People of the Polish Air Force - Lt. Col. Zygmunt "Zygi" Anioł

From the JBI ARCHIVE - 27.06.2018.

Flying AWACS is a reward.

*The interview conducted in 2018 comes from - JB Investments archives - all rights reserved.

The AWACS is one of the more intriguing aircraft in the world. It looks distinctive, and its trademark is a huge circular radar mounted on the roof. It is not only its appearance that fascinates, but also the defense capabilities it gives to NATO countries and countries cooperating with the Alliance. Top controllers and navigators work on board. To get into the crew, they have to pass a series of training courses and exams. Their knowledge is tested regularly. The AWACS is the fulfillment of Lt. Col. Zygmunt Angel's aviation dream. For health reasons, he could not become a pilot, but is instead the commander of an early warning aircraft mission. Few Poles climb to such a high position, but his subordinates say simply - "Zygi" is Poland's best ambassador to NATO. He himself, when he talks about his work, has a gleam in his eye and could talk about it endlessly.

Agata Król: How many countries do you work in one day?

Lt. Col. Zygmunt Anioł: The planes belong to Luxembourg, so on the territory of one country, but if we would take into account the presence in the airspace, sometimes we can fly over half of Europe. For example, when we have a mission over Turkey, we have to pass the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and sometimes Bulgaria as well. It all depends on the duration of the mission. If we perform a mission with in-flight refueling, then we can perform activities for up to 12 hours. In that amount of time we can fly a chunk of the world.

How long at most can a mission last?

Without refueling - about 8 hours, with refueling in the air - 12 to 14 hours. We are able, if necessary, to refuel in the air twice. The limitation of this aircraft is human, like all technical solutions. This is due to the fact that we are not allowed to work for more than 20 hours. The mission begins when the first crew members show up for work. These are the technicians who arrive 2.5 hours before takeoff. Then the work time of the entire crew begins to count. My longest missions have been 12 hours, but this has happened to me two, maybe three times.

What kind of missions are these? I know we can't talk about a lot of details, but if we were to determine the percentage of exercises and combat activities, what are more?

At the moment it comes out to about half - 50 percent training missions and 50 percent combat missions. With some advantage, however, for combat missions. Often, even several times a week, we do flights over Poland, as part of the so-called Assurance Measures, or support of NATO's eastern flank. Officially, this is not an operation, but it is a mission to strengthen the eastern border of the North Atlantic Alliance, so it is not an exercise either. The combat missions we're doing right now are flights as part of the operation over Syria, that is, reinforcing operations against ISIS.

How dangerous are these operations?

Due to the characteristics of the aircraft, we do not have to fly close to the war zone, we can be on duty at a distance. No less, however, we fly within range of missile systems held by the enemy. It is not possible to move, for example, 500 or 600 kilometers away from the front line, because then our mission would no longer make sense.

It's said of the AWACS that it's a flying radar, that the crew has a four-dimensional view from all sides. Then what do you actually see?

We can see everything, practically, from the ground up to planes flying at an altitude of 20-30 km. We fly at an altitude of about 10 km, so first of all our range is much greater than that of ground-based radars, and secondly we can also track objects flying very low. We usually cooperate with fighter pilots, because they are the ones who perform air defense tasks, but also carry out operations beyond enemy lines. We are able to support them in both defensive and offensive tasks. We are able to guide pilots on air and ground targets. In addition to this, we cooperate with the navy, as we definitely obtain information in advance about approaching aircraft that may pose a threat to ships. For example, we supported the anti-piracy Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean, and we are now actively participating in Operation Sea Guardian also in the Mediterranean. As you can see, the range of tasks that AWACS performs is very wide.

That is, you are part of a close information network. You exchange data, you are each other's "eyes"?

The technology we have at the moment makes it possible to transmit data practically in real time. So there is an exchange of data between ground units as well as aircraft or ships. We can not only send, but also receive information. This is very valuable, because it may happen that an object not detected by us, will be identified by a ground station, ground radar, and then it is us who will receive a warning. Our system gives the possibility of selection. So we are able to set the threat detection parameters so that warnings are sent to ground command only in a situation that may pose a real danger, that is, for example, when the ground command center does not see the foreign objects that we have identified. The data is, of course, encrypted - transmitted in the NATO secret standard.

What exactly do you do during the mission?

Our tasks are very similar to those performed in ground command centers, namely identification and reconnaissance. Nevertheless, flying AWACS, in addition to knowing NATO procedures, requires knowledge of the aircraft and flying. Everyone must know the system we operate on board and its capabilities. This knowledge cannot be acquired in a few months, it is a long process, taking years.

You hold the position of mission commander. Such a high position is a great success in the career of an airman, soldier, officer.

I think. Every aviator dreams of flying, I had to wait several years for this dream to come true. I am a member of the crew, I am responsible for the operational part, for commanding the crew of the AWACS and the aircraft we coordinate.

What was your path to AWACS like?

In 1992 I started the Officer Candidate School in Deblin, graduating in 1996. I graduated with the title of guidance navigator. I worked at the central command post in Warsaw, and later at the Air Operations Center. There I began service on the so-called ASOC system installed after Poland joined the North Atlantic Alliance. Our country had to meet the requirement to connect to the NATO command system.

I started with the position of Identification Officer. Later, I was Track Production Officer, that is, the person responsible for producing the recognized image of the air situation. Then I worked as a Fighter Coordinator. This is a position related to the coordination of fighter aviation activities, especially defensive aviation. I was on duty in Denmark for 3 years. Later, I worked as a Senior Operational Duty Officer at the COP in Poland for 5 years. In 2014 I went to Geilenkirchen and have been flying AWACS ever since.

What are the requirements, besides the fact that English must be known perfectly?

English is the basis. Everyone who goes to NATO structures must undergo verification, certification in English, and this happens every time, not just the first time they leave. And of course, relevant work experience is important. Aviation is a specific field, requiring very specific knowledge and skills. This is especially true when working on AWACS aircraft.

Poles are the elite of aviation in the world, so you are the elite of elites who work not only for the Polish forces, but also for NATO.

In 1999 we joined NATO, so it was a period when each of us dreamed of serving there. I remember the first group that went to NATO - such a position, it was a dream, something almost unattainable. I succeeded.

Your words only confirm the thesis that our compatriots constitute a strong group of specialists among the member states of the North Atlantic Alliance. There are 22 Poles flying on the AWACS alone.

In the component, we are in 6th place in terms of the number of nations. Of course, Americans are the most numerous, but that's obvious, since the system was developed in the US. In second place are the Germans, since they are the so-called host nation, that is, the nation where the base is located. The component consists of 16 nations. We are climbing the career ladder by overcoming certain training stages. In Geilenkirchen, where the base is located, everyone starts service as a student and goes to the so-called Training Squadron. Actually, we are treated as ordinary students there. Training is undergone from the beginning. We learn the system and procedures from scratch. This lasts from 8 months to one year. Only after this time do we gain Combat Ready status, that is, we are ready to perform tasks independently. Thus, we enter the next stage - on the road to CRE or Combat Ready Excellent. This is a higher degree than Combat Ready, where the number of hours flown, exercises held, both simulated and real, is of great importance. After about 3-4 months, we can start the next stage - instructor.

Instructor upgrade takes another 3-4 months, but not everyone will join this process. One must first be nominated by the squadron commander, so they are already selected in terms of knowledge, experience and commitment. The pinnacle of pinnacles is the evaluator - the person who can examine all other crew members. At the moment we have three such evaluators out of 22 Poles in the component. Not a lot, but it should be remembered that we are a young nation in NATO.

I am the Tactical Director, the crew commander during the mission. I'm not an instructor, which is due to the structure in place at Geilenkirchen. In addition to flying, I am the head of the Planning Department, which consumes about 80 percent of my time. I use the remaining 20 percent for flying. There is nothing left for making an instructor. I am responsible for all the operations that AWACS performs, both the daily missions and the exercises we do during the year, the simulated ones and the real exercises - all the flying! This job consumes a great deal of time.

The flight itself for that consumes a great deal of attention. Everyone performing their tasks on board is focused basically uninterrupted for several hours.

The minimum crew is about 17 people. Looking from the cockpit - we have two pilots - the captain and first officer, a navigator and a flight technician. Our aircraft are currently undergoing modernization, we are abandoning standard indicators in favor of the so-called glass cockpit, or liquid crystal indicators. There are no navigators in these modernized AWACS.

Behind the cockpit sit two technicians - for communications and for systems. One is responsible for our radios, for the data transmission system, the other is responsible for the system we use on board. And then we already have a typical operational crew. In the surveillance section there are 3 people responsible for the production of the recognized image of the air situation, for identification, for detection of objects and their tracking. The fourth person, the so-called surveillance controller, is the person who supervises the first three.

Going deeper into the deck, we have what is known as the weapon section, which is the section for guiding fighter aircraft under our control to ground or water targets. The minimum staffing is 3 people - that is, one supervisor plus two controllers. Depending on our needs, we can have up to 6 people in the section. There is also a position on board for the so-called passive controller. In addition to radar, the aircraft has a passive detection system. So we are able to detect all objects that emit energy. The radar technician, on the other hand, sits at the very end of the plane and is responsible for the technical operation of the device, so that it works as well as possible, as cleanly as possible and gives the best information. Overseeing everything is the Tactical Director, or mission commander. This is usually one person, sometimes two if we have a long, 12-hour mission.

What is the atmosphere on board during the mission?

When we fly a mission, there is no time for atmosphere, because everyone is focused on their task practically as soon as we take off. About 10 minutes after lift off, we start to launch the system. You can see the atmosphere only after the mission and it is obviously very good. It should be noted that this is an international environment, meaning we have people from very different countries. Only when we land and meet to discuss the mission, at the so-called debriefing, you can see how we treat each other. These are meetings where we point out mistakes to each other, but it serves to learn lessons, nothing else. We are only human, and unfortunately, we too happen to make a bad decision. Such a thorough analysis of the mission is very necessary, it is a lesson for the future. I remember such debriefings, which lasted an hour, an hour and a half, when we analyzed everything minute by minute. No one does this to annoy someone, it's just a matter of not making the same mistakes.

At what point does the mission actually begin for you?

Everything is decided during the so-called mission planning, even before the flight, the day before. This is the moment for discussion and planning, which usually lasts all day, about 8-9 hours. We analyze the entire mission step by step, especially if we have such an intensive exercise ahead of us as Red Flag training. All exercises prepare us for real-life operations, so we try to discuss every possible scenario the opponent can throw at us. Then we also meet with the fighter pilots. In fact, we don't know what the enemy will do, because he can act unconventionally. In the air, the situation changes literally in seconds, and we have to be prepared.

When we get on the plane, we are fully ready to perform specific tasks. We communicate only brief messages to each other, the most important information. Due to the prevailing noise on the plane, we work with headphones. Therefore, in order not to disturb each other, we use commands. Imagine nearly 20 people talking normally. The transmission would be completely absent. During the mission, we try to keep this correspondence of ours to a minimum, we communicate to each other only those things that are necessary.

However, what if a situation arises that surprises you?

Such situations naturally arise. These are exercises conducted in a very real way, and we need to know how to respond. Decisions are made by the mission commander: "ok! we move these fighters from this zone to this one, because here the threat is greater," and although this was not discussed at the briefing, we must be prepared for such situations too, during the real mission.

Is there room for emotion in such a work environment, are there sometimes nerves, or outbursts of joy?

This cannot be avoided when the situation is too dynamic. So there are both outbursts of nerves and joy. We regularly participate in exercises such as Red Flag in the United States, where we have 70-80 aircraft under control. Such a mission lasts about 5 hours. During this time we practice certain elements, established on mission planning. The mission itself is short, but very dynamic. Since the situation changes within seconds, there are sometimes nervous situations, especially when something doesn't work out, when we make a mistake, do things not the way we agreed on mission planning. We have to curb our emotions, and this is already my role, that of the mission commander, who watches over everything and cannot allow dangerous situations in the air. Especially when we are responsible for 70-80 planes, taking part in the task, because in such a situation an air incident or the approach of two planes is really very likely. We must be as focused as possible to carry out such a mission calmly and safely.

The AWACS has a controlling role on the first level. Then we have the Combat Air Operation Center, which is the combined command post. If a situation arises that was not discussed in mission planning, I, as Tactical Director, report to the ground command post and have to get approval to regroup troops. So there is a second instance that approves my decisions.

How do you deal with stress. It accompanies you for several, several hours during the flight.

We have to deal with it somehow. It is certainly a matter of individual approach. For each of us, flying AWACS is a great reward, so each of us wants to do it. At debriefings we talk to each other, support each other. This is also an opportunity to relieve stress. We have days off, of course, and we also meet after hours, when we drink a beer each and talk about completely ordinary things.

Nearly four years ago, you faced the decision to go to Germany. Was it easy to decide? What did your family have to say about it?

There were pros and cons. The pluses were certainly that I could leave with my family, that we had housing provided. The downside was that my wife had to leave her job and my children had to change schools. I had previously worked in Denmark, when my children were 4 and 8 years old, this was not yet such a problem. They simply spoke Danish fluently after half a year. When we had to go to Germany they were 12 and 16 years old. It was a difficult experience especially for the older daughter. The beginning of our stay here was not easy, but everything worked out. My term of office is 4 years, with no possibility of extension, so this summer I will definitely already be back in Poland.

And what's next?

I hope that my knowledge and experience will be put to use. My fate lies in the hands of my superiors.

Text: Agata Król.
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Photos: Magda Starowieyska