MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Often referred to as the "nerd circle,” the Ground Electronics Maintenance Division supports air traffic controllers by keeping their equipment up and running to make sure aircraft can land safely.
With only a handful of Marines, GEMD is responsible for all facets of maintenance, repair and control of airfield navigational aids, communications, Land Mobile Radio and other ancillary electronic equipment.
Navigational aid technicians, air traffic control radar technicians and air traffic control communications technicians maintain the two air traffic control radars, one supplemental weather radar, a tactical air navigation system and all of the communication equipment aboard the station.
With only three radar technicians in all of GEMD and three shifts per day, the Marines work a demanding, continuous schedule to ensure radar and communication support.
During the day, radar technicians are on stand-by in case any equipment goes down.
At night, the Marines take care of all of the preventative maintenance to keep the gear up and running.
"There has to be a Marine here at all times," said Cpl. Travis Hildebrandt, an air traffic control radar technician. "If any of the gear has an issue, someone has to take care of it immediately. If the radars aren't working, planes aren't flying and that's a problem."
Without the maintenance GEMD performs, air traffic controllers wouldn't be able to do their job.
"They use our radar to see air space and land air craft," said Staff Sgt. Corey J. Cooper, GEMD maintenance chief. "There's the GPN30, which is the airport surveillance radar; the PFN63, a precision approach radar that is used for (interment flight rules) conditions; and the FPS131, which is just a supplemental weather radar just like you see on TV that sees clouds and precipitation."
The radar equipment is only one side of GEMD though.
"Our radar could be 100 percent, but if the radios don't work the air traffic controller can't speak to the pilots," said Cooper.
With such a small shop and such an active air field, Marines at GEMD agree that their job can be very demanding.
"There's a little more pressure here because we're always operating like on a deployment," said Cooper. "So if something goes down, we have to go all out to get the problem fixed fast."
"If we get a problem with the radar it is usually pretty complicated," added Hildebrandt. "Nothing about figuring out the problem is usually easy. It always ends up being hard. Just our job in general is pretty difficult."
Their job may be stressful and complicated, but the Marines at GEMD perform to the best of their abilities at all times.
"The proof is in the pudding," said Cooper. "Aircraft are still flying. The Marines work very hard to make sure everything is running."
Cooper also added that their sole purpose is to support air traffic controllers and by doing so they are helping them complete their mission, which more importantly keeps aircraft in the air.