JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — At any given time, there are dozens of aircraft in the airspace of Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, and in a day, the Navy base's runway can see hundreds of aircraft.
So, how does everyone fly safely?
In this week's Stories of Service, First Coast News meets the sailor who coordinates everything in the sky above the base.
"It all comes down to training, we train a lot," said Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Moises Arreola, who adds that practice makes perfect for him and his team in the radar room. "We use our spare scopes for simulations and we practice on every possible scenario whether it's going to happen or not."
Arreola has seen a lot in his eight years in the Navy. He knows keeping the 'Precision Approach Radar' operational does more than guarantee a safe flight, it saves lives.
"The equipment is a big factor for us," said Arreola. "We have to maintain all of our equipment, so if our equipment goes down, there's certain things we can't do. And down here in radar, if we lose our equipment, we can't do anything."
From monitors in a room away from the runway, Arreola and his team track up to 300 approaches per day.
"We track speeds to maintain separation, our vectoring, where we're pointing the aircraft," said Arreola. "We also have vertical separation minimum we have for I-4 aircraft, which is 1,000 feet and a horizontal which is three miles."
Arreola said he recently re-enlisted in the Navy for another six years and hopes to make serving in the Navy his career.
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