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| News > New AFSC merges certain gunners, engineers, loadmasters |
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Staff Sgt. Sarah Mrak, an AC-130U Spooky aircraft aerial gunner with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, loads a 105 mm gun Feb. 3, 2011, during a training mission at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The AC-130U is the primary weapon of Air Force Special Operations Command. Its primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. The AC-130U is equipped with side-firing, trainable 25 mm, 40 mm and 105 mm guns. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock)
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New AFSC merges certain gunners, engineers, loadmasters
Posted 8/6/2012 Updated 8/9/2012
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8/6/2012 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Some 924 enlisted aviators will find themselves with a new Air Force specialty code Oct. 31.
The new career field, 1A9X1 Special Missions Aviation, will merge aerial gunners with flight engineers on vertical lift aircraft, such as the HH-60 Pave Hawk and CV-22 Osprey, with loadmasters on AC-130 Gunships and other non-standard aircraft used by special operations forces.
"The new career field was created to balance and sustain the career enlisted aviator force and to create a larger pool of qualified personnel to perform the duties required to meet the needs of current and future Air Force's missions," said Chief Master Sgt. Douglas Massingill, the career field manager for career enlisted aviators.
Master Sgt. Matthew Ardis, career enlisted aviator in-service recruiter, expanded on that point.
He said merging the career field of aerial gunners, which typically overflows with new applicants, and the career field of certain loadmasters and flight engineers, which often suffers from manning shortages, results in the sustainable balance of which Massingill referred.
The merger won't be too drastic for most of the affected Airmen, Ardis said, since many gunner duties already overlap with those of engineers and loadmasters.
"Flight engineers have been working guns since the guns have been on the aircraft," Ardis said.
The learning curve might be slightly steeper for loadmasters, but Ardis said he expects them to catch on quickly because, while they may not typically fire aircraft guns, they still have familiarity with their basic function and operation.
The requirements for Airmen or new recruits interested in joining the special missions aviation career field include the ability to:
· pass a class III flight physical,
· score at least 60 on the mechanical portion or 57 on the general portion of the armed services vocational aptitude battery test,
· lift 70 pounds
· and obtain a secret security clearance.
Airmen looking to retrain into this career field can contact Master Sgt. Matthew Ardis at cea.recruiting@pentagon.af.mil or (703) 697-1717.
(Editor's note: We incorrectly listed the HH-60 helicopter in this story as a Black Hawk. The U.S. Air Force actually flies the HH-60 Pave Hawk. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.) |
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| Davis Al, Randolph AFB TX |
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| Ole MissUSAF, Atlanta GA |
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