European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday november 1, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 9 stall of t. Turner Ewing at left in left photo and a i a Paul Portillo coir it a fuel Hose to an aircraft. During us refuelling right photo port Flo Ehatt Wilb in  Pilot Aviano Force remains Alert for transients by Charlie Bowden Munich Bureau Aviano a Italy All is quiet in the transient hut. The status Board shows no in Bounds Tor at least an hour when an italian fighter is scheduled to set Down at Aviano As part of an exercise to test the ground Crew s ability to urn the Jet in Annoura or less. For now however Coffee and conversation Rule. The direct line from base operations rings shrilly rudely interrupting the relaxed atmosphere. Master sgt. James Adams answers listens nods toward the Crew and Points at the door. As he hangs up he says he s Early five minutes  even As he Speaks a. I a. Paul Portillo is dashing Oul the door toward his Fol Low me truck. A Tjhin seconds he is headed for the end of the flight Fine to Greet the incoming fighter. Al most air bases such action is pot unusual. The ran Sint Alert operation generally runs about the same they Greet visiting aircraft guide hem to a parking spol Gas them up and get them Back on to Cir Way. But at most bases transient Alert is just another part of a larger night sup port Mission. Al Aviano which has no permanently assigned aircraft transient Alert is the Mission we re the first person som Sody sees when they get off the Airway Saiid then so one before icy leave Adams said. Anything that lands Here we  during an average month Aviano s transient Alert Crew responds to about 220 visiting planes ranging from huge cargo planes to Small tactical fighters. While that statistic May not stack up against other bases with an assigned fighter or Airlift Wing it s sufficient to keep Aviano s 11-Man transient Alert Force Busy and constantly tests the Force s knowledge of military aircraft Adams said. We handle about 75 different Lypps of Fairir nines he said. That alone keeps the Crew in an Al most constant stale of training. The main aircraft for Aviano is the f-16, which frequently appears at the base Frorup Torrejon Al Spain for training deployments. Because of that Mission All of Aviano s Alert Crew Al lands specialized f-16 training in Spain. The Crew also trains at italian schools on certain nato aircraft because of the base s wartime Mission. Everything else is Jusi a Case of Day to Day training on turning aircraft thai pass through he said. Aviano s flight line is open for Busi Ness 16 hours a Day from 6 . Until so p.m., and transient Alert s Job is to keep the runway open. Portillo brings visiting c-130 to t bait Savuno when the Inu ukat Olert Force will Guil up and get it Turk unit Tuy. Trying to run two shifts on dial basis is Tough said Adams who has spent More than half his 21 years in the air Force at Aviano. It Means a lot of 18 hour  running a flying support operation with no airplane1 also creates a training problem for i tit younger airmen he said who often joke about being glorified Gas nation attendants. That s what a lol of the younger air men think because they Don l get the Chance to actually work on the aircraft he said. They pet to turn aircraft and we do a Little bit of training and i can explain How things Are supposed to be done but they miss thai hands on experience while thai can be a detriment in some respects it also has a positive Side according to master sgt. Billy Clark super Niilend Cal of the base s aircraft Genera Tion division. They gain Overall experience on the multiple weapon systems we get in Here and that s an advantage because they learn about a lot of other air planes hat they normally would never Illch he said. The Range of duties at Aviano goes beyond pumping Gas. The Crew also is responsible for Clearing the runway if an aircraft should Lake the Barrier or blow a tire Adams said. We re responsible for Clearing that runway asap and getting in Back open he said. That Mission requires learning to operate 3 i5-Lon Crane and practising using air bags Hal can be in haled to raise a disabled aircraft. There is a More mundane and tedious Side to their Mission. The base has 54 hardened shelters for visiting or deployed fighters and Adams Crew is responsible for their Upkeep ranging from changing Light bulbs to sweeping floors to cutting the grass 20 feet out ram each shelter. It lakes a lot of extra time and Man Power just to keep them up and use them he said. That he said culminate sometimes in what he described As a manpower crunch you never know what to expect he said. You might Call up base Ops and they la say they have no in Bounds and 30 minutes later you May have 15 Cam ing  the result however is Hal younger mechanics get More responsibility than they might at another base. It s Good experience Adams said it matures them real