Section 1. ATC Services by the Military

  1. WHERE SERVICE MAY BE PROVIDED

The military may provide airport traffic control service at airports not served by an FAA or contract civil tower.

  1. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUTHORITY
  1. Requests to delegate air traffic control authority at a location not served by an FAA facility to a military facility must come to the national level.
  2. If there is agreement at the national level between FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Air Traffic Services and the appropriate military service, then delegation may be authorized.
  3. If authorized, the FAA Service Area office may delegate Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON)/approach control authority at a location not served by an FAA facility to a military ATC facility.

REFERENCE-

FAA Order JO 7610.14, Appendix 4, Memorandum of Agreement between Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Army - the U.S. Navy - the U.S. Air Force.

  1. Regardless of the originator, requests for the situational deployment and operation of mobile DoD and/or National Guard (NG) ATC assets or other air navigation services in the NAS in response to a significant incident must be coordinated through System Operations Security (AJR-2) or, when activated, the Joint Air Traffic Operations Command (JATOC) Crisis Action Team (J-CAT). AJR-2 and/or the J-CAT will lead any needed coordination with DoD, NG, and other interagency stakeholders such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); conduct coordination within the ATO on letters of agreement and other implementation steps; and provide final ATO approval or disapproval to DoD and/or NG.
  1. FREQUENCY REQUIREMENTS

Air traffic control authority must not be delegated to the military until the facility is equipped to transmit and receive on all frequencies necessary to control all categories of instrument flight rules (IFR) traffic (including civil) operating on a regular basis in the terminal area.

  1. LETTERS OF AGREEMENT (LOAs)/LETTERS OF PROCEDURE (LOPs)

LOAs/LOPs relating to the control of air traffic must be completed between the military air traffic control facility and appropriate FAA facilities.

  1. TOWER EN ROUTE CONTROL SERVICE

Tower en route control procedures, stated in an LOA, may be implemented between an FAA-operated terminal area traffic control facility and a military-operated approach control facility if an FAA Air Traffic Representative (ATREP) or ATC specialist designated by the FAA Service Area office has ensured that military personnel involved are qualified. This tower en route control service includes traffic to and from an airport that is served by a non-FAA facility if all en route control is exercised by a designated FAA approach control facility or a military facility that has been properly certified.

  1. EVALUATIONS BY FAA
  1. FAA evaluations of military air traffic control facilities and airport surveillance radar (ASR)/precision approach radar (PAR) units that exchange control of air traffic directly with FAA facilities must be accomplished in accordance with Article I, Paragraph E, of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force in Appendix 4 of this order.
  2. The intent of the evaluation is to determine that:
  1. Equipment performance and staffing are adequate for the service being provided.
  2. Personnel qualifications, certifications/credentials, and performance meet acceptable standards.
  3. Procedures utilized are consistent with LOAs between FAA air traffic control facilities and the appropriate local military authority and local memorandum of agreement between FAA and appropriate military authority.
  1. FAA evaluations may only be conducted through participation in support of Service-scheduled Service-led evaluations.
  2. Military Service-specific evaluation checklists must be utilized during evaluations of military ATC facilities.
  3. All deficiencies that may affect flight safety must be reported to the cognizant military authority responsible for ATC oversight for timely corrective action.
  4. Special interest items for evaluation must be coordinated with the Service evaluation team lead a minimum of 30 days prior to the evaluation.
  5. FAA participation in Service-led evaluations must be coordinated with the appropriate Military Representative (MILREP) a minimum of 30 days in advance, except the U.S. Army, which requires a minimum of 45 days advance coordination.
  1. SUSPENDING APPROACH CONTROL OR OTHER AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUTHORITY

FAA suspension or withdrawal of approach control or other air traffic control authority delegated to military air traffic control facilities must be accomplished in accordance with Article I, Paragraphs F and G, of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force in Appendix 4 of this order.

  1. USE OF MILITARY AUTHORITY ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY FOR SEPARATION OF AIRCRAFT (MARSA)

The application of MARSA is a military service prerogative and will not be invoked by individual units or pilots except as follows:

  1. Military service commands authorizing MARSA must be responsible for its implementation and terms of use. When military operations warrant an LOA and MARSA will be applied, the authority to invoke MARSA must be contained in the LOA. It must be noted that an LOA will not be required in all cases involving MARSA.
  2. ATC facilities do not invoke or deny MARSA. Their sole responsibility concerning the use of MARSA is to provide separation between military aircraft engaged in MARSA operations and other nonparticipating IFR aircraft.
  3. DoD must ensure that military pilots requesting special activity airspace (SAA) have coordinated with the scheduling agency, obtained approval for entry, and are familiar with appropriate MARSA procedures. ATC is not responsible for determining which military aircraft are authorized to enter SAA/ATC-assigned airspace (ATCAA).
  1. RELEASE OF AIRCRAFT TO GROUND CONTROL APPROACH (GCA) UNITS

When a GCA unit is located on an airport that is provided IFR service by an FAA facility, details concerning the release of arriving and/or departing aircraft to the unit must be contained in an LOA. Include the following items:

  1. Details of the procedures, GCA patterns, release points, and areas to be used.
  2. The maximum number of aircraft that may be released to GCA at any one time.
  3. Specific instructions concerning a missed approach, loss of communications, and loss of radar.
  4. A statement that the GCA unit must be responsible for maintaining radar separation in accordance with FAA JO Order 7110.65, Air Traffic Control.
  5. Detailed instructions concerning the exchange of information between GCA and approach control.
  1. CONTROL OF FLIGHTS IN PATTERN

At locations where the FAA facility normally vectors arrivals to base leg or final approach, permit the GCA unit to control sufficient flights throughout the pattern to maintain proficiency.

  1. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

At airports served by an FAA tower and a military GCA unit, an LOA must be formulated containing the following items:

  1. Before conducting actual or practice GCA approaches, GCA personnel must coordinate with the tower to obtain approval of the runway of intended landing.
  2. If GCA personnel wish to subsequently change runways, they must coordinate with and obtain approval from the tower for this change.
  3. GCA personnel must include the number of the runway of intended landing when the base leg report is relayed to the tower.
  4. If a GCA approach is to be conducted straight-in, the number of the runway of intended landing must be relayed to the tower when the final controller assumes control of the aircraft, but in no case later than the time the aircraft is 6 miles from the end of the runway.
  5. Procedures for opposite direction approaches that include the following:
  1. Description of inter—and intra—facility coordination, and
  2. Establishment of cutoff points, such as distances or fixes for authorizing the approach.