Becoming an Air Gunner, Navigator or Air Force Crew Chief
I interviewed an Air Force crew chief: “What are the criteria to become an air gunner/navigator?” Is it better than being a crew chief? First, you have to join a unit that flies helicopters if you want to be a gunner (aka Aerial Observer A/O). You can’t be a crew chief unless you’ve moved and gone to MOS school – there’s an exception to this in the case of ‘domestic’ but that’s not in the cards unless you’ve previously flown as an A/ O.”
“Second – there must be a need to have you as AO – squadrons only have so many people who can have flight orders at a time (it’s all about money) and number of aircraft to T/O – it’s all spelled out in the training manuals and readiness (T&R) Third – you must be recommended by the squadron in the form of a Stan Board – which consists of the XO, Ops O, Natops O – and a few of the senior SNCOs who have been flying for a long time). “
“Fourth – you must be fit for duty – swimming qualification, physiology and flight physical. Fifth – if you can get this far – you should be able to start flying an initial A/O flight program that includes different types of flight modes’.
“It depends on aircraft maintenance, aircraft availability and the schedule – and if you don’t show your mentors, ‘gods’, crew chiefs, a willingness to learn or a willingness to help with maintenance efforts – you won’t earn trust or respect and your ambitious dreams of being a flying boy will be crushed to the extent of a malformed cat bend that missed the litter box.”
“There is a gunner/observer who is part (it’s part-time) of a helo crew. No, it’s not better than being a crew chief. Although, if you’re in another shop and not a crew chief, then yeah, that’s a great extra gig to do.”
“Remember, crew chiefs are like gods. And if you don’t show your mentors, gods, crew chiefs, a willingness to learn or a willingness to help with maintenance efforts – you won’t gain trust or respect and your ambitious dreams of being a flyboy will be crushed to the point of a misshapen cat spin , which missed the litter box.”
“Delta probably includes the most information. First you must be in a squadron that “needs” a crew. You can imagine yourself working in a tanning salon and rubbing massage oil into hot ladies, flying jobs are easy to get. “Make yourself marketable “! You need to be able to swim and you WILL need to be an airplane captain. If you don’t know what an airplane captain is, you should probably give up now.”
“It depends on the squadron. I was Huey’s crew chief. We had the following chain of training. Receiving flight orders. Observer (Go to NVG classes) Responsible for protecting your side of the aircraft from night strikes. You really should fly at night unless needed for another mission. Gunners (get the weapon syllabus) are responsible for firing on all targets on your side. “Also, responsible for not shooting, remember, you get whatever weapon the crew chief doesn’t want to shoot that day.”
“We had 3 quail M60, .50 cal and Mini Gun. The crew chief is responsible for “everything”. You are the senior person in the back and make “all” the decisions from the back of the pilot’s head to the back of the bird. You’re the guy the pilots go to for mechanical issues and make sure nothing falls out.”
“You are equally responsible for keeping the plane in the air as the pilot.” Every mission is different. As a crew chief you can fly as an observer — but as an observer you “can’t” fly as a crew chief. My squadron didn’t send you out until you completed the crew chief training program. We had guys in battle suits with EGAs instead of wings because they were gunners, not crew chiefs. “I think the C-130 could use an onboard navigator.”
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