S.C. Squadron Monitors Airport Runways, Taxiways for Debris

1st Lt. David M. Bennett
Public Affairs Officer ​
Greenville Composite Squadron
South Carolina Wing

Foreign object debris (FOD) is an enemy of aviation. Something as small or as simple as a nut or a bolt, in the wrong place at the wrong time, can cause significant damage to an aircraft and possibly endanger the lives of those on board.

Cadets and senior members from one South Carolina Wing unit are doing something about it.

As part of its community services program, the Greenville Composite Squadron, headquartered at Greenville Downtown Airport, participates in periodic FOD walks to scan their home field’s runways and taxiways looking for hazardous junk.

“You would be surprised at what ends up along the pavement,” says Lara Kauffman, public relations director for the airport. “This time the FOD walk uncovered marking pens, a long screwdriver, various hardware and even two lantern batteries.”

After the latest walk, one flyer commented that the municipal airport had the cleanest runways he had ever seen.

To show gratitude for use of its meeting space and hangar, the Greenville unit pays back the airport in many ways, from marshalling traffic at public events to presenting the colors at Memorial Day ceremonies and, of course, the FOD walks.

Photos by 1st Lt. David M. Bennett