Betz works on the AN/TSW-7A

TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT  - Tobyhanna personnel are providing a wide range of support to the international relief effort in earthquake-devastated Haiti.

Depot engineering personnel traveled to a South Carolina installation in late January to modify a communications system for an Air Force AN/MPN-14K air traffic control system that will be deployed to Haiti.  The radar system is used by air traffic controllers to identify and sequence aircraft and provide final approach guidance as they prepare to land at airfields, says [Madison Township resident] Chris Flint, chief of the Air Traffic Control Division.

At Tobyhanna, technicians are expediting the overhaul of an Army AN/TSW-7A air traffic control tower to meet a deployment date to Haiti later this month.  The system performs the same functions at forward airfields as a permanent air traffic control tower at a commercial airport. 

“These systems are important wherever they go, but there is an immediate need for this system in Haiti,” said Electronics Mechanic Joe Betz, GCA/Sensors Branch, as he worked on the system.  Betz is a resident of Bear Creek Township.

Communications Systems Directorate personnel also have responded to requests by select United States agencies to supply mission–specific secure equipment for use by U.S. forces in Haiti.

Tobyhanna’s role may soon include direct support in the Caribbean nation.

A Tobyhanna employee is enroute to Fort Bragg, N.C., for Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) before reporting to Pope Air Force Base, N.C., for transportation to deploy to Haiti. He will provide on-site technical support on Command Post Systems and Integration (CPSI) equipment that is headed for the Caribbean nation. The equipment belongs to the 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), which is coordinating logistical efforts in Haiti. 

The employee is assigned to Tobyhanna’s Forward Repair Activity (FRA) at Fort Drum, N.Y.  Tobyhanna operates a worldwide network of FRAs providing direct support to military units.