USMC OFFICER

Air Support Control Officer 7208

Air Support Control Officer 7208

Photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew Cortez

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MOS
Officer

The Aviation Command and Control OccFld includes the operation and management of the air command and control functions associated with the MAW. Qualifications required include manual dexterity for man-machine interface, highly developed visual/auditory skills, the ability to communicate effectively with radios, and the leadership and skills to work effectively as a member of a command and control team. The duties involve skills and procedures that are initially acquired through formal schools and further developed by individual and team training. Air Control, ATC, Air Support and AAW Marines will be required to learn the planning, emplacement, and operation of air command, control, traffic control, and AAW systems and equipment. A wide variety of FMF billets are available in the OccFld in the active and reserve forces at group, squadron/battalion, or battery level. Numerous Non-FMF assignments also exist at the Marine Corps Systems Command, Marine Corps Air Stations worldwide, in Joint Commands, liaison billets, and as instructors at MOS-producing schools.

What is a 7208?

Air Support Control Officers plan, direct, and coordinate air support missions in support of MAGTF operations. They are responsible for processing immediate requests for close air support and medical evacuations, integrating aviation with other supporting arms, and procedurally controlling aircraft throughout the MAGTF area of operations. Air Support Control Officers normally work in the Direct Air Support Center (DASC) or one of its subordinate elements, which are co-located with the GCE, specifically with the FSCC, when deployed. The DASC, while a MAW unit, deploys tactically with the GCE and provides procedural control of all aircraft within the GCE Commander’s battlespace (up to a certain altitude). Above that altitude, and beyond the fire support coordination line (FSCL), Air Defense Control Officers, operating from the Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC), are positively controlling the airspace via radar.

Are there any prerequisites to becoming an Air Support Control Officer?

  1. Must be eligible for a secret security clearance.

  2. Must have normal color vision.

  3. Complete the Air Support Control Officer Course (ASCOC) at MCCES aboard MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, CA. Course length is 67 training days. The purpose of the course is to provide initial training to entry level and laterally moved officers in the operation of the DASC. This course is designed to provide the entry-level student with a thorough knowledge of the six functions of Marine Corps Aviation, MAGTF operations, and how they directly relate to DASC operations. Emphasis is placed on procedures related to processing immediate air requests, integration of indirect fire, management of terminal control assets, and procedural control of aircraft operating within DASC airspace. Students will have the opportunity to conduct practical application exercises of lessons they have learned prior to their performance-based examination which are conducted in a simulated DASC environment. The introduction of the most current Command and Control data systems are presented to the students and integrated into DASC operations.

  4. Complete the AC2CC at MCCES aboard MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, CA. Course length is 24 training days. The purpose of the course is to provide a 1000 level aviation command and control knowledge base that will establish an entry-level training paradigm creating MACCS Officers who understand all facets of MACCS employment, not just that of their primary MOS. The AC2CC builds MOS proficiency and promotes standardization and cross training for the 7204, 7208, and 7210 officer accession pipelines (7220 via accession or skills progression) necessary to support current and future MACCS concepts of operations. Emphasis is placed on civil/military airspace, fires integration, digital interoperability, planning and employment of the MACCS agencies, and instruction in joint and coalition operations. Students will have the opportunity to conduct practical application exercises of lessons they have learned prior to their performance-based examination.

  5. Additional follow-on schools may include the Joint Fires Observe Course at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School on Fort Sill, OK, and the Joint Multi-Tactical Data Link Course on Fort Bragg, NC.

Common first assignments

A typical first tour assignment for Air Support Control Officer is within an O-5 (Lieutenant Colonel) command in a Marine Air Support Squadron (MASS) as part of the ACE of the MAGTF. There is one MASS subordinate to each active duty MACG as well as to 4th MAW as part of MARFORRES: MASS-3 aboard MCB Camp Pendleton, CA (MACG-38); MASS-1 aboard MCAS Cherry Point (MACG-28); MASS-2 aboard MCAS Futenma, Okinawa, Japan (MACG-18); and MASS-6 in Chicopee, MA (MACG-48). Air Support Control Officers in their first four to six months of being assigned to a MASS are focused on obtaining the control of aircraft qualifications.

Air Support Control Officers in their first tour may serve as Platoon Commander or Company Executive Officers within the MASS. They may also serve as Air Support Element (ASE) OICs responsible for performing various air support control functions or as an Air Support Liaison Team OICs responsible for maintaining face-to-face liaison between the DASC and FSCC. There is one ASE aboard every MEU, comprised of two Air Support Control Officers and team of up to 18 Marines from the MASS. The Air Support Liaison Team OIC may serve as either the Tactical Air Director or Helicopter Director, and sometimes both. Air Support Control Officers may also serve in Joint Commands with the U.S. Air Force within the E-8J Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar (JSTAR) community or as part of the U.S. Air Force 607th Air Support Operations Group (ASOG) aboard Osan Air Base in Osan, Republic of Korea. Additional Joint Command billets exist depending on the MASS to which you are assigned.

Recommended reading for Air Support Control Officers?

  • Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat. Dan Hampton

  • Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report, IV DASC Operations 1965-1969. Headquarters Pacific Air Forces

  • Marines at War: Stories from Afghanistan and Iraq. Paolo G. Tripodi and Kelly Frushour

  • The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. Daniel Coyle

  • Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor. Clinton Romesha

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