Flying or jumping means going through HARM

Published Jan. 25, 2017
By Dave Smith

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Anyone who wants to fly an airplane or jump from one at Peterson Air Force Base has to go through Host Aviation Resource Management to make sure all records and requirements are up to snuff before going off into the wild blue yonder.

The HARM team at Peterson AFB tracks and maintains about 500 flight and jump records for pilots, parachutists, air battle managers and astronauts who are assigned or attached to the base.

The detailed files can be several inches thick. They follow an entire career’s worth of aviation and parachuting service including flight physicals and physiological training, explained Tech Sgt. Kimberly Collins HARM NCO in charge.

“It’s like a medical record,” she said. “It follows you throughout your career.”

Collins said the biggest challenge for HARM personnel is keeping track of the information contained within the meticulous records residing in their care. Aeronautical orders and flight hours also make their way into the HARM records she said.

Records kept by HARM staff are crucial in a couple of different ways, Collins said. For instance, proper records are required for pilots, navigators and other air crew members to receive the correct pay rate. The information in their records also dictate whether a person is cleared to fly or not.

“It starts and ends with us,” said Collins. “If you are a pilot, parachutist or astronaut you have to come through HARM to get service initiated. We can provide information they need whether they are coming in or going out (of Peterson AFB). It’s customer service really.”

HARM can tell an air crew member if they need to complete a particular training or if their flight physical is up to date so they will not be caught unprepared. Detailed audits of each file are conducted on a regular basis, Collins said.

“The important part is that we are an office that’s here to help air crew members,” she said. “We help give them information when it comes to their careers.”

The largely administrative job HARM does may seem tedious to some, but Collins enjoys it. She said there are many opportunities to travel with the squadrons they serve and to meet people.

“Not everybody gets to meet the air crew members, so it’s a great opportunity to work hand in hand with them,” she said. “There’s a lot of diversity in meeting all the different air crew members and seeing all of the airframes.”

Pilots, navigators, parachutists and astronauts can head out into the sky more confidently knowing that people in HARM are at work behind the scenes making sure everything is in order before takeoff, jumping and even blasting off.