Aviation Resource Management

You are training to be an Airfield Management Specialist — the person responsible for ensuring every aircraft at a military airfield has the information, support, and clearances it needs to operate safely. You are learning to run the operations desk at a military airfield, which is simultaneously an air traffic control coordination center, an aircraft safety database, and the first line of communication between flying operations and everyone else on the airfield.

Complete the Airfield Management initial skills training at Keesler AFB, MS under the 335th Training Squadron. Learn airfield certification requirements, NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) management, airfield condition reporting, runway inspection procedures, and the operations desk procedures that govern airfield access and aircraft ground movement. Study the FAA and ICAO standards that govern military airfield operations. Learn to coordinate with air traffic control, civil engineering, security forces, and wing leadership on airfield status and operational decisions. Practice airfield inspections and learn to identify and report conditions that affect aircraft safety.

• 01Airfield management operations desk procedures, NOTAM issuance and management, airfield condition reporting, runway inspection techniques, airfield certification standards, coordination with ATC and wing staff, FLIP (Flight Information Publications) maintenance

• —AFI 13-204 (Functional Management of Airfield Operations), FLIP documentation, FAA and ICAO airfield standards publications, local airfield certification documents and airfield operations instructions

• —Pass Airfield Management initial skills training; NOTAM procedures correct; airfield inspection results accurately reported; airfield certification standards known; operations desk procedures executed correctly during training

• —Treating airfield inspections as a compliance walk rather than a genuine safety assessment — the purpose of the inspection is to identify conditions that could damage aircraft or cause accidents, and an inspection completed quickly without genuine attention to pavement condition, lighting, and foreign object debris (FOD) is worse than useless because it creates false confidence.

An apprentice airfield management specialist who walks every airfield inspection with the question "what would I not want a pilot to find?" and who reports marginal conditions immediately rather than waiting to see if they worsen. They know the NOTAM system cold and never let a runway status change happen without the appropriate notification.

You are a qualified airfield management specialist, running the operations desk during your shift and maintaining the airfield certification documentation that governs flight operations at your installation.

Operate the airfield management operations desk during assigned shifts — fielding pilot requests, coordinating airfield use, maintaining FLIP currency, issuing NOTAMs, and communicating airfield status to flying squadrons and wing leadership. Conduct runway and airfield inspections. Maintain the airfield certification package and ensure that any conditions that affect certification are immediately reported and tracked. Coordinate with air traffic control on airfield lighting, runway status, and operational changes. Interface with civil engineering on pavement condition and airfield infrastructure issues. Brief incoming aircraft commanders on local procedures. Manage aircraft parking assignments during high-traffic periods.

• 01Operations desk management during shift, NOTAM issuance and coordination with ATC, airfield inspection execution, FLIP maintenance, aircraft parking management, airfield certification package currency, transient aircraft support

• —AFI 13-204, local airfield operations instructions, FLIP technical order, wing flying schedules, applicable FAA/ICAO publications for airfield operations

• —Shift operations desk managed without errors; NOTAMs issued accurately and timely; airfield inspections completed on schedule; FLIP documentation current; no airfield incidents attributable to operations desk error; transient aircraft supported correctly

• —Allowing FLIP and airfield documentation to become stale because updates arrive during busy periods and get deferred — outdated FLIP information in the hands of a transient pilot is a direct safety hazard. Failing to issue a NOTAM for a known airfield condition because "we can just brief it verbally" is exactly the kind of shortcut that causes incidents.

A SrA airfield management specialist who treats every NOTAM as a life-safety document and who has never had a FLIP amendment that sat in the stack waiting to be filed. Their shift handoffs are thorough, they brief the incoming shift on every open airfield condition, and they have never left an airfield status unresolved for the next person to discover.

You are the shift supervisor or section NCO, responsible for the quality and consistency of airfield management operations across the shifts you supervise and mentor.

Serve as the shift supervisor or section trainer for airfield management. Supervise junior specialists during the operations desk shift. Train apprentice and journeyman specialists on airfield inspection techniques, NOTAM management, and operations desk procedures. Evaluate their performance. Maintain the airfield certification documentation and ensure all required inspections and reports are completed correctly and on time. Interface with wing flying operations on scheduling conflicts and airfield status questions. Contribute to the airfield management section's standard operating procedures. Coordinate with air traffic control management on ongoing airfield issues that require sustained attention.

• 01Shift supervision, junior specialist training and evaluation, airfield certification documentation management, wing flying operations coordination, ATC management interface, operations desk procedure standardization

• —AFI 13-204, AFI 36-2201 (Training), local airfield ops instructions, wing flying schedule publications

• —Shift operated without errors under supervision; junior specialists qualified to standard; airfield certification package audit-ready at all times; wing flying operations satisfied with operations desk support

• —Allowing junior specialists to develop individual approaches to NOTAM issuance and airfield documentation that are not consistent with the local operating procedures — the operations desk must produce the same quality of output on every shift regardless of which specialist is on duty, and that consistency requires standardization, not personal style.

An SSgt shift supervisor who has documented every procedural nuance that is specific to their installation in supplemental training materials, so that a specialist who has been away for two weeks or a new arrival can execute the local procedures correctly from day one. Their juniors pass inspections because the training was thorough, not because the inspector was lenient.

You are the Airfield Manager or operations section NCOIC, responsible for the overall quality and regulatory compliance of airfield management operations at your installation.

Serve as the Airfield Manager or Airfield Management NCOIC. Own the airfield certification package — ensure the installation meets all FAA and AF airfield certification requirements and that the documentation is current and accurate. Supervise all shift supervisors and operations desk specialists. Brief the wing commander on airfield status and certification issues. Coordinate with civil engineering on airfield infrastructure projects that affect airfield operations. Interface with tenant units on airfield use, parking, and special operations requirements. Represent the wing at major command and FAA airfield inspections. Manage the section's training program, budget, and manning.

• 01Airfield Manager duties, airfield certification package ownership, wing commander briefings, civil engineering coordination on infrastructure, FAA and MAJCOM inspection preparation, section training program management, tenant unit coordination

• —AFI 13-204, FAA Advisory Circulars for military airfield operations, local airfield certification package, MAJCOM airfield inspection standards

• —Airfield certification maintained continuously; MAJCOM and FAA inspections passed; wing commander has accurate airfield status picture at all times; no certification lapses; civil engineering projects coordinated without operational impact

• —Allowing airfield certification documentation to be treated as a periodic compliance product rather than a continuous accuracy requirement — the certification package must be accurate today, not just before the next inspection. Airfield Managers who manage documentation in inspection cycles rather than continuously are building a certification gap that will eventually surface at the worst moment.

An Airfield Manager who can brief the wing commander on every open airfield discrepancy, its impact on operations, and the resolution timeline at any point during the week — not just when an inspection is coming. Their certification package is auditable on any Tuesday in December, not just in inspection months.

You are the senior airfield management NCO at the group or command level, advising senior leaders on airfield operations standards and managing the airfield management community across multiple installations.

Serve as the group or MAJCOM airfield management superintendent. Advise senior commanders on airfield certification standards, regulatory compliance, and airfield safety trends. Interface with ACC, AMC, or applicable MAJCOM on airfield management policy updates and training requirements. Represent the airfield management community at FAA and MAJCOM inspection programs. Manage the most complex airfield management personnel actions. Contribute to AFI 13-204 updates and airfield operations doctrine. Assist wing Airfield Managers with unusual or complex airfield situations that exceed unit-level authority to resolve. As 1stSgt, own the welfare and discipline of the airfield management formation.

• 01MAJCOM/group airfield oversight, FAA institutional interface, AFI policy contribution, complex airfield situation resolution, MAJCOM inspection program participation, personnel management, senior advisory

• —AFI 13-204, FAA regulations and Advisory Circulars, MAJCOM airfield management publications, ACC/AMC airfield standards documents

• —Wing Airfield Managers in portfolio meeting regulatory standards; FAA relationships productive; AFI input accurate and operationally grounded; complex situations resolved appropriately

• —Allowing airfield management to be perceived as a support function rather than a safety function by commanders who focus primarily on flying operations — the MSgt who does not actively communicate the safety significance of airfield management work allows the career field to be deprioritized in manning and resourcing decisions.

An MSgt who has a documented practice of briefing wing commanders on airfield safety trends — FOD rates, inspection findings, infrastructure condition trends — in terms of their impact on mission capability, not in terms of administrative compliance status. Commanders make better resourcing decisions when they understand what airfield management actually protects.

You are the most senior airfield management enlisted leader, shaping the career field and the Air Force's airfield operations capability at the command and institutional level.

Serve as the ACC or AMC airfield management career field functional manager or senior enlisted airfield operations advisor. Shape training standards, certification requirements, and career development for the 1C0X1 community. Advise four-star commanders on airfield operations standards, regulatory environment, and the safety implications of aging airfield infrastructure across the fleet. Interface with the FAA at the institutional level on military airfield standards and regulatory evolution. Contribute to airfield safety doctrine, including the implications of unmanned aircraft integration on airfield management practices. Ensure the career field pipeline produces Airfield Managers capable of the full range of military airfield types and complexity levels.

• 01Career field functional management, FAA institutional engagement, airfield safety doctrine, four-star advisory, airfield infrastructure safety advocacy, unmanned aircraft integration impact, pipeline oversight

• —ACC/AMC career field publications, FAA regulations, DoD airfield standards, AF force development publications

• —Career field pipeline producing qualified Airfield Managers for all installation types; FAA relationship functional and productive; airfield safety doctrine current; four-star commanders have accurate airfield certification status across the fleet

• —Allowing airfield infrastructure degradation to be treated as an acceptable risk without continuous escalation of its safety implications to four-star commanders and OSD — aging airfield pavement, degraded lighting, and deferred maintenance accumulate into certification failures that are harder and more expensive to fix the longer they are deferred.

A CMSgt who can brief the four-star on the specific airfield infrastructure risk profile across the fleet — which installations have certification compliance concerns, what the trend is, and what investment would be required to prevent certification failures — and who makes that brief annually without being asked.