AEDC's Charlie Smith helps with disaster in the Gulf

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Charlie Smith, an Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) project engineer for aircraft systems in AEDC's Propulsion Wind Tunnel and retired 19-year command pilot with Nashville's 118th Airlift Wing, recently donned his flight gear to help assess the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Smith, who has supported world-wide tactical airlift missions in the C-130 aircraft, is currently an active pilot in the Civil Air Patrol and has recently been the squadron commander of the local Tullahoma Composite Squadron.

The Monteagle, Tenn., resident deployed last week on a nine-day mission with members of the Tennessee Wing Civil Air Patrol to Mobile Alabama in support of the Deep Water Horizon Unified Command that links the organizations responding to the gulf oil spill disaster. The command also provides a forum for those organizations to make consensus decisions.

"I have been in the Civil Air Patrol for about five years and this was the first deployment in support of a national disaster that I was a part of," he said. "You have to get something out of the Civil Air Patrol that money cannot buy, because they don't pay you, and this was definitely one of those things.

"It reminded me of the Tennessee Air National Guard days when we flew off to the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Bosnia in support of military operations. I remember those days well and never thought I'd do something like that again, but the gulf oil disaster will certainly rank as one of the all time greatest threats to the United States."
Smith said his recent experience was rewarding, especially as he fully realized the scope of the disaster.

"I was proud to have an opportunity to use my flying skills one more time to serve our country," he said. "The mission certainly reminded me of combat, but this time it was combat with difficult camera equipment and numerous air traffic controllers trying to figure out what we were doing."

Smith commented on the duration of the mission, saying, "Our missions were four and a half hours long and we worked 14 hours each of the nine days we were there. I was glad to get back to work where I could get some rest!"
The purpose of the flights was primarily to conduct surveillance of booms strategically placed to protect the sensitive shoreline.

"The Web site [maintained by the Deep Water Horizon Unified Command] says that more than 2.7 million feet of boom have been deployed and I flew over a bunch of it," he recalled. "We were also tasked to spot oil in the water that was threatening to come ashore and alert the command post to deploy clean-up crews.

"There were many boats in the water supporting the clean up. It looked like the entire gulf-coast fishing fleet had converted to oil clean-up."

He acknowledged there were challenges with the mission, including using equipment in less-than-ideal conditions that were physically unpleasant.

"I took the pictures myself on a couple of missions and had to overcome a few problems associated with the wind blast from our open cockpit windows," he explained. "Since the heat index was 105 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface, our 1,000-foot cruising altitude was pretty hot and the wind blast was the only way to stay reasonably comfortable."

Smith wryly described what it was like after a mission.

"It was easy to dehydrate and very difficult to get my turn at the clothes washer at the hotel and get the salty sweat out of my tee-shirts!" he said. "It was 'fun' to fly near the Pensacola Naval Air Station where they train Naval Aviators and the Air Force's Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base.

"I saw a big C-130 drift by just a few hundred feet above us - a beautiful site," he continued. "We flew by several banner-tow flights still trying to advertise to the shrinking tourist population gradually being replaced with clean-up crews."
Smith said coordinating photo surveillance during a flight was another challenge to overcome.

"It was always difficult explaining to the radar controllers what direction we were flying while we maneuvered for the necessary camera angles," he said. "We were able to improve the flying missions by bringing along representatives from other agencies including our customer to show them first-hand what we were up against."

He said it helped to get the big picture from his perspective, both in the air and as he worked closely with all of the organizations brought together to support the mission.

"I was very impressed by the large Incident Command Post with all of its agencies in the giant rooms," he said. "I was told that over 800 people staffed the converted convention center and represented interests from many participating agencies, including the Coast Guard, Air Force, National Guard, Minerals Management Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and our customer, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) just to name a few; and of course BP who was funding most of the operation.

Smith mentioned reading about all of the parts of a Unified Command Post during FEMA courses he took as requirements for his Civil Air Patrol qualifications.

"It was amazing to see and be a small part of the real thing," he said. "There were a lot of people doing everything they could to save our precious gulf coast. I spoke to a native resident and explained that everyone in the Eastern United States had an interest in helping the gulf survive this disaster.

"Almost everyone looks forward to seeing those beautiful beaches from time to time. The damage had just begun and got worse each day. It's going to be a long haul. Ultimately, it will take the Hand of God to restore this situation. We need to be patient, willing to contribute what we can, and wait for His Blessing."

Smith, who has worked at AEDC for 35 years and originally came to this area from San Antonio, Texas, lives in Monteagle with his wife Gale.