US Pacific Fleet Master Chief visits TACAMO Sailors

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chris Delano

TINKER AFB, Okla. (NNS) -- U.S. Pacific Fleet Master Chief (AW/SW) Marco Ramirez, visited Tinker Base, July 12, to talk with TACAMO (Take Charge And Move Out) Sailors stationed with Strategic Communications Wing 1.

During his visit, Ramirez toured workspaces and met with Sailors from several commands, including Strategic Communications Wing 1 and Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadrons (VQ) 3, 4 and 7.

"I need Sailors that lead people, priority one is warfighter readiness, which to me, means being ready and able to execute," said Ramirez during a meeting with the First Class Petty Officers. "This means that everyone in your work center is current on their required qualifications and actively pursuing other qualifications such as their warfare qualification, rating requirements and personal development."

Other topics discussed included the future of manning requirements, upcoming changes to CMS, and the effects of sequestration and concluded with a brief question-and-answer session on the newly revised Career Waypoint Program.

"I appreciated having a subject matter expert take the time to clarify the future program processes that impact my Sailors," said Master-at-Arms 1st Class (AW) Michael Hance. "This information allows me, as a leader, to help my Sailors make informed decisions about the opportunities available specifically to them and their career goals."
"You're an awesome team," said Ramirez. "I'm so proud of each and every one of you, and I hope that each of you make chief."

Ramirez's visit ended with a tour of Moore, Okla., which took a devastating hit from a tornado during two weeks of severe weather that began May 20.

"I think the Sailors here are doing a tremendous job," said Ramirez. "Their tremendous focus and resilience in face of the recent challenges is inspiring. I think they're carrying out the mission and have proven that they're ready to do whatever the nation calls upon them to do."

Task Force 124 also known as TACAMO is located in the heartland of America at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and is responsible to Commander Naval Air Forces for manning, training and equipping the Navy squadrons responsible for Nuclear Command and Control Communications to the nation's nuclear triad mission.

Navy at Travis quietly keeps communications open with subs

Lt. Cmdr. Jason Anstead gestures toward a E-6 Mercury communications plane used by the Navy VQ-3 detachment unit based at Travis Air Force Base. The plane trails a five-mile-long antenna out of its rear, in order to communicate with submarines on missions in the Pacific. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)

Editor Note: For my west coast friends keep a watch on 279.800 MHz.


Article by Ian Thompson/Daily Republic

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE — Whenever the Pentagon wants to call one of its nuclear subs in the Pacific, the call goes through the quiet Navy professionals whose E-6B Mercury communication aircraft fly out of their unobtrusive alert facility on Travis’ south side.

Like fishermen, the aircrew of Travis’ VQ-3 detachment spends long hours out over the Pacific, catching messages with a five-mile trailing antenna that will then be sent to the subs cruising safely and silently under water within 1,000 miles of the aircraft.

“We are one big relay platform,” said VQ-3 Detachment Officer in Charge Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Anstead.

The unit’s unofficial name, TACAMO, stands for Take Charge and Move Out. It was born in July 1963 when the director of naval communications for the chief of naval operations used those words to start work on coming up with a better way to communicate with the Navy’s nuclear submarines.
This system had to be capable of surviving any hostile military action, something ground-based communications sites were incapable of doing, according to Anstead.

The result was the creation of Strategic Communications Wing 1, which is headquartered at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and oversees three fleet air reconnaissance squadrons. One of those, VQ-3, has the detachment, which is stationed on the south side of Travis Air Force Base’s runway. It’s sister unit, VQ-4, has a detachment that is stationed on the East Coast at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

You can read the entire article online on the Daily Republic website at
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/military/navy-at-travis-quietly-keeps-communications-open-with-nations-submarines/

OC-ALC to refurbish Navy E-6 aircraft

by Howdy Stout, 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) -- Workers from the 566th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here will begin work next month on the first of the Navy's E-6B Mercury aircraft scheduled for a service life extension program refit.

The refit will involve inspecting and replacing up to 15,000 fasteners on the aircraft's wings. Fastener holes will also be widened and strengthened, extending the lifespan of the aircraft for another 20 years.

"That's the extent of the program, but it's very labor intensive," said Bill Cain, the deputy director of the 566th AMXS. "It will require an incredible amount of hand work to replace virtually all the wing skin fasteners."

The E-6B aircraft is operated by Strategic Communications Wing One at Tinker AFB and used for strategic communications with the nation's nuclear assets. The aircraft are based on the Boeing 707 airframe that also serves as the basis for the KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry, an airborne warning and control system aircraft. The 566th AMXS performs enhanced phase maintenance on the E-6 in addition to its main duties in refurbishing the E-3. The unit is highly experienced in maintaining the 707-type airframe.

"They're taking advantage of that vast 707 experience we have from the E-3," said Bill Baumann, the squadron director of the 566th AMXS.

The work will be similar to work done on Air Force aircraft, although the Navy prefers a cold-working process to strengthen the fastening holes. The process is effective, but time consuming as it involves the physical removal and inspection of each fastener as well as rework of the holes. Work on the first E-6 will begin near the end of September with the 16th and final aircraft rolling out of the hangar in the spring of 2013. The first aircraft to undergo the SLEP refit will also have the wing terminal pins replaced. The first aircraft will be finished by February.

Once the wing pin work is completed, crews will simply carry on with the SLEP-specific work, Mr. Baumann said.

Mr. Cain said an estimated 28,000 man hours of work will be required for each aircraft, which is slightly less than the 35,000 hours required to refurbish an E-3 during depot maintenance. The SLEP is estimated to cost just more than $3 million per aircraft. But, he added, the cost and amount of work may change once the first aircraft is completed and they have a better idea of the actual amount of work involved.

The additional workload, however, will require the hiring of additional workers, Mr. Baumann said. Approximately 70 workers will be assigned to the E-6 work; roughly half of those will come from additional hiring. The workers assigned to the SLEP project will also undergo considerable additional training in the cold-working process.

"There will be a combination of classroom training and a significant amount of on-the-job training," Mr. Baumann said.

Although the Navy and the ALC already have a close-working relationship, sharing parts and expertise as necessary, Mr. Cain hopes the SLEP contract will prompt the Navy to award the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center additional work.

"Over the last several years we've been doing work for the Navy," Mr. Cain said. "There could be additional Navy work in the future based on the success of this effort."