Air Traffic Control Officer

You are the most junior officer in an ATC tower or approach control facility and you are learning that the FAA handbook is not the ceiling — it is the floor, and every day you are adding the layers of expeditionary judgment that the book does not teach.

Work toward your individual controller certifications in the facility positions assigned — tower, approach control, or GCA radar — under an on-the-job training syllabus signed off by qualified supervisors. In garrison at an MCAS, operate under FAA FAAO 7110.65 and 7210.3 while learning the facility's local procedures, approaches, and airspace. In a MACS or expeditionary assignment, begin learning the portable ATC equipment suite, expeditionary instrument approach construction, and the organizational structure of a Marine Air Control Squadron. Understand that every certificate you earn here transfers to the FAA pay scale later — treat every certification milestone with that gravity.

• 01ATC OJT certification progression (tower, approach, GCA), FAAO 7110.65 application, facility local procedure compliance, expeditionary ATC equipment familiarization (MACS), phraseology and radio discipline, weather minimums and ATIS management

• —FAAO JO 7110.65 (Air Traffic Control), FAAO JO 7210.3 (Facility Administration), MCO 3725.1 (Marine Corps ATC), NAVAIR 00-80T-114 (ATC Manual), applicable facility SOPs and local procedures

• —OJT certification milestones met on published schedule. Zero phraseology deviations that generate pilot complaints. Facility currency requirements maintained without lapse. Every aircraft separation maintained within the applicable standard — there is no acceptable deviation.

• —Treating an OJT check as a test to pass rather than a standard to meet permanently. Allowing personal familiarity with a route or aircraft type to shortcut the read-back confirmation — the frequency error rate goes up when controllers get comfortable, not down.

An O2 who earns their certifications on schedule, whose phraseology is clean enough that the facility supervisor stops monitoring their position after the first month, and who reads the 7110.65 not to find the rule but to understand why it exists. The pilots on frequency trust this officer's calls.

You are a fully certified controller and a watch supervisor, responsible for the safety of every aircraft in the facility's airspace and for the controllers working positions under your watch.

Serve as watch supervisor in a garrison or expeditionary ATC facility, responsible for position staffing, traffic flow management, and immediate intervention when a controller's performance degrades. Manage the facility's controller certification program — OJT plans, currency requirements, recertification events — and coordinate with the operations officer on staffing and watch schedules. In a MACS billet, manage the deployment and operation of expeditionary ATC systems: mobile tower, precision approach radar, remote communications equipment. Develop and publish expeditionary instrument approach procedures for forward airstrips. Begin contributing to the facility training program as a subject matter expert for your certified positions. Expect a joint facility assignment — civilian or other-service — to broaden your controller perspective.

• 01Watch supervisor authority and responsibility, controller OJT program management, expeditionary ATC system deployment (MACS), EIP (Expeditionary Instrument Approach Procedure) development, facility currency program administration, joint facility integration

• —FAAO JO 7110.65, FAAO JO 7210.3, MCO 3725.1, NAVAIR 00-80T-114, FAA 8260 series (instrument approach procedure development), applicable MACS unit SOPs

• —All watch positions staffed with certified controllers during open facility hours. Controller currency requirements tracked without lapses. Expeditionary instrument approach procedures developed and approved before the airstrip is opened for instrument operations — not after.

• —Hesitating to relieve a controller who is showing signs of performance degradation because the shift is short-staffed. Allowing controller currency to lapse quietly because the training schedule is demanding — a lapsed controller who doesn't know they're lapsed is a facility liability.

An O3 who has deployed a MACS to a bare airstrip, stood up a functional approach control facility from a tent and portable radar within the required timeline, developed the expeditionary instrument approaches for the strip, and handed the facility over to a follow-on unit with clean certification records and zero open safety incidents.

You are commanding an ATC agency or a MACS detachment, responsible for the certification program, the facility's operational readiness, and the safety culture that defines every controller's performance under pressure.

Command a Marine ATC agency (tower, approach, or GCA) or a MACS ATC detachment, managing personnel certifications, facility equipment readiness, compliance with FAA and NAVAIR ATC regulations, and the facility's safety program. Conduct and oversee ATC facility evaluations — currency checks, position audits, facility inspections — and ensure findings are corrected before they become incidents. Interface with base operations and airfield management on airspace coordination, flight restrictions, and NOTAM management. Represent the ATC facility in MCAS operational planning and advise the installation commander on ATC capacity and constraints. Write formal evaluations, manage personnel fill, and prepare the facility for Marine Corps readiness inspections.

• 01ATC agency or MACS command, facility certification program oversight, NAVAIR ATC safety program, FAA regulatory compliance, facility evaluation conduct, MCAS airspace coordination, readiness inspection preparation

• —FAAO JO 7110.65, FAAO JO 7210.3, MCO 3725.1, NAVAIR 00-80T-114, OPNAVINST 3722.16 (Naval ATC), applicable MCAS airspace and airfield management orders

• —Facility maintains all required certifications current with zero delinquent controllers. Facility evaluations are completed on published schedule. Safety incidents are reported within required timelines without the commanding officer discovering them from a third party. The facility is inspection-ready without a surge effort to clean up deferred discrepancies.

• —Building the certification program around the unit's current staffing level rather than the regulatory requirement and then discovering the gap during an inspection. Allowing the safety culture to drift toward minimizing incident reporting rather than surfacing and fixing problems.

An O4 who commands a facility through a NAVAIR inspection with zero findings in the certification program, whose controllers' safety incident reporting rate is higher than the peer group average because the culture rewards surfacing problems, and who has sent two controllers to the FAA with their certification records so clean the hiring office calls to compliment the record-keeping.

You are the senior ATC officer at a Marine Air Wing or MACS commanding officer, shaping the certification standards, equipment, and expeditionary capability of Marine ATC across the MAGTF.

Serve as the MAW ATC officer, MACS executive or commanding officer, or in a joint ATC standards billet overseeing Marine controller certification and facility compliance across the wing. Develop wing-level ATC policy, ensure consistency in controller certification standards across all MCAS and MACS facilities, and represent Marine ATC equities in HQMC and NAVAIR regulatory forums. Interface with MARCORSYSCOM on ATC equipment modernization — portable radar systems, communications equipment, precision approach technology. Shape the 7220 officer development pipeline and contribute to MOS T&R standards. The FAA controller workforce shortage creates an opportunity — ensure Marine controller certifications and records are structured to support seamless transition for those who choose it.

• 01Wing ATC program oversight, MACS command authority, NAVAIR ATC regulatory compliance across wing, MARCORSYSCOM ATC equipment requirements, 7220 community development, FAA interoperability and transition pathway support

• —FAAO JO 7110.65, FAAO JO 7210.3, MCO 3725.1, NAVAIR 00-80T-114, HQMC Aviation ATC policy, MARCORSYSCOM ATC modernization documentation, FAA hiring pathway guidance for military controllers

• —Wing ATC program produces no NAVAIR findings that reflect systemic compliance failures. Controller certification records across the wing are maintained to FAA-transferable standards. MARCORSYSCOM receives technically credible ATC equipment requirements shaped by operational experience.

• —Allowing certification documentation practices to vary across facilities in a way that degrades FAA transferability — that directly costs Marines money and career options when they separate. Underinvesting in expeditionary ATC capability because garrison operations dominate the daily picture.

An O5 who standardized certification record-keeping across the wing to FAA-transferable format, directed a MACS exercise that validated expeditionary ATC operations at a bare base within the required timeline, and contributed a requirement to the MARCORSYSCOM portable radar replacement program that addressed a specific operational gap identified in the field.

You command a MACS or serve as the wing's senior aviation safety and ATC officer, and the quality of every controller certification and every expeditionary ATC deployment in the wing reflects your standards.

Command Marine Air Control Squadron as CO or serve as the MAW's senior ATC and airspace safety officer, responsible for the facility certification programs, NAVAIR compliance posture, and expeditionary ATC capability across all Marine ATC agencies and MACS detachments. Engage with HQMC, NAVAIR, and the FAA on policy changes that affect Marine ATC operations. Represent USMC ATC equities in DoD ATC standards forums and joint airspace management working groups. Advise the wing commanding general on ATC readiness and airspace constraints for planned operations. Shape the ATC equipment modernization program and ensure Marine expeditionary ATC capability is maintained against the airfield standards the future fight will require. Develop commanding officer candidates among your 7220 majors.

• 01MACS command, wing ATC readiness accountability, HQMC/NAVAIR/FAA policy engagement, DoD ATC standards advocacy, expeditionary airfield ATC capacity planning, 7220 CO pipeline development

• —FAAO JO 7110.65, FAAO JO 7210.3, MCO 3725.1, NAVAIR 00-80T-114, MCDP 1-0, applicable DoD airspace management publications, HQMC Aviation policy

• —MACS deploys and stands up expeditionary ATC capability within required timelines without operational holds from certification gaps. Wing ATC agencies maintain NAVAIR compliance without requiring surge preparation for inspections. The CO development pipeline produces 7220 officers ready to command.

• —Allowing MACS to underinvest in expeditionary training because garrison ATC operations generate the visible metrics. Failing to engage the FAA on policy changes that affect controller certification transferability before they take effect — reacting is always more expensive than shaping.

An O6 who commanded a MACS through a major MEU workup that included standing up expeditionary ATC at a simulated austere airstrip, whose NAVAIR inspection produced no repeat findings from the previous cycle, and who engaged FAA Headquarters on a certification policy change that preserved transferability for Marine controllers separating into the civilian workforce.

You are setting the standards and resourcing the equipment that will determine whether Marine expeditionary ATC can support the MAGTF in the locations and timelines the future fight will require.

Serve as assistant wing commander, ACE commanding general, or in a joint aviation safety and ATC standards command shaping DoD-wide ATC policy. Advocate for Marine ATC modernization investment at OSD and Congressional levels — portable precision approach radar, EW-resilient communications, expeditionary instrument approach automation. Represent Marine ATC equities in national airspace system policy forums and bilateral aviation safety agreements with allies. Ensure the 7220 community produces the general officers and senior civilian counterparts who will represent Marine aviation interests in the next generation of DoD and FAA policy. The expeditionary ATC capability you resource today determines whether Marine aviation can access austere airfields in a peer conflict against an adversary that specifically targets communications and radar infrastructure.

• 01Wing or MEF ACE command, OSD ATC investment advocacy, Congressional program justification, allied aviation safety coordination, national airspace policy engagement, 7220 community general officer development

• —MCDP 1-0, FAAO policy series, NAVAIR 00-80T-114, NDS/NMS, HQMC programmatic documentation, DoD airspace management policy, applicable bilateral aviation safety agreements

• —Marine expeditionary ATC can support a MAGTF deployment to an austere theater with adequate precision approach capability against the communications environment a near-peer adversary will impose. ATC modernization programs receive programmatic resources proportionate to the operational requirement. The 7220 community is represented in joint and national airspace policy forums.

• —Treating ATC modernization as a garrison quality-of-life program rather than an expeditionary warfare requirement. Allowing the controller workforce to shrink below the level required to man both garrison facilities and a deployed MACS simultaneously — the two requirements do not flex with each other in a contingency.

A general officer who drove an investment in expeditionary precision approach radar with EW-resilient communications by demonstrating the gap in a CCMD exercise, whose community's certification records are the DoD benchmark for FAA transferability, and who shaped a bilateral aviation safety agreement that makes allied ATC integration operationally seamless rather than procedurally painful.