CNRSE visits OLF Whitehouse

The officers' Seahawk helicopter circled the Whitehouse pine forests and hardwood swamp several times before landing near the runway's Fresnel optical landing system used to train pilots for both day and night carrier landings.

Along with pilots preparing to deploy on carriers, Navy student pilots from NAS Pensacola practice at OLF Whitehouse. Helicopter training is also conducted at the airfield.

(from left) Capt. Jack Scorby, AC1 Teresa Sanderson, Adm. Michael Vitale and AC1 Eric Malespin in the Whitehouse control tower. Photo by Clark Pierce.

Painted lines on the runway mark the simulated aircraft carrier deck. Rubber deposits from aircraft tires are clearly visible in the landing area that pilots aim for.

The facility's mission is to support aviation warfighter readiness through fixed-wing and helicopter training evolutions. In 2007, more than 25,000 touch-and-go landings took place at OLF Whitehouse.

"These touch-and-go operations can't be done at NAS Jax because of its high-volume air traffic," said Vitale. "That's why Whitehouse is a valuable, if not irreplaceable, training asset.

NAS Firefighter Mark Kennedy and Fire Chief Randy Hall with the P-19 Oshkosh crash truck, a self-contained vehicle designed to suppress fuel fires with water and foam. Photo by Clark Pierce.

The custody of OLF Whitehouse was transferred to NAS Jax in 1997 as a result of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision to close NAS Cecil Field and transfer its S-3 squadrons to NAS Jax.

In addition to the 8,000-foot runway, there is a control tower, a crash crew facility manned by NAS fire and rescue personnel, and an area for forestry management equipment.