One of nine Career Fields in the United States Air Force’s Operations Career Group, Command and Control (C&C) Systems Operations (1C) comprises ten Air Force Specialty Codes. Broadly speaking, the systems involved in C&C are used to monitor aerospace and in the detection of aerospace objects and vehicles, including missiles.
Among the functions and duties performed by Airmen in these specialties are air traffic control (including the use of radio and radar), runway operations, airfield management, navigational assistance including plotting functions, operating electronic warfare countermeasures, performing preventive maintenance on requisite equipment, providing terminal strike control functions if needed, and related administrative and custodial tasks (this list is by no means exhaustive).
A rundown of what specialties are included in the C&C Career Field will not only give you a better idea of just how expansive the field is, but also a better notion of what is involved in each job because of the self-explanatory nature of most of the titles.
Closely related specialties include Aviation Resource Management (1C0X2), Air Traffic Control (1C1X1), Airfield Management (1C7X1), Ground Radar Systems (1C8X1), and Airfield Systems (1C8X2). The Technical School for all these is located at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, with course times running from 26 days (Aviation Resource Management) to 127 and 139 days respectively for Ground Radar Systems and Airfield Systems.
Combat Control (1C2X1) and Tactical Air Control Party (1C4X1) are members of USAF Special Operations, and as such have stringent physical requirements and extensive training periods. Initial training for these two specialties takes place at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, with specialists receiving training at several other locations including Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina and Fort Moore (formerly known as Fort Benning) in Georgia. The Technical Schools for Command Post (1C3X1) and C&C Battle Management Ops (1C5X1) are also held at Keesler Air Force Base.
Although they are included in the C&C Career Field,
Air Traffic Control and
Space Systems Operation (1C6X1) have their own occupational badges. Additionally, the C&C Battle Management Ops specialty has a shredout,
Weapons Director (D) , that becomes available at the 3-, 5-, and 7-skill levels. If an Airmen earns the basic badge for both C&C and Weapons Director, subsequent Senior and Master levels can be awarded for only one of the badges.