Dips Branch carries AMC aircraft over foreign soil Published March 18, 2005 SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILL. -- Long before an Air Mobility Command aircraft crosses into airspace above foreign soil, a group of people within the Tanker Airlift Control Center here have taken steps to ensure that aircraft is cleared to fly there.Those "steps" include creating and sending messages to U.S. embassies, tracking clearance statuses, and recording clearance information into the command and control Global Decision Support System for each country the AMC aircraft will overfly. A single mission can generate more than 20 clearance requests.Prior to Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the International Clearance Branch -- sometimes referred to as the Dips branch -- was completing about 3,000 requests per month; a manageable workload, according to Lt. Col. James Rubush, deputy chief, International Clearance and Flight Plans Division.Since operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq, however, he said the number of diplomatic clearance requests has increased substantially. In February, the office set a new record with 18,380 clearance requests; in January, they accomplished 17,012. Their 2005 monthly average is now 651 clearances higher than their previous record of 17,045.Although the number of requests isn't going away anytime soon, thanks to several innovative new systems, members of the International Clearance Branch are handling the additional workload with outstanding results.While workload increases and manpower decreases may prompt some organizations to cut or significantly reduce their programs and capabilities, the International Clearance Branch is taking advantage of technology to help them meet the demands of the mission."We can't stop what we do," said Maj. Timothy Dickinson, International Clearance Branch chief. "We had to find a smarter way to do business. If we continued using our old processes, the mission would break."The major said their only option was to dreamto dream up better, more efficient methods of handling the increased workload.Colonel Rubush tackled the first step in the process, the messages that had to be manually typed.Utilizing his knowledge of Microsoft Excel, the lieutenant colonel created a database he calls "Message Maker." Instead of typing the messages in, a member of the International Clearance Branch completes a short Excel form that includes a series of simple "yes" and "no" responses and drop-down menus. Message Maker automatically inserts data from the form into a message template.He said that although the database substantially reduced the time it takes to create each message, its full potential could not be realized unless they could find a way to insert the same data into the Global Decision Support System. GDSS is a secure system the command uses to plan, coordinate and track AMC missions."I knew what needed to be done, I just didn't know how to get to that point," explained Colonel Rubush.To turn dream into reality, the International Clearance Branch turned to the Science Applications International Corporation -- a U.S. research and engineering firm that provides information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. Under contract with the TACC Business Center, SAIC experts developed a Web-based message automation application called DART, or Dips Auto-populating Request Tool. Using data from Colonel Rubush's Message Maker application, DART lets the user log into and automatically update GDSS.Their "dreams" didn't end with Message Maker and DART. Although creating diplomatic clearance request messages and building reports are important steps in the process, coordinating the requests with U.S. embassies was even more time consuming.Once again, AMC officials turned to the SAIC experts.This time, SAIC developed a system that uses the mission data from GDSS to automatically create and distribute clearance requests to the U.S. embassy within each country. The system takes many aspects into account, including the unique requirements of each country.Colonel Rubush said the new automated systems are paying big dividends. He said before the new technology, it could take as long as 45 minutes to request diplomatic clearances for a single AMC mission. He said it now takes only a few minutes to accomplish the same results."This morning I sat down and completed 10 missions in the same amount of time it used to take me to complete just one," he said.To say the people who work in the International Clearance Branch are excited about the new automated processes may be an understatement. The colonel said they started with a problem many organizations face today -- more work with less people -- and rather than fold, they stepped up to the challenge and created better ways to accomplish the mission.And although they're excited about the new processes, Colonel Rubush said they will continue to dream up better ways to do business. He said they hope to eventually automate the entire clearance request process -- from the flight planners to the U.S. embassies to the aircrews -- but added that having "human eyes on the product" will still be important."Technology is great, but it doesn't take everything into account," he said. "Right now, [the new technology] is helping us meet our mission requirements, but without the professionals who do this day in and day out, the mission would still fail." Air Mobility Command News Service is a service of the Internal Division Office of Public Affairs 503 Ward Drive, Room 214 Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 62225-5335 618-229-7821