Air Force combat controllers – only the toughest need apply

EIELSON AFB, Alaska - A combat controller operating on Fort Wainwright's range 2205 communicates with two inbound F-15 fighter jets preparing to drop Mark-82 500-pound bombs during a training mission as part of Exercise Northern Edge 2009 June 23. Combat controllers are part of the Air Force's special operations community and routinely find themselves coordinating air support, among other duties, in remote combat zones. (United States Air Force photo/1st. Lt. John Callahan)

Air Force combat controllers – only the toughest need apply

EIELSON AFB, Alaska -- Air Force combat controllers use a variety of gear, such as laser range finders, communications equipment and compasses, to help direct pilots to their correct targets. Several combat controllers called in strikes from a pair of F-15 fighter jets which dropped Mark-82 500-pound bombs on Fort Wainwright's Range 2205, June 23, 2009. The training mission was part of Exercise Northern Edge 2009, which is an exercise designed to prepare joint forces to respond to crises in the Asian Pacific region. (United States Air Force photo/1st. Lt. John Callahan)

Air Force combat controllers – only the toughest need apply

EIELSON AFB, Alaska -- A combat controller operating in Fort Wainwright's range 2205 identifies possible avenues of approach for two F-15 fighter jets he and his fellow CCTs are preparing to direct onto targets June 23, 2009. During this training mission, which was part of Exercise Northern Edge 2009, the CCTs coordinated air strikes from B-52 bombers and from F-15s, who dropped both 500 and 2000 pound bombs. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. John Callahan)

Air Force combat controllers – only the toughest need apply

EIELSON AFB, Alaska -- Air Force combat controllers use a variety of gear, such as laser range finders, communications equipment and compasses, to help direct pilots to their correct targets after identifying all threats in their area. Several combat controllers called in strikes from a pair of F-15 fighter jets who dropped Mark-82 500-pound bombs on Fort Wainwright's Range 2205, June 23, 2009. The training mission was part of Exercise Northern Edge 2009, which is an exercise designed to prepare joint forces to respond to crises in the Asian Pacific region. (United States Air Force photo/1st. Lt. John Callahan.)

Air Force combat controllers - only the toughest need apply

Published June 26, 2009
By Air Force 1st Lt. John Callahan
Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau

EIELSON AFB, Alaska -- Air Force combat controllers are a rare breed: an elite group of specialists who accompany U.S. ground troops - usually small teams of special operations forces - to serve as a liaison between those forces and the air support they rely on.

Each combat controller is a fully qualified air traffic control expert, able to manage the complex air operations above a combat zone or remote airfield. Many also qualify as Joint Terminal Attack Control experts, coordinating air strikes, reconnaissance and other forms of air support on behalf of the ground troops they accompany.

"It definitely takes a special kind of person to do this," said Capt. Garrett (last name withheld for security reasons), commander of a small team of combat controllers with the 320th Special Tactics Squadron. Based at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Garrett's team is in Alaska participating in Exercise Northern Edge 2009.

"The typical combat controller is your classic 'Type A' personality," he explained, listing off some of the things the Air Force looks for in a recruit. "Absolute self-confidence, to the point where they are not afraid to make mistakes. A 'never quit' attitude. And, bottom line, you really need to be an athlete. This job is just so physical. You look around at this career field, and it's all a bunch of high-school and college wrestlers and swimmers."
"That's right," agreed Airman 1st Class John, the team's junior member. "In fact, that's how I got into this field. I grew up playing a lot of soccer and basketball. At some point, a recruiter who had seen me play, I think, came up to me and said, 'Hey, have you ever considered Special Forces?' Until that point, I would have said 'Me? Special Forces?'"
Ultimately, Capt. Garrett and Airman 1st Class John agreed, it is mental and emotional toughness that sets the combat controller apart. Every combat controller is the survivor of an incredibly grueling training and selection "pipeline," similar to that endured by the better-known Navy SEALS, Air Force pararescuers and other special operations units. The entire process, Airman 1st Class John said, is designed to try to convince participants to quit.

"The instructors will always give you an easy out," he said. "And they never let you know exactly how much work you have ahead of you or when you'll be done. In other words, they won't say, 'We'll be training tonight until 2100 hours.' Instead, they'll just say, 'All right, let's go.' Or they'll tell your team something like, "Push this Humvee up the hill. When you're done, do it again, and keep doing it." For all you know, you'll be working all day and night. And that does happen!"

Once a combat controller graduates training, his unique blend of skills places him in high demand.

"We travel and train so much, sometimes it seems like we're hardly ever actually at our base," said Airman 1st Class John.

Captain Garrett said his team members were eager to put their training to good use. In fact, the prospect of a difficult and dangerous assignment to a combat zone was one of the things that attracted him to the life of a combat controller.

"Let's face it - we do a lot of cool stuff," he said. "Jumps, diving, travel ... we love what we do."

A combat controller's roots lie in the U.S. Army's old Pathfinder Corps, a group of WWII paratroopers trained to drop into an assault zone in advance of the main force, identifying drop zones and guiding in gliders and troop transport planes.