8/5/03 A half-century of aviation history at Vandenberg Air Force Base closed as a new one began Monday when the military handed off air traffic control operations to a private firm.

Vandenberg became the first military facility to transfer air traffic control tower operations to a private contractor, a move that will save ,520,000 over three years, officials said.

"Although it/s a small tower, this one groundbreaking event has the ability to shape how the Air Force does things in the future," said Lt. Col. Lee-Volker Cox, 30th Operations Support Squadron commander.

"It is the end of one era and the start of a new," said Col. Frank Gallegos, 30th Space Wing commander. "All eyes are on Vandenberg to see how we do with this contract."

Serco Management Services will handle the air traffic control duties, a familiar role for the firm that also operates Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo civilian facilities. Vandenberg/s is the firm/s 59th air traffic control tower. Serco will be paid ,1.3 million over three years for the Vandenberg contract.

Officials from Serco, the Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration attended Monday morning/s ceremony, where a handset affixed to a plaque was presented to symbolize the formal transition.

Growing operations around the world have created more work for military air traffic controllers, who are in short supply.

"With everything going on in the world, air traffic controllers are in very high demand," said Cox.

Because Vandenberg/s primary mission involves launching rockets, testing missiles and training crews, its 3-mile-long runway doesn/t see as much traffic as other bases.

The air traffic control tower, built in 1953, handles 10,000 contacts with aircraft annually, many military crews using the runway to hone landing and take-off skills. The base also has a handful of helicopters assigned there.

"We were an ideal candidate for the conversion process," said Cox.

The decision to switch to contract tower operations came after a study revealed that civilians could do the job for less than the military.

The tower will continue to operate 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, with flexibility to provide operations other times as needed.

The faces in the tower will be familiar. Four of the five air traffic controllers in the tower are former military members who traded in Air Force blue uniforms to don Serco blue polo shirts. They are led by tower manager Rick Czap, who retired recently as master sergeant.

Staff writer Janene Scully can be reached by e-mail at janscully@pulitzer.net