Range Commanders Council meets at Edwards

  • Published
  • By Rebecca Amber
  • Staff writer
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 85th Executive Committee of the Range Commanders Council gathered at Edwards Feb. 10 for a two-day conference. The conference allows members of the RCC to discuss current issues like cyber security and compatible growth.

"We all have common problems and so it makes sense that all the ranges would get together and discuss those common problems," said David Wheaton, 412th Range Squadron director. "The advantage, of course, is gleaning from the others."

According to the official RCC website, the council is dedicated to serving the technical and operational needs of U.S. test, training, and operational ranges. 

Halfway through the second day of the conference, the group split up; some went on a ground tour and the others got a chance to fly in a C-12 Huron. The ground tour gave RCC members the chance to see some of their customers with planeside briefings at the F-22 Combined Test Force, F-35 CTF and Global Hawk CTF.

Those who flew got a chance to see the range first hand and some of its assets, such as the Precision Impact Range Area. They also saw the need for compatible growth in community development.

"We flew out to the west and flew right over the wind turbines to show them up close just how many of them there were," said Wheaton. "We discussed the fact that literally just a few years ago, there weren't any of those wind turbines down the front side of those mountains. That's just been a recent development."

The wind turbines can act as an obstacle for flight test because the movement can be detected by the radars on airplanes.

Another big issue for the ranges is resourcing. By collaborating, the council can address some of those needs and save money. For example, if a range is in need of a specific piece of equipment, they may be able to borrow it from another range. Or if a piece of equipment becomes obsolete at one base, they can transfer it to another.

One of the missions of the RCC is to develop common standards for each range. The standards are developed by subgroups made up of experts in various fields that belong to the RCC. Some of those subgroups include data sciences, electronic trajectory measurements, frequency management and meteorology.

According to Wheaton, one that is particularly important to the 412th Test Wing is the telemetry group. In order to conduct effective flight test, the range must have instrumentation that allows the control center to collect the telemetry data when a test vehicle flies within the range. The telemetry group develops instrumentation standards for recording data.

"We all buy into those standards for instrumentation," said Wheaton. "Companies who want to perform tests on our ranges use those standards to develop their instrumentation standards so they're compatible with our range and with everybody else's range."

In addition to developing standards, they also offer best practices. When one range has discovered a good process for completing a specific task, it will be turned into a best practice and shared on the RCC website for other ranges to download.

The RCC has member ranges from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA. Edwards is unique because there are two members in the same location, the 412th Test Wing and NASA.

Their meetings are hosted "round robin style" to give members a chance to tour each location.

"You can see what they do at some of the other ranges and begin to appreciate some of the other issues that were brought up during the meetings."

During the conference, there are a number of formal presentations, but during the breaks and dinner, the members have an opportunity to engage in informal conversation. According to Wheaton, those side discussions were "probably one of the most important parts of the meeting."

"One of the great benefits of the RCC whether it's at the Executive Committee level or the tech. rep. level, or even the group level, when these teams get together - we talk," said Wheaton. "That synergy - you can't get that on the telephone or in an email."

To learn more about the Range Commanders Council visit http://www.wsmr.army.mil/RCCsite/Pages/default.aspx.