I'm getting assined as my unit's aviation LNO, so I'm doing a little pre-research on my potential duties. Anyone have some great, been-there-done-that insight?
FYI, this will be in national guard S&S unit, but any experience is appreciated.
It's all about fostering communication. Otherwise, you just become another staff weenie for that unit to do their busywork and your unit will not benefit at all. You need to have an ear out for what the unit is planning, especially where it concerns your parent unit. So don't just sit in a chair they give you, get some situational awareness on the operations going on. Get to know the Battle Captains/Majors (depending on level of staff) and NCOs so they won't mind you asking questions about the operations.
Then you need to foster the communication, by either being an information conduit yourself, through phone calls, emails, radio back to your unit (whatever OPSEC allows), or facilitating the communication by placing the appropriate staff elements in contact with their counterparts in your unit. And, whenever the staff has questions about aviation capabilities, be the one that gets the information that you don't already know.
There is an Aviation LNO handbook. Search on AKO to find it. Good luck!
