Evenin' everyone,

Future military here, just had a curious question. I'm hoping to get into the military (any branch, really) as an officer. One thing I can't really find information on is officers and aircrew. Honestly, I don't really want to be a pilot, but would love to work IN aircraft. The only other officer positions I've ever come across for aircrew are navigators (WSO's?).

Am I leaving any positions out?

Thanks!

I'm sorry to see your CAP training didn't help you with this.

There are plenty of enlisted aircrew jobs in the five Armed Forces;

Loadmaster, Flight Engineer, Navigator, Dropmaster, Sensor operators, In-flight maintenance personnel, Flying Crew Chiefs, Gunners, Rescue Swimmers, Medical Personnel, etc.

Over in the Coast Guard, all three aviation ratings "fix and fly."

www.uscg.mil/hr/g-wk/wkh/pubs/pdf/CIM_6410_3%5B1%5D.pdf

Make sure you will be able to pass a Flight Physical for the service you are joining.

There is a long list of medical problems that will keep you out of the flying business; motion sickness, chronic sinus and ear infections, eyesight, color blindness, depth perception, certain eye surgeries, balance problems, poor teeth, etc.

Good question! This might make for a useful presentation at your next CAP meeting.

Good Luck!

There are non-rated officer flying jobs as well. AWACS and JSTARS has non-rated officers who are weapons control officers on AWACS, and I am not sure what they are called on JSTARS. You could also be an EWO which is also a rated officer job like Navigator.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: caninedale,

Rated jobs for officers are Pilot, Nav, and Air Battle Manager, *the AWACS and JSTARS guys Canine was talking about*

Once you "select" in training you find out if you are going to be, for Nav, EWO, WSO, etc. and for ABM a JSTARS or AWACS guy.

EDIT: lol sorry canine, didnt realize i was contradicting you about the rated stuff. You've got more experience with the ABM guys then me, so your probably right.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MCO85,

Are weapons control officers rated now? Back when I was a wacker that is how the pilots kept them in place.

I thought they were rated, but since you asked I did a brief trip to google to confirm. Couldn't find anything about them being rated, but i did find this...

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/officerjobs/a/13bx.htm

everything you ever wanted to know about ABM's.

EDIT: See my edit to last post

Yes the Goats are rated now.

quote:

Originally posted by n1dp:
I'm sorry to see your CAP training didn't help you with this.

There are plenty of enlisted aircrew jobs in the five Armed Forces;

Loadmaster, Flight Engineer, Navigator, Dropmaster, Sensor operators, In-flight maintenance personnel, Flying Crew Chiefs, Gunners, Rescue Swimmers, Medical Personnel, etc.

I'm sorry school didn't teah you to read the question and give pertinent answers. The OP was asking about officer jobs, not enlisted.

quote:

I'm sorry school didn't teah you to read the question and give pertinent answers. The OP was asking about officer jobs, not enlisted.

You are absolutely correct. Thank you for the scolding. Should we now look for spelling errors too?

Evening all and Happy Holidays!
My son is in his second week of BMT. Acing the ASVAB allowed him to select his job several months in advance of departing for BMT. He selected to be aircrew on the E3-A/AWACS as a "Airborne Battle Management Technician/Engineer". I know nothing about this AFSC and was hoping someome could provide a bit more fidelity. I literally just received a letter from him and he said that MPF contacted him and he is being transferred to the E-8/JSTARS aircraft. Heading to GA. I was hoping for RIVET JOINT, but hey, at least he will be flying, which was his goal.
I am just trying to better understand this AFSC and how it fits into the current force structure, as well as its place in the new force modernization with new multi-mission aircraft (MMA) and how it will play into a force with an increasing focus on UAV/UAS ops. Is this AFSC the AFSC of the future in terms of airborne ISR and C2, or is this more of a generalist, vice a specialist?

I would be most gratful for any information anyone can provide.

Thanks...Proud AF Father

Luvinlife24,

I can't say much more than this, except to say that *I* think your son is lucky to be on the ground floor of the ISR C2/C3 business right about now. BIG future in that area.

Thanks for the positive response! I agree. I am so proud of my son's decision to join and then want to fly. He will do really well in the AF. Math, Science and Engineering are this his strengths. He is 6'1, 170lbs, has short blonde hair and blue eyes. He just graduated high school. He goes to the gym all the time, swims and runs constantly. He is in incredible shape. He is truly a poster boy for the AF. I told him that and he got a kick out of it. I also told him that he would be dropping 15-20 lbs in BMT.
He has his sights set on getting commissioned, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I was not too entirely shocked when I saw his ASVAB score. He scored a 98 out of 99 on the battery. He walked in the MEPS and took the test cold. That boy did not crack one book to prepare. I always fancied myself as an intelligence and aware individual, but he has surpassed me by orders of magnitude!
I see him getting commissioned, going to Georgia Tech for his Computer Science Degree, eventually going AFIT (Wright-Pat)for his Masters and PhD and working eventually in the Air Force Research Labs building advanced technologies for the future AF. I could however be dead wrong, he may decide to fly for a very long time. I did and loved it.
Oh well….I'm rambling....I posted that same entry above to several forums in the hopes to get several varied responses and views. Cross your fingers.
Happy Holidays to you and yours and best wishes for a Wonderful 2008!!!

L24

Well, if your SON decides he wants to continue along that path, it sounds like he has a great coach at his disposal!

It's great to see parents fired up about their kids' career choices...I read what you wrote and just grinned wide...

Happy Holidays and best wishes!

Rated officers are pilots and navigators. Navigators have had lots of titles: EWO, WSO, RIO, etc.; now they are CSO's but they wear Navigator wings. There are several other specialties onboard aircraft that have badges, but they are not rated.

Hope that clears it up a little.

Don't forget all the airborne linguists. They were all enlisted when I was in, and probably still are.

Linguist...the folks who, depending on the language, are almost done with their enlistment by the time they get to their first assignment (well...almost, anyway).

And they all seem to HATE Monterey.

We in the Bay Area can't wait to spend a long weekend in Monterey (mini-vacation destination for us here...Pebble Beach, Big Sur, Carmel, etc.), but for SOME reason, the DLI graduates from ALL services can't WAIT to put 1,000's of miles between them and Monterey.

Must be a fun class, eh?

Did not see Flight Test Engineer here. This is an option as well for Officers. You could even go to the Air Force TEST PILOT school at Edwards AFB - and not be a pilot! You might find some additional discussion groups here Ask Pitch, he is at Edwards.

Luvinlife24 - If you want you can get a hold of me and I can explain any questions you have. I am exactly what your son is...just three years from now and on the E-8 JSTARS. I would be more than happy to explain everything to you.

CALcadet144 - There are three rated officers as many have said before. Pilot, Nav, and ABM's. (yes, ABM's ARE RATED now). There is a chance that if you went intel you could fly (small chance) but other than that, you don't fly as an officer. Your WSO is a navigator who kicked butt and was fortunate enough to get a spot as a nav on a fighter. The title changes to WeaponS Officer (WSO). This is not guaranteed however, and most Navs go to heavies. If you decided to go enlisted there are many more opportunities but I am not going to waste my breath if you want to do it from the O side.