Aerial Gunner

You are training to be an Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Operator — the crew member on RQ-4 Global Hawk, U-2, or other reconnaissance platforms who operates the collection sensors and produces the real-time intelligence output that commanders use to make decisions. You are becoming a technician and analyst simultaneously.

Complete the 1A7X1 initial skills training pipeline. Learn the collection sensors specific to your assigned platform — electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar, or SIGINT collection systems depending on the platform. Study the intelligence requirements that drive ISR collection missions and learn how to interpret what your sensors are showing you. Learn the crew coordination procedures for your platform and the communication protocols for relaying time-sensitive intelligence to ground exploitation teams. Begin building the situational awareness that lets you anticipate where to direct collection assets before the intelligence target appears. Understand the legal framework governing reconnaissance collection — collection authority, Rules of Engagement, and airspace coordination.

• 01ISR sensor operation (EO/IR/SAR/SIGINT depending on platform), intelligence requirement interpretation, time-sensitive intelligence relay, crew coordination, collection authority understanding, U-2/RQ-4/other platform systems

• —Platform-specific sensor operations publications, AFI 11-2 for assigned platform, applicable intelligence community collection authority documents, unit ISR mission crew qualification syllabus

• —Pass initial qualification training on assigned platform; sensor operation demonstrated to standard; collection authority procedures observed; crew coordination protocols correct; intelligence relay procedures accurate

• —Focusing on sensor mechanics at the expense of intelligence interpretation — knowing how to operate the sensor is only the beginning; the value of the 1A7 is in understanding what the sensor is showing and why it matters. Treating collection coverage areas as mechanical tasks rather than intelligence-driven decisions.

An apprentice ISR operator who studies the intelligence context behind every mission they fly — who is being collected on, why, and what decisions the collection will support — so that their sensor employment decisions during the mission are driven by intelligence requirements rather than just technical procedures.

You are a qualified ISR operator flying operational missions and developing the sensor expertise and intelligence judgment that distinguish an effective collector from a technician.

Fly as a qualified ISR operator on operational missions for your assigned platform. Execute sensor collection in support of intelligence requirements — including time-sensitive requirements where the collection window is narrow and the ground exploitation team is waiting for your product in real time. Develop expertise in the specific collection environment and target types relevant to your platform and assigned theater. Participate in mission planning and post-mission reporting. Build toward senior operator and instructor qualification tracks. Contribute to tactics development for collection in challenging environments — high-value targets, denied airspace, adversary air defense coverage.

• 01Operational sensor collection in support of intelligence requirements, time-sensitive collection execution, theater-specific collection environment knowledge, mission planning participation, post-mission reporting, tactics development contribution

• —Platform crew publications, intelligence community collection requirement documents, applicable MAJCOM ISR tactical publications

• —Currency maintained on assigned platform; sensor collection meeting mission requirements; post-mission products accurate and timely; collection authority compliance; proficiency check results positive

• —Collecting sensor data without maintaining awareness of how the collection window is closing — ISR operators who are technically executing collection but not tracking time-on-target and collection completeness against requirements deliver incomplete products and fail the supported commander. Letting exploitation team feedback about product quality go unaddressed.

A SrA ISR operator who can brief the mission intelligence requirements before the flight and then brief which requirements were met, which were partially met, and which were not met after landing — and who has a clear explanation for each gap and what collection the next sortie should prioritize to address it.

You are a senior ISR operator building toward instructor qualifications and developing the tactics expertise that makes the 1A7 community more effective against evolving collection challenges.

Fly as a qualified ISR operator and pursue instructor qualifications on your assigned platform. Train junior operators on sensor techniques, intelligence interpretation, and collection against complex target sets. Evaluate trainee performance. Contribute to tactics development for collection in contested and complex environments. Serve as the senior operator on high-priority collection missions. Represent the ISR operator community at intelligence community coordination forums and weapons and tactics conferences. Mentor junior operators on the analytical skills that separate effective ISR from mere sensor operation.

• 01Instructor qualification, junior operator training and evaluation, contested environment tactics development, intelligence community representation, high-priority collection mission execution, analytical skill mentoring

• —Platform publications, AFI 11-202V2, unit instructor qualification standards, MAJCOM ISR tactics publications, intelligence community analytical standards

• —Instructor currency maintained; trainees performing to standard; tactics contributions validated; no collection authority violations in trained operators; intelligence community feedback on products positive

• —Training operators on target sets and collection scenarios that reflect the past operational environment rather than the current one — the most dangerous gap in ISR training is between what the curriculum covers and what the operational mission requires in the current collection environment.

An SSgt instructor who regularly reviews recent operational collection products from peer units, identifies new target types and collection challenges that have emerged, and updates their training scenarios to reflect the current environment rather than the last year's curriculum.

You are the senior ISR operator NCO, responsible for the training program, mission readiness, and collection effectiveness of the 1A7 community within your unit.

Serve as the ISR operator section NCOIC. Own the training program — manage operator currency, evaluation scheduling, and upgrade progression. Brief the ops officer on ISR operator section readiness and collection mission capacity. Fly as the senior operator or instructor on complex or high-priority collections. Coordinate with the ground intelligence community on collection requirements, product quality, and emerging priorities. Interface with platform maintenance on sensor systems that affect collection effectiveness. Represent ISR operators at wing standardization and intelligence community working groups. Advise the squadron commander on collection capability, training gaps, and personnel readiness.

• 01Section NCOIC duties, ISR collection training program management, ground intelligence community coordination, sensor maintenance interface, wing standardization participation, readiness reporting, collection effectiveness oversight

• —Unit training program documents, intelligence community collection standards, platform sensor maintenance publications, AFI 11-202V2, wing scheduling documents

• —All operators current and proficiency-checked; collection product quality meeting intelligence community standards; training documentation audit-ready; readiness accurately reported; intelligence community satisfied with section's collection output

• —Managing operator currency as a scheduling problem while not tracking collection product quality — operators who are technically current but who are producing collection products that don't meet ground exploitation team requirements are trained but ineffective. Both metrics matter.

A TSgt who maintains a running track of ground team feedback on collection products, who can brief the ops officer on both operator currency status and collection effectiveness trend, and who identifies the connection between training gaps and collection quality gaps before the mission debrief surfaces them.

You are the senior ISR operator functional at the group or wing level, advising commanders on collection readiness and managing the 1A7 force across multiple collection missions and platforms.

Serve as the wing or group ISR operator superintendent. Advise commanders on collection capability, operator readiness, and emerging intelligence collection requirements. Interface with ACC and intelligence community partners on 1A7 career field management and mission tasking. Manage complex personnel actions for ISR operators — fitness for flying evaluations, training failures, collection authority violations. Represent the 1A7 community at MAJCOM standardization conferences and intelligence community integration forums. Contribute to ISR doctrine and tactics for collection in contested environments. As 1stSgt, own the welfare and discipline of the mission crew formation.

• 01Wing/group ISR oversight, intelligence community senior engagement, ACC functional management interface, contested environment collection doctrine, complex personnel management, senior enlisted advisory

• —ACC directives, intelligence community collection authority and standards documents, AFI 11-202V2, MAJCOM ISR publications

• —Wing ISR operators meeting readiness requirements; collection effectiveness meeting intelligence community standards; personnel actions appropriate; doctrine inputs accurate and operationally grounded

• —Allowing collection authority compliance to be managed through written procedures without ensuring operators understand the intent and boundaries of their authorities — operators who follow procedures without understanding them are more likely to violate authorities in ambiguous situations that the procedures don't explicitly cover.

An MSgt who has invested in making sure every operator in the wing understands the intelligence and legal framework behind their collection authorities, not just the checklist procedures — because the situations where operators will need to make judgment calls are the ones the checklist doesn't cover.

You are the senior 1A7 enlisted leader, shaping the Air Force's airborne ISR collection capability and the 1A7X1 career field at the command and institutional level.

Serve as the ACC ISR operator career field manager or senior enlisted ISR advisor at a MAJCOM. Shape training standards, collection doctrine, and the pipeline producing airborne ISR operators for the Air Force and joint intelligence community. Advise four-star commanders on collection capability, sensor platform employment, and the readiness of the 1A7 force to execute collection against near-peer and asymmetric targets. Engage with the intelligence community on analytical standards for airborne collection products. Contribute to contested ISR doctrine — how does airborne collection work when the operating environment includes adversary air defense and electronic warfare? Ensure the career field is developing operators for the full collection mission spectrum.

• 01Career field functional management, four-star advisory, intelligence community senior engagement, contested ISR collection doctrine, pipeline oversight, sensor platform employment expertise

• —ACC career field publications, intelligence community collection standards, DoD ISR doctrine, AF force development publications, contested environment publications

• —Career field pipeline producing mission-ready operators for current and emerging collection demands; contested collection doctrine technically sound; four-star commanders have accurate ISR readiness assessments; collection authority framework applied correctly

• —Allowing ISR capability claims to the four-star to be based on uncontested collection performance when the operational environment has moved to contested collection — the capability delta between permissive and contested collection is large, and commanders who do not know the actual contested collection capability will make planning assumptions that are wrong.

A CMSgt who has personally flown a contested collection training scenario in the last six months and can brief the four-star on exactly what degraded and what held up under adversary electromagnetic and kinetic pressure — because "we collect fine in permissive conditions" is not a useful answer when the four-star is planning operations against a peer adversary.