RAF Mildenhall’s ‘map-makers’ provide infrastructure information for command, control, base

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  For many, maps are a thing of the past, due to global positioning systems.

However, as far as RAF Mildenhall and the U.S. Air Force go, base maps are a vital asset, aiding commanders and others by providing necessary information for many different reasons.

The 100th Civil Engineer Squadron Geobase's six-person flight is RAF Mildenhall's "map-maker," and gather geospatial information (such as location of street lights, buildings and road areas) using GPS equipment, ensuring the most up-to-date information is available.

The concept behind geobase is "one base, one map," and the goal is to have one base map that serves every need, said Staff Sgt. Larry Mackey, 100th CES Geobase flight.

In turn, this provides organizations customized base maps that can show marked-off zones for security forces; grass-cutting areas and service contracts, Mackey said.

"(The information) is kept on separate layers in our database, and when customers call us, they can put in a request and we can produce any type of map they want," he said. "(The map) can help for planning purposes, and we can also provide visitors' maps, so newcomers can find (the billeting office) and anywhere else people need."

It's critical for RAF MIldenhall to have up-to-date information on its maps, because of the different missions here.

"(Maps can) help with command and control. If we have a suspicious package or other exercise or real world incident, we can mark the cordoned-off areas with just the push of a button," said Mackey.

He explained they also take readings for, and design, topographic maps.

"If one of our engineers is designing (a building or facility) and needs to know what the drainage is in a particular area, because they want to put a parking lot nearby, we'll take topographic shots with our GPS equipment. It takes measurements - including latitude and longitude and elevation above sea level - and we work out the information from that, then input it into the system," Mackey said.

The geobase flight also takes crash surveys. They go out to the site of an aircraft crash and take GPS readings of various debris, which may have been scattered, and provide the information in a report, to commanders and the crash team.

They also work with rapid runway repair.

If 100th CES needs to repair the runway, so aircraft can take off and land, the map-makers go out there and lay out the center line and taxiway, Mackey said.

Another geobase team member, Airman 1st Class Hilary Perkins, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., has been in the Air Force for 18 months and said she really enjoys her job.

Until recently, she had been working on the floor plan for the RAF Mildenhall Mayfair Bazaar.

"I made the floor plans for fire safety as well as (the layout for the vendors set-up in the hangar,)" she said.

All of the information gathered in the database is sent to U.S. Air Forces in Europe, then, in turn, it is sent to the Pentagon. The information for every base is available at their fingertips. They rely on this capability and the accurate data for planning purposes. In the event that they ever need information on available land and hardstand areas, higher headquarters will know exactly what space is available, Mackey explained.

"I like being able to work with the maps, figuring things out, querying information about the base and doing (computer-aided drafting)," Perkins said.

A lot of their tasks are making plans, and when you do get to see the end product, it's very exciting, she added.

"It feels like we're actually making a difference, rather than just making plans," Perkins said, adding that the projects she and her coworkers deal with on a day-to-day basis are all different, and they face new challenges with each one.

"It helps us learn to communicate with people, to make everyone happy but still get the job done," she said.