By. Chris "UA" Lessard
What do you think about when you hear the term Airfield Operations Officer? Better yet, what do people that are not affiliated with our career field think when they hear that term? It seems that every time I mention what my AFSC is to other Air Force or other military service officers, I end up having to explain what our name actually does. This is one of the reasons that most people have referred to me as the Airfield Manager, and I politely correct them that the Airfield Manager is a SNCO or NCO on my staff. As our AFSC had developed over the last 4 decades from the Chief of Air Traffic Operations (CATCO) to Airfield Operations Officer when we integrated Airfield Management and now with RAWS mostly integrated in most MAJCOMs, we need to think about a new name for the AFSC. What I am going to propose is nothing drastic or irrational, but simply to state our mission. The Airfield Operations Officer (AO) career field should be renamed Airfield and Airspace Operations Officer.
Changing the name to Airfield and Airspace Officer tells those in the military and general public exactly what we are responsible for in the Air Force. Additionally, 13Ms as Airfield Operations Officers does not incorporate the combat airspace capability, we provide to combatant commanders at the operational level of war. While airfields can be looked at as a strategic center of gravity (COG) in war plans, it is typically seen in the tactical area of operations. Furthermore, we may see combat or military airspace as not just a subset of airfield operations but as an equal component as ATC, RAWS, and AM. We provide not only airfield operations, but the capability to build a coherent airspace structure to meet the needs of combatant commanders all over the world.
Changing the name of the AFSC will require some bureaucratic paperwork, and we’ll have to change all of our documents that reference the old name, but I believe that the name change is necessary. This argument is not lengthy, nor should it be overly complicated. Merely changing the name of 13Ms to Airfield and Airspace Officers correctly summarizes what we do in the Air Force and provide to the combatant commanders. It also fully incorporates the RAWS mission into our functional area since some of their equipment is utilized as part of the national airspace system.
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