News

Allies deployed and at home

  • Published
  • By Maj. Renee Massey
  • 78th ABW/PA
Robins Air Force Base, Ga. --  What does the rock band Def Leppard and an airborne intelligence officer in the 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron have in common? They both call Yorkshire, England, home.

Squadron Leader David "Barney" Barnes is a Joint STARS foreign exchange officer from the United Kingdom and has been assigned to the 116th Air Control Wing for the past two years. The exchange program began eight years ago as a result of the Royal Air Force's Airborne Stand-Off Radar aircraft program.

The British ASTOR system includes five Global Express business jet aircraft fitted with a radar. The mission is similar to Joint STARS. It is an airborne battlefield ground surveillance radar system for operation with the RAF and the British Army. The Synthetic Aperture Radar provides photographic quality images of the area being surveyed and a Moving Target Indicator, or MTI radar, tracks moving vehicles over wide ranges.

"The exchange program was a way for the Royal Air Force to identify your lessons learned over the past 10 years flying Joint STARS," said Sq. Ldr. Barnes. "Another benefit is that we can learn about each other's capabilities and cross-cue potential with using a UK asset."

Sq. Ldr. Barnes grew up in Yorkshire which is in central England. Located on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, the area is of great natural beauty and a large portion is a protected national park of England and Wales. He left school at 16 years old, which is not uncommon in the UK.

"I wanted to get involved in some type of communications," said Sq. Ldr. Barnes. "I saw an advertisement for the Royal Air Force and thought this sounded ideal."

Just before his 18th birthday, he joined the RAF as a communications operator. He spent several years working in ground communications and was stationed in Scotland, the Falkland Islands and Central America

Next, he flew as an air electronics operator enlisted aircrew onboard the UK NIMROD maritime patrol aircraft. Then, he spent time with a C-130 Hercules RAF unit as a communication and console specialist with the Hercules simulator.

After earning his commission as an intelligence officer, Sq. Ldr. Barnes served in several ground intelligence positions to include tactical air director in the UK's Air Support Operations Center.

Wanting to return to flying, he heard about the Joint STARS exchange program. He applied and was selected based on his extensive communications and intelligence background.

Like other Airborne Intelligence Officers in the wing, Sq. Ldr. Barnes began his training in the 330th Combat Training Squadron. He left an endearing footprint on the squadron -- the building of a tiki bar which is the squadron's outside lounge.

"Barney suggested to me the building of a tiki lounge like the 'Brits' build at their (forward operating locations)," said Lt. Col. Pat Taylor, former commander of the 330th CTS. "In the end, we all can thank Barney for his awesome tiki bar on the patio, a place where we in the CTS can call home."

Now assigned to the 16th ACCS, Sq. Ldr. Barnes has deployed twice to the FOL and once to exercise Red Flag. He will remain here for another year and looks forward to his next assignment hopefully with the ASTOR aircraft at RAF Waddington in the UK.

He lives in off-base housing with his wife, three children and two dogs.

"It was like Noah's Ark trying to get everyone here," Barnes jokingly admitted.

When he is not working or deploying, this continental traveler enjoys fishing, shotgun shooting and walking with his dogs. It was surprising to hear that he enjoys American football over soccer -- a sure sign he has adapted to the American South.