New brevet club
Air combat officer specialisation is introduced

Volume 48, No. 21, November 16, 2006

BUCKLE UP: 6SQN navigator FLTLT Susan Youngman will become part of the new air combat officer specialisation, along with airborne electronics officers, fighter controllers and air defence officers.  Photo by CPL Scott Woodward

By FLTLT Jade Hartland

AIR Force has a new specialisation to enable it to better deliver air power in the 21st century.

Major changes are in the wind across the board for Air Force over the next decade. With the changes will come new challenges and management demands.

Chief among these is the new specialisation – the air combat officer (ACO).

The new specialisation will comprise current and future navigators, airborne electronic officers, air defence officers and fighter controllers. They will all wear the Southern Cross brevet.

DGPERS-AF AIRCDRE John Hewitson explained the need for change.

“By 2015, Air Force will have changed nearly 80 per cent of its aircraft inventory,” he said.

“The delivery of the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C), C-17, Multi-Mission Unmanned Aerial Systems (MMUAS) and maritime aircraft (MMA), and eventually the new fighter, will lead Air Force into the next era of Network Centric Warfare (NCW) and also allow more capability and interoperability than ever before.

“Development of this future capability could not occur without reviewing the Air Force’s personnel structure to better reflect competencies required for a new way of delivering air power.”

In March 2005, then DCAF AVM Roxley McLennan directed a review of aircrew specialisations and their role in delivering air combat capability. Concurrently, the then DGPERS-AF AIRCDRE Lee Roberts conducted a review of the broader Air Force personnel strategy, which highlighted a significant commonality between future officer operators of the MMA, AEW&C and maritime UAV, and the Air Defence ground environment.

“All these officers will be required to make real-time command-and-control decisions in a three-dimensional environment in a concerted effort to deliver air combat capability,” AIRCDRE Hewitson said.

“This concept of operations will require a person with broad skills and experience.”

The result is the creation of the new ACO specialisation.

AIRCDRE Hewitson said the new ACO specialisation essentially combines the skill sets and experience of the existing officer classifications.

“ACOs and pilots will make up the Battlespace Command and Control group, which will be responsible for the direct application of air power, regardless of where the operator is physically located,” he said.

“From the operator on the ground in continental Australia relaying real time data to the operator in the AP-3C in the MEAO, NCW will link the ACOs for the execution of the overall mission.”

He said with the inception of the new platforms and capabilities, this is a very exciting and dynamic time for Air Force.

“To ensure it happens as smoothly as possible, it is crucial that Air Force retains sufficient personnel during the transition to maintain operational capability,” he said.

“Members moving into new employment groups are highly valued and appreciated for the service they have provided and will continue to provide.

“CAF and I are committed to ensuring that personnel are kept abreast of information concerning changing employment opportunities.”

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