Air Support Control Officer

You are the new watch officer in a DASC nobody briefed you on in school, processing 9-lines with real stakes behind every transmission and real aircraft waiting on the other end of the radio.

Stand watch in the Direct Air Support Center as the junior officer on the floor, building situational awareness of the air support request queue, tracking available CAS assets, and relaying requests between ground units and the controlling authority. You work under a senior officer's direct supervision but you are on the net — your voice and your accuracy matter from day one. Learn the MACCS architecture by working every node your unit operates: TACC, DASC, FSCC interface. Study every aircraft type in the wing's inventory — ordnance loads, attack profiles, talk-on procedures — because a pilot who doesn't know what you need is more dangerous than no aircraft at all. Attend every 9-line debrief. Own your mistakes immediately.

• 01CAS request processing and 9-line formats, DASC watch officer duties, MACCS node architecture, airspace deconfliction basics, radio communications discipline, aircraft recognition and ordnance loads

• —MCWP 3-20.4 (Air Support Operations), MCRP 3-20.5 (Multi-Service Procedures for the Joint Application of Firepower — JFIRE), applicable wing and MAW MACCS SOPs

• —Zero errors on 9-line formats transmitted to attacking aircraft. DASC log entries accurate and complete. Airspace coordination measures applied correctly before requests are released. Watch handover brief covers all active tracks and pending requests.

• —Releasing a CAS request without verifying the IP altitude block is deconflicted from other aircraft in the area. Letting a request queue back up rather than asking the senior controller for help — the ground unit in contact does not care about your pride.

An O2 who can stand the DASC watch independently, process three simultaneous requests without letting a critical transmission slip, and hand over a clean watch log with every active request status current. The ground units calling in are getting responses within standard time. The senior officer is not correcting your 9-lines.

You are the DASC watch commander or the air support liaison officer embedded with a ground maneuver unit, and you own the interface between the ground commander's intent and the aviation assets available to execute it.

Lead the DASC watch as senior controller, managing the air support request queue, allocating available CAS sorties against competing priorities, and making real-time decisions when requests exceed available assets. As an ARLO with a ground regiment or battalion, you are the commander's aviation advisor in the planning tent and the execution node when the fight starts — translating ground scheme of maneuver into executable air support taskings and back-briefing the ground commander on what aviation can and cannot do. Coordinate airspace deconfliction with the ACE and adjacent units. Mentor junior watch officers. Develop tactical SOPs for the DASC and contribute to pre-deployment training programs. You'll likely attend JTAC certification during this tour if you haven't already.

• 01DASC watch commander duties, CAS priority decision-making under resource constraints, ARLO duties with maneuver units, airspace deconfliction coordination, aviation advisory to ground commanders, JTAC qualification (expected)

• —MCWP 3-20.4, MCRP 3-20.5 (JFIRE), JP 3-09.3 (Close Air Support), MCWP 3-20 (Aviation Operations), applicable MAGTF OPORD aviation annexes

• —CAS sortie allocation decisions are documented and defensible against the supported commander's priority guidance. ARLO coordination products — air support requests, air mission requests, airspace control measures — are accurate and submitted inside planning timelines.

• —Committing aviation assets against a target without confirming the ground unit's scheme of maneuver hasn't shifted. Over-briefing the ground commander on aviation capabilities without honestly addressing the limits — a ground commander who expects more than CAS can deliver will make your life worse, not better.

An O3 who has been deployed as an ARLO through a major exercise or real-world contingency, who can brief the regimental commander on available CAS sorties and their constraints without reading from notes, and whose 9-lines have never endangered friendly forces. The ground commanders request them by name. The aircraft prefer their targets.

You are the DASC commanding officer or a senior MACCS planner, building the air support machinery that a MAGTF depends on instead of just running it during the watch.

Command a DASC unit or serve as the senior 7208 on the MACCS staff, responsible for the readiness, training, and deployment of the air support control element. Develop the air support control portion of MAGTF operation plans, coordinate with the TACC and FSCC on airspace control measures and CAS execution authority, and interface with joint and combined partners on multinational air support procedures. Manage officer and SNCO development within the DASC. Represent air support control equities during MAGTF planning cycles and ensure the ground combat element has realistic expectations of what aviation can do under the projected threat environment. Prepare the unit for MEU or MEB workups. Write evaluations, conduct promotion boards, manage personnel fill.

• 01DASC unit command, MAGTF air support planning, joint CAS coordination procedures, MACCS staff integration, officer and SNCO development, MAGTF OPLANs aviation annex development, MEU/MEB workup preparation

• —MCWP 3-20.4, JP 3-09.3, MCWP 3-20, joint air operations publications, applicable combatant command theater air control system procedures

• —DASC unit achieves and maintains required readiness metrics. MAGTF air support planning products are submitted accurate and on time during planning cycles. Unit deploys for workups and real-world contingencies without readiness gaps caused by leadership failures.

• —Allowing the unit to drift toward garrison administrative focus during inter-deployment periods instead of maintaining tactical proficiency. Underinvesting in SNCO development — the watch floor runs on experienced controllers, not officer heroics.

An O4 whose DASC deploys with a MEU as the most tactically proficient air support control element in the regiment, whose junior officers can independently stand the watch commander role, and who has contributed a meaningful improvement to the wing's air support planning SOPs. The ACE commander knows their name before the workup starts.

You are a senior MACCS officer shaping how the entire air control system operates across a Marine Air Wing or a joint air operations center, not just managing a single node.

Serve as the MAW G-3 air control officer, the senior 7208 in a joint air operations center (JAOC) staff billet, or as XO/CO of a MACS. Develop wing-level MACCS architecture, coordinate air defense and air support procedures across all MACCS agencies, and represent Marine air control equities in joint and multinational planning forums. Advise the wing commander on the MACCS's readiness and capacity to support planned operations. Manage the 7208 officer inventory at the wing level and shape the professional development pipeline for the community. Contribute to doctrine development — if the procedures are wrong, fix them now rather than working around them on deployment.

• 01Wing-level MACCS architecture planning, JAOC staff integration, joint air operations coordination, doctrine development contribution, MAW-level officer inventory management, senior advisor to wing commanding general

• —MCWP 3-20, JP 3-09.3, JP 3-52 (Joint Airspace Control), JP 3-30 (Command and Control of Joint Air Operations), AFTTP 3-1 (TACAIR employment), applicable CCMD theater air control procedures

• —Wing MACCS architecture supports the full range of MAGTF missions across all projected planning scenarios. 7208 officer community has a defined development pathway and no critical billets are unmanned at deployment time. Joint partners can interface with Marine air control elements without custom workarounds.

• —Spending a joint tour optimizing for joint integration without maintaining the MAGTF-specific expertise that makes Marine air control distinctive. Allowing doctrine to calcify because revisions are painful — near-peer threats do not wait for the next publication cycle.

An O5 who has served in both a MAGTF-level command and a joint staff billet, who can brief a combatant command on Marine MACCS capabilities and limitations without a slide deck, and whose influence is visible in a wing OPPLAN air annex that actually reflects how CAS works under a contested airspace environment.

You command a MACS or serve as the senior aviation command and control officer at the wing or MEF, and the entire MACCS architecture — its readiness, its doctrine, its people — reflects your priorities.

Command Marine Air Control Squadron as the CO, managing 500+ Marines, multiple MACCS agencies, and the training and readiness of the air control system across multiple forward-deployed scenarios. Interface with the wing commanding general on MACCS readiness and with joint and combined partners on theater air control integration. Contribute to the 7208 community's officer accessions and retention strategy — you are now making the calls that will determine whether the community is healthy in ten years. Engage with MARCORSYSCOM and HQMC Aviation on MACCS modernization requirements: next-generation radar, battle management software, EW-resilient communications. Shape the professional military education pathway for your officers and NCOs.

• 01MACS command authority, wing-level C2 readiness accountability, MARCORSYSCOM requirements advocacy, community health and officer development, theater-level joint air control integration, modernization requirements shaping

• —MCWP 3-20, MCDP 1-0 (Marine Corps Operations), JP 3-30, JP 3-52, HQMC Aviation plans and programs, MARCORSYSCOM acquisition documentation

• —MACS deploys mission-capable with zero critical readiness gaps. Modernization requirements submitted to MARCORSYSCOM reflect actual operational experience, not contractor sales pitches. The officers you develop are being selected for command and joint billets.

• —Allowing MACS to become administratively focused between deployments at the expense of tactical proficiency in contested environment operations. Accepting MARCORSYSCOM equipment that doesn't meet the operational requirement because the acquisition timeline is already committed.

An O6 who commanded a MACS through a major joint exercise under a simulated near-peer EW threat, who identified a gap in the MACCS architecture under those conditions, and who wrote the requirements document that is now funding a capability fix. Their officers are being promoted to O5 in above-average rates.

You are setting Marine Corps air support policy and resourcing the MACCS for a future fight that does not look like the last twenty years of CAS in permissive airspace.

Serve as the deputy or assistant wing commander, ACE commander for a MEB or MEF, or in a joint four-star headquarters advising on joint air control and fires integration. Shape HQMC investment in MACCS modernization — radar, C2 software, EW resilience, counter-UAS integration — against a near-peer air threat environment. Represent Marine air control equities in joint doctrine forums, acquisition reviews, and Congressional program justifications. Advise theater combatant commanders on Marine MAGTF aviation employment in multi-domain operations. Ensure the 7208 community has the schools, the training, and the career pathways to produce the officers the future fight requires. The decisions you make now determine whether MACCS is relevant in 2035.

• 01Wing or ACE command authority, HQMC aviation investment advocacy, joint doctrine development, multi-domain operations integration, Congressional and OSD program justification, strategic-level partner and ally engagement

• —MCDP 1-0, JP 3-30, JP 3-52, NDS/NMS guidance, HQMC programmatic documents, combatant command theater campaign plans

• —MACCS modernization receives programmatic resources commensurate with the near-peer threat. Marine air control officers are represented in joint doctrine development. Theater combatant commands can integrate MAGTF MACCS into their air operations center architecture without custom adapters.

• —Allowing the 7208 community to optimize for the permissive CAS fight that defined the last generation instead of investing in EW-survivable operations, radar emission control, and contested airspace procedures. Letting acquisition programs define requirements rather than the other way around.

A general officer who drove a MARCORSYSCOM investment in MACCS survivability under an EW-contested environment before peer adversaries demonstrated the threat operationally, whose fingerprints are on a joint doctrine change that makes Marine air control procedures interoperable with allied partners, and whose community produces general officers at above-historical-average rates.