Command and Control Battle Management Operations

You are the apprentice Command and Control Battle Management Operations Airman. The Air Operations Center runs on the work of people who know every system, every feed, and every procedure cold — and right now your job is to earn the right to be one of them by closing the 5-skill upgrade without putting a bad call on the floor.

You graduated the C2 Battle Management Operations course and now you are sitting in an AOC, a Sector Operations Center, or a Combat Operations Division at your first duty station. Your days are a mix of supervised shift work on the operations floor — monitoring the C2 picture on GCCS-AF or the wing's current battle management system, cross-checking ATO execution against the live track picture, and learning the procedures and checklists that senior Airmen run without looking at a card. You are not making calls yet; you are building the map inside your head: who talks to whom, what the deconfliction procedures are, how the ATO cycle flows from planning through execution and where your seat plugs into it. You are also burning through the CDCs for the 1C551 upgrade, working your CFETP task list against the SSgt's timeline, and beginning to understand the difference between watching the air picture and actively managing it.

• 01Monitor and cross-check the C2 system picture — track files, airspace coordination areas, altitude reservations, and ATO execution status — and flag the discrepancy before the journeyman has to catch it.
• 02Execute the shift checklist and station turn-over procedures to the flight's standard: nothing leaves the outgoing crew's hands until the incoming crew has verbally confirmed the picture is understood.
• 03Operate the communications suite on your assigned console — voice nets, chat, record-traffic — and maintain radio discipline under the SSgt's supervision without cluttering a busy C2 frequency.
• 04Navigate the Air Tasking Order structure: find a mission by tail number or call sign, read the ATO line, identify the aircraft's window and assignment, and flag a discrepancy between tasking and execution.
• 05Apply airspace deconfliction fundamentals — altitude blocks, time blocks, restricted operating zones, and the coordination area structure — at the level a supervised apprentice is expected to operate on a routine shift.
• 06Maintain TS/SCI clearance eligibility and read-on protocols exactly as briefed — accesses determine what systems you can touch and who you can talk to, and one self-report failure is a career event.

• —CFETP 1C5X1 — Career Field Education and Training Plan: the line-item task list your SSgt signs off against; read it before your first shift rotation and know which line items are open.
• —JP 3-30 — Command and Control of Joint Air Operations: the joint doctrine document that explains why the AOC exists and where your seat fits in the joint C2 structure.
• —AFI 13-1AOC-series — Air Operations Center standards (verify current volume against e-Publishing): the governing instruction for AOC operations, procedures, and crew responsibilities.
• —Your CDC volumes for the 1C551 upgrade — do the work; do not just answer the end-of-course test. The SKT draws from CDC fundamentals and a gap in the CDCs is a gap in the live ops picture.
• —AFI 1-1 — Air Force Standards: the umbrella conduct document; know it.
• —DAFMAN 36-2905 — Department of the Air Force Physical Fitness Program: the PT standard that does not pause for rotating shift schedules.

• —CDC volumes complete and End-of-Course exam passed inside the AETC-prescribed timeline — late CDCs are the first counseling of the career.
• —5-skill level (1C551) upgrade signed off on the CFETP suspense — every task evaluated, no open line items at the section chief's audit.
• —TS/SCI clearance and all required accesses maintained, all self-report obligations met on time; a single lapse grounds you from the ops floor.
• —PT test passing under current DAFMAN 36-2905; no body composition program entry as an A1C.
• —CCAF transcript moving — the C2 Systems Technology or applicable AAS path; at minimum the first AFSC-related course started before you pin SrA.

• —Missing a track discrepancy on your assigned sector because the picture looked clean. The C2 floor runs on shared vigilance — the SSgt who catches the error after you passed it is also the SSgt writing your EPB inputs.
• —Breaking radio discipline on a busy C2 net. Unnecessary transmissions and non-standard prowords step on the calls that matter; the Duty Officer notices and so does every headset on that net.
• —Failing to execute the turnover checklist completely because the incoming crew was in a hurry. An incomplete turnover means the next crew is working from a picture they did not fully inherit — and when something goes wrong an hour later, the chain of custody runs back to you.
• —Discussing classified system details, track data, or operational tasking outside the accredited space — in the car pool, in the smoke pit, in a text message. The OPSEC brief is not abstract; a single disclosure triggers a Security Forces and JA inquiry.
• —Attempting to resolve a system or coordination issue independently to avoid admitting the error. The AOC's margin for ambiguity in the live picture is zero — surface it, say it clearly, and let the journeyman close it.

The good A1C 1C5 is the apprentice who earns the section's trust quietly: shift checklist executed without prompting, turnover given cleanly, radio discipline flawless, and every track discrepancy flagged before the SSgt rounds the floor. By the BTZ window the section chief is building the early SrA case; by month eighteen the CDCs are closed, the 5-skill upgrade is signed, and the SSgt is already talking about which ATO cell to put them in next.

You are the journeyman Battle Management Operations Airman. The 5-skill upgrade is done and your supervisor is starting to let your calls stand without verifying them first — which means a bad deconfliction decision is no longer a training event, it is a real-world airspace problem.

You run a position on the operations floor under reduced supervision — executing airspace deconfliction, monitoring ATO execution, managing coordination across agencies sharing the air picture, and beginning to handle real-time calls when the picture gets complex. You are the primary operator on your console for a full shift, you conduct battle position turnover as the experienced side of the handshake, and you are beginning to mentor the new A1C the way you were mentored six months ago — walking them through the checklist, the system, and the picture. You are also studying for the SSgt WAPS cycle: PFE and the 1C5X1 SKT. The ATO cycle is no longer abstract — you understand where your shift's execution fits inside the 72-hour planning-to-execution rhythm, and you know what the previous shift left you and what the next shift is going to need. At units with deployed CAOC billets, the conversation about your first deployed rotation is beginning.

• 01Execute real-time airspace deconfliction — altitude blocks, timing windows, coordination area boundaries — and resolve a conflict in the picture without holding up the mission or kicking it up the chain for a call you should own.
• 02Brief the full shift picture during turnover as the outgoing senior position — track status, open coordination actions, system alerts, and anything the incoming crew needs to know before the handshake is complete.
• 03Manage multi-agency coordination on a complex shift: route changes, altitude block modifications, ROZ adjustments, and emergency deviation requests — handling the radio and the record traffic simultaneously.
• 04Train and sign off CFETP apprentice-level task items for the A1C below you — demonstrate, supervise, document in the training record — holding the same standard the SSgt held you to.
• 05Write a clean EPB self-input with measurable results. The bullets the SSgt copies into the stratification are the ones you wrote; the ones you did not write are the ones no one defends at the WAPS cycle.
• 06Operate effectively during sustained shift rotation schedules — nights, mids, days, 12-hour blocks — with the same ops discipline at 0300 as at 0900, because the ATO cycle does not adjust for your fatigue.

• —CFETP 1C5X1 — you sign at the apprentice level when delegated; the 7-skill line items are the next horizon.
• —JP 3-30 — Command and Control of Joint Air Operations: know this well enough to explain your seat's role to a new Army LNO who has never worked in an AOC.
• —AFI 13-1AOC-series — current AOC standards and crew position procedures: verify the active volume on e-Publishing; the section NCOIC will quiz you on the specifics.
• —DAFMAN 36-2406 — Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems: the EPB / Stratification inputs your SSgt is writing about you, built from the bullets you give them.
• —DAFI 36-2502 — Enlisted Promotions: WAPS mechanics — pull the current AFPC promotion message, know your sequence number, start the SKT study 90 days out, not 30.
• —AFI 36-2606 — Reenlistment in the United States Air Force: your first selective re-enlistment window may open during this tier; read the policy before your career counselor schedules the appointment.

• —5-skill level (1C551) complete; 7-skill CDCs in motion and on track against the CFETP craftsman timeline.
• —ALS slot held and graduated — ALS in residence is the prerequisite for pinning SSgt; do not let the class date slide because of a shift rotation conflict.
• —SSgt WAPS taken on the first attempt inside the window — PFE and the 1C5X1 SKT, current AFPC promotion message followed exactly.
• —TS/SCI clearance and all accesses current; periodic reinvestigation paperwork submitted on time without prompting from the security manager.
• —CCAF C2 Systems Technology AAS or equivalent in striking distance — two-thirds complete is the visible-on-paper standard at the SrA-to-SSgt window.

• —Resolving a deconfliction conflict with a verbal coordination that was never entered into the record traffic. Verbal calls on a busy floor evaporate; the coordination that saves the inquiry is the one in the log.
• —Passing a system anomaly to the incoming crew at turnover without flagging it explicitly. "The picture looked a little off but I thought it was recovering" is not a turnover — it is a delayed problem.
• —Signing off an A1C's CFETP task because the task "looked good enough." That signature says the Airman is qualified; if they make a bad call six weeks later on that task, your sign-off is on the review.
• —Skipping the EPB self-input because the shift schedule made it inconvenient. The bullets you do not write are the ones the WAPS board never sees.
• —Treating the WAPS SKT study window as a 30-day problem. The 1C5X1 SKT covers the breadth of the career field — the Airman who starts at 90 days beats the one who starts at 30, consistently.

The good SrA 1C5 is the position operator the SSgt puts on the high-tempo shift — the large-force exercise execution window, the night CAS push — because the picture is tracked, the record traffic is current, and turnover comes out clean every time. ALS is done or on the schedule; the SKT study plan started at 90 days; the A1C's training record is current; and the SSgt WAPS cycle is a first attempt.

You are the new NCO in the AOC. The stripe is on, ALS is behind you, and the section chief now holds you personally responsible for the quality of the C2 picture your section produces — the calls your Airmen make, the coordination they log, and the turnover they hand off.

You supervise a crew position or a section of 3-6 SrAs and Amn on the operations floor, you sign CFETP line items at the journeyman level, and you own the training tracker for the Airmen under you. You are the senior voice in the room during the shifts you work — the A1Cs and SrAs bring you the hard coordination calls, the system alerts they are not sure how to read, and the deconfliction problems that do not fit the checklist. You are building EPB / Stratification inputs for the SrAs you rate, running the section training plan against the CFETP, and sitting in the weekly crew training meeting as the section's voice. You are working the 7-skill upgrade (1C571) CDCs in parallel with the TSgt WAPS cycle. The ATO cycle is something you understand end to end now — you have worked planning, execution, and assessment shifts, and you brief the section's picture to the flight chief without hesitation.

• 01Supervise a crew position section through a complex execution shift — large-force exercises, time-sensitive tasking, emergency deviation requests, airspace conflict resolution — and be the steady voice the SrAs look toward when the picture gets compressed.
• 02Write defensible EPB / Stratification inputs under DAFMAN 36-2406 — measurable bullets, action / result / impact, and no apprentice-tier filler recycled into the NCO block.
• 03Sign off CFETP line items at the journeyman level and own the audit when the Functional Manager reviews the section's training records.
• 04Brief the section's training status and CFETP currency to the flight chief at the weekly review — who is current, who is open, what is the plan to close the gap.
• 05Mentor the section's WAPS candidates — PFE and the 1C5X1 SKT for SrAs going for SSgt — using the current AFPC promotion message timeline and starting at 90 days.
• 06Enforce TS/SCI and OPSEC discipline across the section — brief the policy at the start of each rotation, inspect the workspace before end of shift, and report any access or handling anomaly immediately.

• —CFETP 1C5X1 — you sign at the journeyman level; the 7-skill (1C571) upgrade line items are in progress.
• —JP 3-30 — Command and Control of Joint Air Operations: you brief from this doctrine at the section and flight chief level; know chapters governing the AOC's role in the joint air operations structure.
• —AFI 13-1AOC-series — current AOC standards: you enforce these at the section level and you run corrective training when a crew member deviates.
• —DAFMAN 36-2406 — Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems: you write EPB / Stratification inputs now — verify the current revision on e-Publishing before you build a bullet.
• —DAFI 36-2502 — Enlisted Promotions: the WAPS / sequence-number / stratification mechanics you both administer and compete inside.
• —AFI 1-1 — Air Force Standards; DAFMAN 36-2905 — current Air Force fitness program.

• —ALS graduate; 7-skill level (1C571) CDCs in progress against the CFETP craftsman timeline — section chief is watching the pace.
• —NCOA packet building — the TSgt pin requires it; do not wait for the flight chief to bring it up.
• —Section CFETP currency defensible at the Functional Manager review: no open line items past suspense, no unsigned task evaluations.
• —Zero TS/SCI access violations or OPSEC incidents attributable to your section during your tenure as shift NCO.
• —PT test passing with the visible-on-paper score the section reads on the squadron slide; WAPS for TSgt taken inside the window on the first attempt.

• —Letting a coordination record gap sit in the log because the shift was busy and you planned to clean it up later. The post-mission review pulls the log and the gap is attributed to your shift.
• —Building EPB inputs from memory at the suspense without measurable data from the SrAs' actual shift performance. The senior rater downgrades bullets that cannot be defended with specifics.
• —Signing off a CFETP task under time pressure when the Airman has not actually demonstrated it to standard. The task evaluation is the foundation of the floor's proficiency — your signature is a professional claim.
• —Treating the OPSEC and TS/SCI brief as a once-per-quarter administrative event rather than a daily ops discipline. The section NCO who normalizes cutting corners on classification handling is the NCO who owns the security incident report.
• —Running the TSgt WAPS study, the 7-skill CDCs, and the NCOA packet as three sequential problems. They run in parallel at this tier; the SSgt who waits for the one to finish before starting the next is the one explaining the gap to the Functional Manager.

The good SSgt 1C5 is the shift NCO the flight chief names when a visiting DV wants to see the operations floor in action — because the section runs clean, the SrAs brief their positions without being prompted, and the record traffic is current. ALS is done, the TSgt WAPS is a first attempt, the NCOA packet is in, and the 7-skill CDCs are open between shifts.

You are the section NCOIC on the operations floor. The squadron chief watches whether your section can be handed the worst execution shift of the week and come back with the picture intact, and the MSgt Functional Manager is starting to build the case for SNCOA and the assignment that broadens your record.

You are the NCOIC of a section or crew position in an AOC, SOC, or Combat Operations Division — or you are filling a deployed CAOC billet where the workload is the same and the support structure is not. You run 5-10 Airmen across SrAs and SSgts, you write 2-3 EPB / Stratification reports per cycle that decide whether your SSgts pin TSgt, and you sit in the squadron staff meeting as the section's senior voice. You own the section's full operational proficiency picture — CFETP currency, system certifications, crew position qualifications — and you defend it to the flight chief and the Functional Manager at the quarterly review. You are a senior technical voice on the floor: the shift supervisor who calls you when the picture goes complex is usually one rank below you, and the answer they get from you is the one the operations floor acts on. You are building the SNCOA packet and running the career-broadening conversation — joint billet, AFDC/schoolhouse, instructor, CAOC deployment lead — in parallel with the daily job.

• 01Own the section's operational proficiency program — crew position qualifications, CFETP currency, system certification tracking — and defend it at the Functional Manager's quarterly review without a single expired line item.
• 02Write 2-3 EPB / Stratification inputs per cycle under DAFMAN 36-2406 with bullets the senior rater can defend at the squadron roll-up — measurable, specific, tied to observable shift performance.
• 03Run the section through a complex execution shift — time-sensitive tasking surge, airspace conflict escalation, communications degradation, system outage — and close the shift with the picture correct and the log complete.
• 04Brief the flight chief, squadron chief, or visiting CAOC director on the section's readiness and current operational picture in language that translates without rewording to the next echelon.
• 05Mentor the section's WAPS candidates — PFE and the 1C5X1 SKT for SSgts testing for TSgt — using current AFPC promotion message timelines, starting at 90 days.
• 06Translate C2 picture complexity into actionable risk language for a supported commander who is not an AOC Airman: "We have a potential deconfliction window gap from 0230 to 0315 that affects the tanker stack; here are the options and the timelines."

• —CFETP 1C5X1 — you sign at the craftsman level and audit the section's line items; the 9-skill upgrade conversation is beginning.
• —JP 3-30 — Command and Control of Joint Air Operations: you brief from this at the flight chief and commander level; know the chapters on component C2 responsibilities and the AOC's role in the JFACC's mission.
• —AFI 13-1AOC-series — current AOC standards and senior crew position responsibilities: verify active volumes on e-Publishing; you enforce and teach from them.
• —DAFMAN 36-2406 — Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems: you write 2-3 EPB / Stratification reports per cycle; verify the current revision before you build a bullet.
• —DAFI 36-2502 — Enlisted Promotions: the MSgt board mechanics — verify the current AFPC promotion message; PFE only at this level, no SKT for MSgt and above.
• —AFI 1-1 — Air Force Standards; DAFMAN 36-2905 — Air Force fitness program; AFI 36-2606 — Reenlistment.

• —NCOA graduate; SNCOA packet in motion — resident vs correspondence, verify current eligibility on MyFSS / e-Publishing.
• —7-skill level (1C571) complete; section CFETP currency defensible at the Functional Manager review; 9-skill conversation active.
• —Zero TS/SCI access violations or classified handling incidents attributable to your section during your NCOIC tenure.
• —Section crew position qualifications green across the board at every wing-level readiness inspection; no expired certifications on your watch.
• —MSgt WAPS taken inside the window — PFE only at this level; pull the current AFPC promotion message and check vMPF for your sequence number.

• —Hiding a section proficiency gap — a crew position qualification that lapsed, a system certification that expired — from the flight chief to "fix it before the quarterly review." The Functional Manager's audit finds it, and TSgt-level section NCOICs lose billets over this.
• —Letting your strongest SSgt carry the section's complex shift load because they are technically sharper right now. The day that SSgt deploys to the CAOC, the section is exposed and the squadron chief asks where you were during the development window.
• —Building EPB / Stratification inputs without measurable data from actual shift performance. The senior rater downgrades quietly, and your SSgts do not pin TSgt.
• —Treating the SNCOA / career-broadening / MSgt WAPS as a sequential problem set. The TSgt who runs them in parallel pins MSgt on the first or second look; the one who sequences them is having the Functional Manager conversation at year three.
• —Briefing the flight chief with a picture that is technically accurate but operationally misleading — covering the rough edge of the shift rather than naming it. At this tier, the flight chief needs the honest read to make the right call, and the one who learns you do not deliver it will stop asking.

The good TSgt 1C5 is the section NCOIC the squadron chief names when the AOC commander asks who runs the best shift — because the picture is always clean at turnover, the SSgts brief their positions cold, the CFETP audit never finds a surprise, and the CAOC rotation list has the section's name near the top. SNCOA is in motion, the MSgt WAPS is a first attempt, and the Functional Manager has the section's broadening plan half-drafted before the assignment cycle opens.

You are the flight superintendent or the senior C2 Battle Management NCO at an AOC, a CAOC, a MAJCOM air operations staff, or a joint command. The AOC commander and the operations group chief know your name before you introduce yourself.

You are the flight superintendent in an AOC or SOC — or you are filling a career-broadening billet: AFDC instructor, CAOC deployed lead, MAJCOM air operations staff NCO, joint billet at a combatant command J3/J5, or a NATO C2 program. You run 15-40 Airmen across the SSgt and TSgt bench, you write four-to-five EPB / Stratification reports per cycle that shape the next TSgt and MSgt slates, and you defend the flight's operational readiness posture to the operations group and the AOC commander at the weekly and monthly reviews. You own the flight's full proficiency and qualification picture — CFETP currency, system certifications, crew position quals, deployment rotation posture — and you walk the floor during the wing's IG inspection as the senior NCO voice for the C2 operations program. You sit on the operations group stan/eval and you mentor the TSgt bench toward SNCOA, the MSgt broadening slate, and honest conversations about the SMSgt board case they are building quarter by quarter.

• 01Run a flight superintendent's portfolio in an AOC or CAOC — operational readiness, CFETP currency, EPB / Stratification slate, deployment rotation management, and C2 proficiency standards — and defend it to the operations group without notes.
• 02Brief the AOC commander, operations group chief, or combatant command J3 on the flight's readiness and operational posture for a multi-day or multi-phase operation — including the proficiency gaps and the plan to close them.
• 03Own the flight's C2 proficiency standards program: review the high-complexity shift logs for systematic deconfliction or coordination errors, identify the pattern before the IG does, and brief the finding to the operations group before they ask.
• 04Mentor TSgts through SNCOA, the MSgt broadening slate, and the SMSgt board case — being honest about which TSgts are tracking and which ones need a different conversation about their timeline.
• 05Run the flight's CAOC / deployed rotation scheduling: who goes, what the readiness requirements are, how the home-station proficiency holds during extended deployments, and what the re-integration plan looks like when they come back.
• 06Translate AOC operational risk to the wing commander or combatant command J3 in language they carry unchanged into the next-higher headquarters battle rhythm brief.

• —CFETP 1C5X1 — you audit at the flight superintendent level; the 9-skill (1C591) upgrade documentation is in motion.
• —JP 3-30 — Command and Control of Joint Air Operations: the joint doctrine document you enforce at the flight level and brief at the wing level; know the JFACC component responsibilities cold.
• —AFI 13-1AOC-series — current AOC standards: you own the flight's posture against these; the IG reads the records before they walk the floor.
• —DAFMAN 36-2406 — Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems: four-to-five EPB / Stratification reports per cycle; verify the current revision on e-Publishing.
• —DAFI 36-2502 — Enlisted Promotions: SMSgt board mechanics — the board reads the package at this level; no WAPS test.
• —AFPC-published Functional Manager guidance for 1C5X1; AFI 91-202 — AF Mishap Prevention Program (for the flight safety posture the operations group tracks); Chief Leadership Course reading list if SMSgt selection is on the horizon.

• —SNCOA graduate — resident or correspondence; verify current Senior NCO PME requirements on MyFSS / e-Publishing.
• —CCAF C2 Systems Technology AAS or equivalent complete; bachelor's in active progress if SMSgt/CMSgt-track.
• —Flight operational readiness metrics — crew position qualification rates, CFETP currency, deployment posture — defensible at the operations group monthly and the wing semi-annual.
• —EPB / Stratification slate producing TSgt selectees at or above the wing AOC average.
• —Career-broadening assignment completed or on the SMSgt board case slate — AFDC instructor, CAOC lead, MAJCOM staff, combatant command joint billet, NATO C2 program.

• —Discovering a systematic crew position proficiency gap — recurring deconfliction errors in a specific scenario, coordination record lapses on high-tempo shifts — and resolving it quietly without briefing the operations group. The wing IG eventually finds the pattern and asks why the flight superintendent did not.
• —Letting the senior TSgt carry the flight's proficiency program while you focus on the SMSgt package. The flight is the package — the SMSgt board reads the flight's inspection record before it reads the bullets.
• —Building EPB / Stratification reports without measurable input from the TSgts you rate. The senior rater downgrades quietly and the bench does not pin MSgt.
• —Treating the CAOC rotation as a deployment program the operations officer manages. At MSgt, you are the senior NCO who knows which Airmen are ready to deploy, which ones are not, and what the readiness risk is when the tasking does not match the answer.
• —Confusing C2 technical authority with operational command authority. The AOC commander and the JFACC make the go/no-go and the tasking calls. Your job is to make sure the NCOs on the floor give the commander a picture that is accurate, complete, and honestly assessed — and then execute the decision.

The good MSgt 1C5 is the flight superintendent the operations group chief names when the wing IG asks who runs the AOC's NCO proficiency program — and whose name also appears on the TSgt selectee list for the last two cycles. The CFETP audit is clean, SNCOA is done, the AAS is on the wall, and the Functional Manager has the SMSgt case half-built two cycles before the board slate publishes.

You are the squadron superintendent, the group senior enlisted leader, the AFSC Functional Manager, or the senior C2 Battle Management NCO at a combatant command or joint C2 program. The AOC commander, the JFACC's staff, and the AFPC Functional Manager office call you by name.

As a SMSgt you are the superintendent of an AOC or CAOC operations division, the senior enlisted advisor to an operations group or wing with a major C2 mission, or the lead NCO in a joint C2 program at a combatant command. As a CMSgt you are the AFSC Functional Manager at AFPC, the senior enlisted advisor at a NAF or MAJCOM air operations staff, the command chief of a unit with a major C2 or air operations mission, or the senior U.S. C2 Battle Management NCO in a NATO or multinational C2 headquarters. You set the standard for the 1C5X1 enlisted workforce: accession targets, CFETP revision input, career-broadening pipeline, the SMSgt and CMSgt board slate, deployment rotation equity, and the cross-flow posture when force structure changes the AOC mission. You sit alongside O-5s, O-6s, and the JFACC staff in the C2 workforce planning conversation. You write SMSgt and CMSgt board endorsements that determine who is the next generation of senior 1C5 leaders. You walk the floor during the MAJCOM and combatant command IG cycles as the senior enlisted voice for the C2 proficiency program. And two to three years before the uniform comes off, you are building the post-AF runway: the bachelor's or master's, the defense contractor or intelligence community C2 billet, the federal civil service GS conversion if the post-uniform path is government service.

• 01Run a squadron or group superintendent's portfolio in an AOC or CAOC — climate, retention, training pipeline, EPB / Stratification slate, CFETP currency, deployment rotation posture — and brief it to the operations group or MAJCOM without notes.
• 02Brief the AOC commander, JFACC, or combatant command J3 on the 1C5X1 enlisted workforce posture: accession trends, career-broadening pipeline health, deployment rotation stress, senior NCO bench depth.
• 03Write SMSgt and CMSgt board endorsements that the board can defend at AFPC — unit-impact-driven bullets, honest board-readiness assessment, no boilerplate.
• 04Mentor the next MSgt and SMSgt bench honestly: career-broadening sequence, education timing, CMSgt board posture, and the post-AF transition runway — including the defense contractor C2 landscape, the intelligence community options, and the federal civil service GS-2210 / operations track.
• 05Set the standard for 1C5X1 CFETP currency at the AFSC scope: identify the career field training gaps the Functional Manager needs to address in the next CFETP revision, and carry the field's input into the AETC planning process.
• 06Represent the 1C5X1 enlisted workforce at AFPC functional conferences, MAJCOM air operations staff reviews, and joint C2 workforce planning sessions — carrying the Airmen's perspective into the policy decisions that shape the career for the next decade.

• —CFETP 1C5X1 — you own the field-level audit posture and provide Functional Manager input on CFETP revisions.
• —JP 3-30 — Command and Control of Joint Air Operations: you enforce and teach from this at the senior enlisted scope; know it well enough to brief the joint C2 workforce planning audience.
• —AFI 13-1AOC-series — current AOC standards: you own the senior enlisted posture against these at the squadron and group scope.
• —DAFMAN 36-2406 — Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems: SMSgt / CMSgt-level endorsements; verify the current revision.
• —DAFI 36-2502 — Enlisted Promotions: SMSgt / CMSgt board mechanics; Functional Manager nomination weight at this level is real.
• —AFPC Functional Manager guidance for 1C5X1; Chief Leadership Course reading list for CMSgt selectees; AFI 1-1 — Air Force Standards; DAFMAN 36-2905 — Air Force fitness.

• —Chief Leadership Course complete for CMSgt selectees before pin-on; SNCOA completed earlier in the timeline.
• —CCAF AAS complete; bachelor's complete or finishing; master's in motion if CMSgt / Functional Manager / command CMSgt-track.
• —Squadron or group C2 proficiency and operational readiness record clean during your tenure as superintendent — zero IG findings attributable to senior-NCO-level program failure.
• —EPB / Stratification slate producing MSgt and SMSgt selectees at rates the Functional Manager cites in workforce planning briefs.
• —Zero senior-NCO-level integrity, TS/SCI access, OPSEC, or financial incidents. One ends the career permanently at this level — and in a career field that is small, clearance-dependent, and globally networked, the information travels fast.

• —Pretending to be the senior technical C2 operator in a room of journeyman TSgts and MSgts who have been on the floor more recently. Senior enlisted leaders who have not worked a live ATO cycle in years lose credibility the moment the TSgt asks about a specific system nuance — know what you know, and know who knows better.
• —Letting the squadron or group C2 proficiency program drift because "the operations officer owns the stan/eval." You own it at the senior enlisted scope; the MAJCOM IG reads the climate before they walk the floor.
• —Treating the CMSgt board endorsement work as routine paperwork. The endorsement you write is the most consequential document in the career of the Airman it covers — it deserves three drafts, a calendar block, and a honest conversation with the candidate about where the package is weak.
• —Confusing seniority with technical currency. Hire, promote, and mentor Airmen who are sharper at the console than you are and let them run — that is the senior NCO's job at this rank, not proving you can still work the picture.
• —Going public with disagreement over an AOC commander's or JFACC's C2 tasking or policy call. Take it in the office. Walk out aligned. The CMSgt who cannot manage that discipline is a CMSgt who does not get the next assignment — and in a global C2 community, the word travels before the next ATO cycle closes.

The good SMSgt / CMSgt 1C5 is the senior enlisted leader the AOC commander and the JFACC both name when the MAJCOM IG asks who runs the C2 Battle Management enlisted program — and whose name is also on the MSgt and SMSgt selectee list for the last three cycles. The squadron or group proficiency record is clean, the CFETP audit has no surprises, the AAS and bachelor's are on the wall, and the post-AF runway is already in motion: the master's is finishing, the defense contractor C2 billet conversation is active, or the federal civilian operations track is mapped. The AFSC Functional Manager has the next CMSgt board case half-built before the package suspense lands.