1 AFSC, 2 Sides, Multiple Responsibilities

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joshua Crane
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  For many Air Force careers it's not uncommon to arrive at your first duty station, fresh out of technical training school with a brand new, shiny Air Force Specialty Code badge.

However, for the Air Traffic Controllers with the AFSC 1C1X1 it's a different story.

Not only must the controllers complete, at minimum, a year of on-the-job training before receiving their 5-level AFSC badge, they aren't even sure which facet of the career they will delve into until the last few weeks of their school.

The two major areas of the career are tower control and radar approach control.

Airman 1st Class Todd Colvin, 60th Operations Support Squadron tower controller, explained the three main positions -- Flight Data, Ground Control and Local Control -- that an Airman must be qualified in to receive their 5-level badge for tower control.

An Airman with a 5-level tower rating and additional training may have their own trainees. As well as work toward more position ratings and better themselves as controllers, Colvin said.

Similarly RAPCON controllers require a Special Experience Identifier, which consists of an arrival control position rating, an approach rating and an assist rating, said Airman 1st Class Matthew Gibson, 60th OSS RAPCON controller.

"Although the SEI requires one arrival, one approach and one assist rating each, there are seven possible positions to be rated on in the RAPCON," said Gibson. "Two approach sectors, an arrival sector, two assists to the approach controllers, clearance delivery and radar coordinator."

Qualification requirements and standards to complete tasks may be similar within the two facilities, but after that the career begins to divide.

RAPCON controllers at Travis are responsible for more than 1,850 miles of airspace from surface to 10,000 feet, while tower controllers are responsible for 4.3 miles around the base from surface to 2,600 feet.

"There are no windows in a radar room and it is typically very dark," Gibson said.

Gibson explained that RAPCON, at times, is considered the more difficult of the two because of the amount of airspace coverage.

"We're not just handling military aircraft," said Gibson. "We control aircraft over a large portion of Northern California."

"The tower is essentially the opposite of the dark settings of the RAPCON. With a 360 degree view from the tower, on a clear day, you can see the snow-capped sierras," Colvin said. "It gives us an advantage to spot potential debris hazards or bird-strikes as well as see distant fires on or off base."

Although the tower watches less airspace than the RAPCON, situations can quickly arise when trying to fit more than three heavy jets into the smaller airspace, proving the importance of the tower to guide them, said Colvin.

"I love my job," Colvin said. "It keeps me on my toes, prepared for what's coming next and it's good to know that because I'm doing my part of the mission, the wing mission can continue."