Offutt Gets $7M Control Tower

Robert Turner stared across Offutt Air Force Base's runways at the first air traffic control tower he staffed -- a squat, tan-colored room that barely rises above a building near the landing strip.

He glanced at a muddy area across the runway where workers last month finished dismantling Offutt's second tower, which Turner helped open in 1974.

Then, from more than nine stories above the base, he looked around at the flat computer screens and uncluttered floor space and tried to find a word to describe Offutt's previous aircraft control centers in light of the new $7 million tower.

"Antiquated," said the Bellevue resident who retired after 35 years as an air-traffic controller. "This all makes me realize how antiquated our (old) towers are now. This place is unbelievable."

Air Force officials and community leaders gathered outside the new tower Wednesday to mark its official opening.

Upgraded equipment and more room for training simulators in the new facility will keep Offutt's runways safe for the 45 or so flights taking off and landing every week, officials said.

"We have people leave this facility every day to go do great things for our country, and they're guided there by our air-traffic controllers," said Col. James Jones, commander of Offutt's 55th Wing. "We need to give them the resources they need to do that job right."

The new tower is roughly five times larger than the last building. That extra space in the classroom-size control room on top of the tower can make a big difference in a hectic workplace, controllers said.

"Before, we were in each other's way, literally all the time," said Master Sgt. Bill Welsh, the base's chief controller. "We can't make the right decisions just 90 percent of the time. It has to be 100 percent of the time, and this tower gives us another advantage."

The tower includes space for computer training simulators. The old tower was too small for the simulators, so controllers had to travel to several other facilities on base to meet training requirements.

The base's traffic control equipment also has been upgraded to modern digital systems.

"On our old radar system, you could lose sight of aircraft during bad weather," said Staff Sgt. Elliott Benton, an air-traffic controller. "This system is powerful enough to see right through it."

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