Air weapons officers big part of E-3 puzzle

Published Dec. 3, 2007
By Senior Airman Lorraine M. Amaro
552nd Air Control Wing Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- There are many people in the 552nd Air Control Wing that aid in each successful E-3 Sentry mission, and every person is an integral piece of the big wing puzzle: communications, maintenance, flyers and the Airmen who support them.
The air weapons officer is one of the most crucial parts of the puzzle. They are responsible for communicating with and controlling the fighters when a plane is identified as an enemy.
   "We increase pilots' situational awareness and as a result, are in a position to save someone's life," said Second Lt. Wes Rounsaville, an AWO in training from the 552nd Training Squadron. "Every day that we are not in some type of formal training we, as ABMs, should be striving to learn something new that we can bring to the fight."
   Lieutenant Rounsaville and other young officers like him start their training at Tyndall AFB, Fla., where they learn basic radar fundamentals, fighter tactics and how to verbally control a fighter. From there they move on to Tinker where they begin Boeing training, a 40-day session comprised of simulations to hone their AWO skills.
   After this training, the AWO heads to the 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron where the Airmen fly eight training flights before becoming a qualified AWO.
   "Our goal is to integrate them with the rest of the crew and teach them how to interact with each other and safely work on a jet. As far as their ability to control goes, we polish off the skills they learn at Tyndall," said Capt. Jason Idleman, an AWO trainer at the 966th AACS. "Our biggest challenge lies in finding the right way to teach each student, everyone learns differently."
   "We want to keep close control over the fighters while we are guiding them through the sky," said Lieutenant Rounsaville. "If we want a fighter to turn left, we tell them to turn left. If we want a fighter to turn right, we tell them to turn right."
   While keeping a close eye on our friends and foes, the AWO works to determine the best way to utilize the fighter assets and take out the designated target.
   Capt. David Bird, an AWO from the 966th, gives a rough example of what a mission might entail: "There are a lot of different elements of information coming into the combined air operations center and we are the execution piece, setting things into motion," Captain Bird said. "After all the information is poured into the CAOC, the commanders put it all together and figure out where the bad guys are. Once the target is verified, the objective is to get the bomb on it." That's when the order gets handed off to the AWOs to finish the job.
   "We assess what capabilities we have on hand, which not only includes what kind of weapons, but also the amount of fuel the jet is carrying," he said. Every aspect of the situation must be taken into consideration, Captain Bird continued, "and once the AWO has decided on the correct plane for the job, he sends out the order to get the mission done."