercises come, we can handle the job flawlessly. We train how we fight.”