Careers

Career Description

Every Air Force plane around the world requires an airfield in order to take off and land. These aircraft must be able to launch at a moment's notice, so it's imperative the airfield be safe and well maintained at all times. That responsibility is the duty of Airfield Management specialists. It may sound like an easy job, but it's not. Airfield Management specialists ensure runways are clear of foreign objects and lighting systems function properly, in addition to responding to ground emergencies and communicating hazards to pilots. The safe takeoff and landing of aircraft, and more importantly their crews, rest squarely on your shoulders.

Career Tasks

• Use electronic or mechanical equipment during snowy conditions to determine the runway braking action for aircraft to land or take off safely
• Respond to in-flight and ground emergencies such as the removal or dispersal of birds and wildlife on or near the airfield using pyrotechnics or bioacoustics
• Issue notices to Airmen for flight hazards that would pose safety of flight problems to pilots
• Check flight plans, flight service stations and control towers via telephones and computers
• Use radios to coordinate information with other base agencies in flight or on the ground
• Maintain flight-planning displays to include airfield diagrams, status of navigational aids, crash grid maps and flight information publications
• Coordinate with agencies such as air traffic control, civil engineers and command post to ensure support of airfield management

Relevant Interests & Skills

• Business Operations
• Logistics
• Facility Management
• Meteorology
• Problem-solving

Training

After eight-and-a-half weeks of Basic Military Training, every Airman goes to technical training to learn their career. Here's the basic information about Airfield Management technical training:

School location: Keesler AFB [MS]

Length of course: 30 days

College degree earned: Aviation Management

College credits earned: 13