[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E190-E191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DANIEL ``ED'' BARROW

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2006

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
pioneer in the air traffic control field, Daniel ``Ed'' Barrow, who 
will celebrate his 90th birthday later this year.
  Born in Boone, IA, and raised in Unionville, IN, Ed Barrow attended 
Indiana Central College in Indianapolis, IN. After teaching school in 
Elwood, IN, Barrow began working for the Indiana State Employment 
Office, where he saw a job posting for an air controller trainee. As 
the holder of a student pilot's license, he met the primary 
qualification. As his daughter, Marilyn Smith, related to me, ``He 
decided to try for the position. A trucker stopped at his Marathon 
station. The driver was going to Pittsburgh, so Dad hitched a ride with 
him. When he got to Pittsburgh, he took the bus to New York City. While 
in New York, Dad stayed in the YMCA. The training was very hard, so he 
asked Mother to keep checking with the Employment Office to see if he 
could come back if he `washed out'.''
  This led to a lengthy career for Ed Barrow with the Civil Aeronautics 
Administration, the predecessor agency of the Federal Aviation 
Administration, FAA. As a result, the Barrow family was posted at 
various locations around the United States, including Roeland Park and 
Overland Park, KS, both of which are located in the Third Congressional 
District.
  During the outset of his career as an air traffic controller, Ed 
Barrow and his colleagues received their information on the telephone 
and then plotted the information on paper maps. In the mid-1950s, Ed 
was the chief of the Washington National Airport control tower; he 
later went to work in the Washington, DC, headquarters of the Civil 
Aeronautics Administration. Among other projects, he worked on 
Operation Northern Tier, which resulted in the long range radar 
system's installation nationwide in the FAA's Air Route Traffic Control 
Centers.
  In the mid-20th century, air traffic control was revolutionized by 
the introduction of radar, a system the British initially developed for 
air defense prior to World War II. After the war, the Civil Aeronautics 
Administration began applying this technology to the problem of keeping 
civilian flights safely separated. In 1946, the agency used a system 
developed for the

[[Page E191]]

Navy to open a radar-equipped airport tower for demonstration purposes. 
By 1950, the first Airport Surveillance Radar systems were deployed in 
the United States.
  Ed Barrow's participation was key to the development of our modem 
``positive air traffic control system,'' which requires all aircraft at 
or above 18,000 feet to be under positive air traffic control in order 
to ensure that they were provided separation from all other aircraft 
operating at the same altitudes. As chief of the FAA's Air Traffic 
Control Procedures Division, he was responsible for all of the 
procedures and phraseology used by American civilian and military air 
traffic controllers and ultimately oversaw the complete rewriting of 
the Air Traffic Control Procedures Manual. He established a set of 
Military Operations Areas, MOAs, in which military training and tactics 
would be contained and FAA controllers would then take the fighters to 
and from these MOAs and the military would then operate within these 
designated areas. Barrow also established that an FAA controller would 
be assigned to the NORAD facility to ensure the competency of the NORAD 
controllers. This all superseded an earlier agreement with the North 
American Air Defense, NORAD, Command of the U.S. Air Force which 
allowed NORAD to control fighter/inceptors independently of the FAA air 
traffic control system, which had become increasingly hazardous to the 
safety of both civilian and military aircraft.
  Later, Ed Barrow was assigned to Kansas City, MO, to the headquarters 
of the director of the FAA's Central Region, where he was responsible 
for aviation safety in an 11 State area, including the operational 
activities of the Air Traffic Division, the Flight Standards Safety 
Division and the Airways Facilities Division.
  As his friend and coworker, Glen Tigner, recently told his daughter, 
Marilyn: ``Your Dad often gave that country boy approach to critical 
matters, but believe me he was sharp as a tack. He was a real leader 
among men, instilling in them the attitude that they would follow him 
anywhere, anytime, anyhow . . . a man one would proudly serve. He will 
be remembered as the best of the best.''
  Ed Barrow's service to his country was recognized by the Department 
of the Air Force, which presented him with a Decoration for Exceptional 
Civilian Service. It reads: ``In recognition of his exceptional 
performance as Airways Operations Specialist, Directorate of 
Operations, Headquarters USAF, from 15 October 1954 to 15 May 1956. The 
constant, increasing demands on the United States Air Force and other 
users of the airspace since the advent of jet operations presented 
almost insurmountable problems in the air traffic field. Through his 
superior knowledge, extreme conscientiousness, and outstanding 
application, Mr. Barrow developed completely new concepts to meet the 
requirements so that the Air Force now leads in air traffic control, so 
vital to the emergency war plans.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take this opportunity to share with the 
House this tribute to the distinguished public service career of Daniel 
``Ed'' Barrow, as he approaches his 90th birthday, and to wish him many 
happy returns in the years to come.

                          ____________________