Flight member of an aircrew in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force Combat Systems Officer Wings
A Combat Systems Officer (CSO[1]) is a flight member of an aircrew in the United States Air Force and is the mission commander in many multi-crew aircraft. The combat systems officer manages the mission and integrates systems and crew with the aircraft commander to collectively achieve and maintain situational awareness and mission effectiveness. CSOs are trained in piloting, navigation, the use of the electromagnetic spectrum, and are experts in weapon system employment on their specific airframe. Aircrew responsibilities include mission planning, mission timing, weapons targeting and employment, threat reactions, aircraft communications, and hazard avoidance.
In 2006, USAF undergraduate CSOs began attending Initial Flight Training (IFT), a civilian contracted flight training operation under Air Education and Training Command (AETC) auspices, with their USAF undergraduate pilot counterparts at Pueblo Memorial Airport, Colorado, a program that replaced the previous Pilot Indoctrination Program (PIP) at USAFA, the previous Flight Instruction Program (FIP) in Air Force ROTC, the former Centralized Flight Screening Program for Air Force OTS graduates (and later USAFA and AFROTC graduates following discontinuation of PIP and FIP) at Hondo Municipal Airport, Texas, and the former Cessna T-41 Mescalero phase in Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) that was discontinued in the early 1970s. Initial Flight Screening (IFS) has continued as previously established at Pueblo with the transition of USAF Navs to CSOs.
CSO training merges three previous USAF Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) tracks formerly known as the Navigator track, the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) track and the Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) track into one coherent training cycle in order to produce an aeronautically rated officer who is more versatile and able to adapt to all spectrums of an airframe. Parallel Navigator and WSO training tracks ended in 2009.
CSO implementation
In 2009, most USAF navigators still in an operational flying status, or due to rotate back to an operational flying assignment, transitioned to CSO. Under Air Force Instruction 36-402, rated USAF navigators who do not transition to CSO are not eligible for advanced CSO ratings, e.g. senior CSO and master CSO.
Those USAF officers currently[when?][needs update] on active duty or on the Reserve Active Status List in the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard who were designated as USAF navigators prior to 30 Sep 1993, completed Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) and received their wings with the former 323d Flying Training Wing (323 FTW) at the former Mather AFB, California.
With the BRAC-directed closure of Mather AFB, UNT was transferred to the 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) at Randolph AFB, Texas in late 1993 and all USAF navigators except those destined for the B-1B and F-15E subsequently received their wings at that location. Concurrent with the move from Mather to Randolph, a parallel student USAF Navigators track was established for those officers desiring to become weapon systems officers (WSOs) in the B-1B and F-15E. These officer students proceeded to the U.S. Navy's Training Air Wing SIX at NAS Pensacola, Florida and followed a training track nearly identical to USN and USMC Student Naval Flight Officers destined for tactical jet aircraft.
The separation between CSO candidates previously attending UNT with the 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) at Randolph AFB until 2009, and those who attended a joint program with the U.S. Navy's Training Air Wing SIX (TRAWING 6)[2] at NAS Pensacola, Florida was in the type of operational USAF aircraft the candidates would later fly:
Navigators-cum-CSOs graduating from NAS Pensacola were assigned as weapon systems officers in the F-15E Strike Eagle strike fighter, the B-52 Stratofortress, or the B-1B Lancer bomber after follow-on EWO training at Randolph AFB.[3]
With the establishment of the 479 FTG and UCSOT, the integrated training program with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps at TRAWING 6 was discontinued. However, despite the divergence of USAF CSO training from student naval flight officer (NFO) training, all CSOs for all USAF aircraft model design series (MDS) now receive their training at NAS Pensacola. While some extant USAF MDS aircraft, such as the pure airlift variant of the C-130E are being retired, and the pure airlift version C-130J have eliminated the navigator/CSO position, all the other aforementioned extant MDS aircraft, as well as the HC-130J, MC-130J and WC-130J currently entering the inventory, continue to retain requirements for CSOs, thus ensuring the continued viability of the CSO career path.
Prior to its disestablishment at Randolph AFB, the 562d Flying Training Squadron of the 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) was responsible for training inflight navigation with the Raytheon T-1A Jayhawk and Boeing T-43A Bobcat aircraft, while the 563d Flying Training Squadron taught electronic warfare in an academic and simulator environment.[4] The 563d Flying Training Squadron also incorporated the T-43A Bobcat and the T-1A Jayhawk in advanced CSO training. The T-43A has since been retired and all T-1A CSO training aircraft transferred to the 479 FTG at NAS Pensacola.
From 1994 until late 2009, a portion of USAF undergraduate navigator training took place at NAS Pensacola, integrated with the US Navy's student naval flight officer program under the aegis of Training Air Wing Six (TRAWING SIX) with USAF instructor navigators embedded in the wing and its squadrons. US Navy Training Squadron 4 (VT-4) and Training Squadron 10 (VT-10) conducted basic and intermediate flight training, initially the Raytheon T-34C Turbomentor until it was replaced by the T-6 Texan II, followed by training in the Raytheon T-1A Jayhawk and RockwellT-39 Sabreliner. Training Squadron 86 (VT-86) then conducted advanced training in the T-39 and the BoeingT-45 Goshawk for student naval flight officers of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and numerous NATO/Allied and Coalition partner nations in addition to advanced USAF undergraduate navigator students destined for assignment as weapon systems officers in tactical aircraft. Prior to 2010, these USAF students destined for the F-15E Strike Eagle and the B-1B Lancer, as well as several USAF navigator flight instructors, were also fully integrated into these squadrons, with command of one squadron, VT-10, rotating between a USN commander who was a naval flight officer and a USAF lieutenant colonel who was a senior navigator or master navigator.
Starting in the summer of 2010, following completion of initial flight screening, all US Air Force CSO students began attending training at NAS Pensacola as the training squadrons at Randolph AFB closed down in accordance with the 2005 BRAC Committee findings. CSO students now fall under the 479th Flying Training Group with two training squadrons (451 FTS and 455 FTS), one operations support squadron (479 OSS) and one student squadron (479 STUS). Like the previous navigator training squadrons at Randolph AFB, the 479 FTG and its subordinate squadrons also fall under the control of the 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) at Randolph AFB, albeit as a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the 12 FTW. The first CSO class (11-01) under the new syllabus started 5 May 2010, and graduated on 15 April 2011.
Upon completion of training, USAF CSOs receive basic CSO wings. At seven years of aeronautically rated service, they become eligible for the Senior CSO rating and at fifteen years the Master CSO rating, although an effort is underway to rename the Master CSO designation to Command CSO, standardizing same with their USAF Command Pilot counterparts. CSOs assigned to NASA manned spaceflight programs are also eligible for CSO-Astronaut insignia at the Senior and Master level based upon their aeronautical rating at the time and completion of at least one spaceflight.
CSO operational command
The rationale for the change in name from "Navigator" to "CSO" was based on the fact that USAF navigators, now known as CSOs, now serve as aircraft mission commanders and command operational combat flying squadrons, as well as operations groups and wings with an operational flying mission in the same manner as their USAF pilot counterparts.[4] USAF navigators/combat systems officers at the general officer level have also begun serving in positions of increasing responsibility at the USAF major command (MAJCOM) and Unified Combatant Command level, up to and including commander of MAJCOMs and deputy commander of combatant commands. Although only one USAF navigator who did not subsequently retrain as a USAF pilot has achieved 4-star rank (pay grade O-10) in the entire history of the USAF, several have reached the 3-star (pay grade O-9) level. The most senior CSO currently on active duty is Lieutenant General Bradley A. Heithold, USAF, previously Deputy Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and previous Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).[5][6][7]
The Boeing T-43 is a modified Boeing 737-200 that was used by the United States Air Force for training navigators, now known as USAF combat systems officers from 1973 to 2010. Informally referred to as the Gator and "Flying Classroom", nineteen of these aircraft were delivered to the Air Training Command (ATC) at Mather Air Force Base, California during 1973 and 1974. Two additional aircraft were delivered to the Colorado Air National Guard at Buckley Air National Guard Base and Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, in direct support of cadet air navigation training at the nearby U.S. Air Force Academy. Two T-43s were later converted to CT-43As in the early 1990s and transferred to Air Mobility Command (AMC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), respectively, as executive transports. A third aircraft was also transferred to Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) for use as the "Rat 55" radar test bed aircraft and was redesignated as an NT-43A. The T-43A was retired by the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) in 2010 after 37 years of service.
The Nineteenth Air Force is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of United States foreign policy initiatives. The command was reactivated in 1993 under Air Education and Training Command with a mission of conducting AETC's flying training.
Randolph Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas.
The Navigator Badge is a military qualification badge of the United States Air Force which was first created during the Second World War. The current USAF badge is designated by Air Force Instructions as the Navigator/Observer Badge and is issued to rated officers in both rating categories. In 2009, it was renamed as the Combat Systems Officer badge.
The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). A subordinate command of the Air University within the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), AFROTC is aligned under the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. The Holm Center, formerly known as the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS), retains direct responsibility for both AFROTC and OTS.
Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University.
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola, "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits. It is best known as the initial primary training base for all U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers pursuing designation as naval aviators and naval flight officers, the advanced training base for most naval flight officers, and as the home base for the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the precision-flying team known as the Blue Angels.
Mather Air Force Base was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post-Cold War BRAC decision. It was located 12 miles (19 km) east of Sacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, California. Mather Field was one of 32 Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.
Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about 65 mi (105 km) north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Vance Jr.
A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft.
Training Squadron TEN (VT-10) is a training squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron is homebased at NAS Pensacola, Florida.
Training Squadron EIGHT SIX (VT-86), also known as the "Sabrehawks," is a United States Navy advanced jet training squadron based at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Training Squadron 86 is a tenant command of Training Air Wing 6. They are a training squadron flying the T-45C Goshawk. Their tailcode is F and their radio callsign is ROKT.
In the U.S. Air Force, an electronic warfare officer (EWO) is a trained aerial navigator who has received training in enemy threat systems, electronic warfare principles and overcoming enemy air defense systems. These officers are specialists in finding, identifying and countering air defense systems and also radar-, infrared- and optically guided surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery as well as enemy fighter planes. In aircraft that could penetrate enemy airspace EWOs protect their aircraft using radar jamming, chaff and flares to deceive potential threats. In other aircraft EWOs work to gather intelligence information on potential enemy air defense systems and communication systems.
U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight", either aerially or in space, in performance of their duties. USAF aeronautical badges, commonly referred to as "wings" from their shape and their historical legacy, are awarded by the Air Force in recognition of degrees of achievement and experience. Officers earning these badges and maintaining their requirements are classified as rated officers and receive additional pay and allowances.
The 323rd Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The 479th Flying Training Group is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola. A component of Air Education and Training Command, the group was activated on 2 October 2009. The current commander of the 479th Flying Training Group is Col Patrick "PDiddy" Dierig.
Initial Flight Training (IFT) is a preliminary flight training course for U.S. Air Force officers, to include active-duty Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard, who have been selected for Pilot training. Attendance consists of both newly commissioned USAF officers and prior-commissioned USAF officers with no previous rated flight experience.
Gregory A. Feest is a retired United States Air Force Air Force major general who last served as the Chief of Safety of the United States Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., and commander of the Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Jeannie Marie Leavitt is a United States Air Force (USAF) general officer. She became the U.S. Air Force's first female fighter pilot in 1993, and was the first woman to command a USAF combat fighter wing. In April 2021, she was appointed to replace Major General John T. Rauch as Chief of Safety of the United States Air Force, and assumed office on August 13, 2021.
The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing is the parent organization for the 479th Flying Training Group, located at NAS Pensacola, Florida and the 306th Flying Training Group, at The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. The 12th Wing is the only unit in the Air Force conducting both pilot instructor training and combat systems officer training.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
