AETC Air Traffic Controller of the Year

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rachelle Elsea
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Staff Sgt. Jamerson Watts, 325th Operation Support Squadron air traffic controller, was recently recognized the 2011 Air Education and Training Command Air Traffic Controller of the Year.

These annual awards are given to individuals who show that they can not only be proficient at their jobs, but also go above and beyond what is asked of them.

Sergeant Watts, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Haleyville, Ala., on his family's cattle farm. Other than an uncle who served in the Army, he was the only family member to join the military.

"I joined the Air Force in June of 2005," said Sergeant Watts. "I wanted to learn a skill and air traffic control was the only job I wanted."

Sergeant Watts admits his job can be very stressful, by nature, but he thoroughly enjoys it.

"We help pilots and keep aircraft separated by expediting the flow of traffic," said Sergeant Watts. "Our goal is to make flying as safe as possible."

Air Traffic Controllers work eight-hour shifts, and unlike most career fields, those shifts are performed with little to no breaks.

"On average we work around six to eight hours of our shifts continuously, with almost the whole time controlling," said Sergeant Watts. "There are usually ten people per crew, which includes 2 trainees. There are five active controller positions that have to be filled at all times."

In addition to doing his job, Sergeant Watts is also responsible for training Airmen. He is known to be an exceptional trainer.

"He is very easy to learn from and has a better approach than most to teaching air traffic," said Senior Airman Jeremy Boston, 325th OSS air traffic controller, who was trained by Sergeant Watts for nearly a year. "He is watch supervisor and has now earned an AETC-level award, which I hope to achieve in the future."

Air Traffic Controllers are constantly training throughout their careers and at any time can be "washed-out" or let go from the job.

They are required to complete monthly proficiencies test, in which a passing score is an 80 percent or above.

"The hardest part is keeping up with the changes," said Sergeant Watts. "There are so many rules with Air Traffic Control and they are constantly shifting. Our regulations are basically like a living, breathing thing and that can sometimes be a struggle to keep pace with."

But, it is the struggles and the Airmen working alongside him that Sergeant Watts finds most gratifying.

"I love the competitive nature of the job and the personalities of the individuals that I work with," said Sergeant Watts. "We are constantly challenging one another, a factor that can't help but keep you motivated."

Sergeant Watts recently returned from his first deployment where he was able to take his skills learned at Tyndall and make great things happen. He spent several months in Iraq and forward deployed to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

"I wrote the first Letter of Agreement between Balad tower and the Iraqi Baghdad tower, which is the first one that has ever been written," said Sergeant Watts. "When I forward deployed, I was able to work with local controllers. We re-established a base that had been abandoned for nearly a decade and starting running combat operations."

While at the undisclosed location, he helped write new procedures to make air traffic controllers safer in that area. He also directly contributed to the recent drawdown of Iraq.

Sergeant Watts has put in a lot of hard work over the past twelve months and yet, was still surprised at his win.

"I am excited," said Watts. "The win was something I didn't expect. I am really lucky to have good management. We are all competing against each other so much that I owe the award to everyone I work with, especially Sergeant McCann, my chief controller."

He doesn't overload me with tasks but he is constantly giving me new challenges, he added.

"It has been a pleasure watching Sergeant Watts develop from an inexperienced Apprentice air traffic controller to the seasoned Watch Supervisor that he is today," Senior Master Sgt. Mark McCann, 325th Operations Support Squadron chief controller of the control tower. "Sergeant Watts is the kind of Airmen that always brings his "A" game to Control Tower cab through his professional application of air traffic control principles and his hands-on approach towards developing the next generation controller force. He never fails to positively represent the 325th Fighter Wing, the Tyndall Airfield Operations Flight, and himself. We are fortunate to serve alongside him as part of our team, and we are all very proud of his recognition."

Sergeant Watts will go on to compete at the Air Force level.