SHAW AIR FORCE BASE S.C -- An F-16 alert pilot goes over his checklist before takeoff during exercise Fertile Keynote Nov 19. According to Master Sgt. William Martin, alert NCO-in-charge, sometimes pilots will sit in their cockpit for as long as an hour, waiting for the go-ahead to take off. "The new marquees give (the pilots) direct communication with the operations desk, like coordinates to the target and when to start their engines." Pilots can see the marquees from their cockpit. "Down here they (the pilots) train to intercept aircraft," said Airman 1st Class Andrew Norton, alert maintainer. "They'll launch a Civil Air Patrol aircraft from another base, and our pilots track him on radar to escort him out of our airspace." Maintainers and pilots work 24 or 48-hour shifts to react 24/7 if the alarm sounds. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman David Minor)
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