Treaty opens skies, talk

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicole Leidholm
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  After the Cold War, measures were put into place by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1955 to prevent an arms race from happening again.

One of these measures that has a significant impact at Travis is the Treaty on Open Skies. The treaty was revived by President George H. W. Bush and signed in 1992.

The Treaty of Open Skies is open ended, meaning there is no expiration date.

"The goal of Open Skies is to promote openness, transparency and confidence amongst the member nations," said Sal Pampinella, 60th Air Mobility Wing International Treaty Compliance Office chief. "This is accomplished by performing unarmed aerial observation flights."

There are now 34 nations that are part of the treaty, which is comprised of NATO, Warsaw Pact, Russia, Ukraine, Canada and the United States.

"Any treaty member can fly over all parts of the territory of any other member and take aerial photos without any restrictions for national security," Pampinella said. "All images that are taken are available to the other treaty members."

Open Skies has reduced the suspicion that nations may be hiding military related assets, Pampinella said.

"Treaty members verify items of concern to them such as military installations, missile sites, commercial factories, large troop and weapons build-ups, that could become a potential threat," Pampinella said. "When a country flies in, they can look at anything they are interested in."

Through March 2012, there have been more than 840 such observation flights over each other's territory.

The Russians visited Travis five times last year. They are authorized 21 trips here. The Russians have been the primary visitor. Swedish and Canadian members have visited the U.S., but only while accompanying the Russians.

Upon arrival of an Open Skies Treaty team, there is typically a meet-and-greet from the escorts and a group photo before the team receives their Point-of-Entry briefings.

According to Pampinella, treaty members are only required to give the U.S. 72-hours advanced- notice of a visit.

"We don't know their planned observation route until the visiting team chief presents the mission plan to the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency team after arrival," Pampinella said.

A DTRA team is on-board during the flight to insure the visiting member complies with the mission plan and other treaty requirements.

"Numerous Travis agencies provide support during the team's visit," Pampinella said, "This includes operations, command post, flight-line support, lodging, weather, multimedia, transportation and a team of local escorts from many base organizations."

From the time a treaty team arrives, they have 96 hours to complete their mission and an additional 24 hours to depart.

"Since all treaties are federal law, it is critical that Travis provide timely support," Pampinella said. "A failure to support the mission plan could result in a diplomatic challenge and possibly a treaty violation."

For more information on Open Skies, visit the U.S. Department of State website or call the Treaty Compliance Office at 424-1382.