Skip to main content
HonestMOS
●InvestigationsHow EUCOM shelved a tax break for 9,000 troops in Poland — for five years.→
←Back to AC Air Traffic Controller — overview, pay, training, civilian translation, reviews
ACE1-E3

Air Traffic Controller

E-1 to E-3 (Junior Enlisted) · Navy

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

You are not a controller yet — you are a trainee with a rate badge and a binder of SOPs you have not memorized. The only clock that matters right now is the facility training syllabus, because the ATCO who watches you fall behind it is the ATCO who writes your first eEVAL. Every ACAA and ACAN before you thought they could coast on A-school knowledge; the ones who made AC3 on time are the ones who studied the FAAO JO 7110.65 after watch instead of calling it a day at knock-off.

The Honest MOS Read
Aviation Ordnanceman — wait. Air Traffic Controller Airman Apprentice. You made it through NATTC Pensacola, maybe through Whiting Field's tower environment, and now you are standing in a live naval ATC facility with a trainee badge and a supervisor who is evaluating every transmission you make before you are authorized to make any independently. This is the most humbling stretch of the rate and also the most formative. Everything you earn from this point forward traces back to whether you built the habits here. The first six months look like this: you are on the watch bill in a supplemental role — flight data, strip marking, the ATIS reread — while the watch supervisor runs you through the facility training syllabus in systematic order. At a NAS tower you start in non-radar: ground control, local control, clearance delivery. You study the runway environment until you can sketch the taxiway layout from memory and recite the departure procedure for every runway in use without looking at the chart. You are not being given a gun yet; you are being given the framework the gun will fire from, and the supervisor is measuring whether you understand that. Phraseology is the first test and the one most new ACANs underestimate. The FAAO JO 7110.65 phraseology is not a suggestion and it is not a dialect — it is an international safety standard, and any word you substitute for the standard word is a deviation. Pilots do not ask for clarification; they do what they heard. The ACAAN who uses 'proceed' instead of 'taxi' because it sounds more natural will hear about it in debrief with chapter and section cited, and that is the good outcome. The bad outcome is an incident report. Position-relief briefings are the second test. Every time you relieve a position — even flight data, even the ATIS position — you owe the outgoing controller a complete status: weather, NOTAM active, runway and approach in use, equipment discrepancies, pending clearances, any special activities in the airspace. The ACAAN who accepts a position with a casual 'anything going on?' and then discovers an active pending clearance two minutes later is the ACAAN who learns the hard way why the position-relief briefing is a standard. You will be tempted to skip it because the incoming controller is a friend and things look quiet. Do not. If your orders send you to a carrier-based command or a CATCC-capable NAS, you will get your first look at the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center in the first few months — even if only as an observer. The CATCC environment is more complex than a shore tower: the ship is moving, the recovery sequence runs in defined cycles, the marshal stack has aircraft stacked at altitude intervals waiting their turn, and the approach controller is talking to aircraft that have been airborne for hours and are now low on fuel. You will not work those positions independently for some time. But watching the CATCC from the observer seat and building the mental picture of how a carrier recovery flows is one of the highest-leverage things you can do at this tier. The AC2 who can explain the recovery sequence to another ACAAN at month three is months ahead of the one who waits for the formal training block. NWAE prep for the AC3 cycle is not a year-away problem. The advancement exam draws from the FAAO JO 7110.65, the NAVAIR 00-80T-114, OPNAVINST 3721.32, and the rate's professional military education content — the same documents you are studying for your facility certifications. The ACAAN who pulls the BIB from MyNavyHR at month two and builds a 30-minute daily study block is the one who hits the AC3 slate without scrambling. The facility supervisor will not remind you to study for the NWAE. That is your job.
Career Arc
  • 01A-school / NEC entry training at NATTC Pensacola complete; checking in to first NAS or carrier-based ATC facility with the facility training syllabus issued and the clock running.
  • 02Non-radar certifications first: clearance delivery, ground control, local control, flight data — each signed by the watch supervisor when the standard is met, not when the calendar hits a milestone.
  • 03First supervised-solo authorization on a non-radar position: the moment the supervisor steps back and you run the position alone with him watching. The first real evaluation of the habits you built.
  • 04Radar introduction: sector observation, traffic-picture drills, position-relief briefings for radar positions — building the mental model before the certification begins.
  • 05NWAE for AC3 studied on a documented BIB schedule; advancement to AC3 (E-4) via the Navy Enlisted Advancement System while the facility syllabus is still running.
  • 06NEC 7718 (Approach Controller) or NEC 7721 (Radar Controller) pipeline identified in coordination with the ATCO and LCPO before the first eEVAL closes.
  • 07First eEVAL cycle: the LCPO is watching how you work between watches, not just on position — study habits, uniform, watchstanding bearing, and whether you ask the right questions in debrief.
Common Screwups
  • ×Making an independent radio transmission on a position you are not yet certified on — even to help, even because the certified controller stepped away for 90 seconds. The facility log is permanent, the traffic recordings are reviewed after every incident, and the ATCO reads the trainee's badge on the transmission that caused the problem. An unauthorized transmission is a career marker, not just a training note.
  • ×Falsifying or overstating a training record to avoid the embarrassment of a failed position observation. The trainee who gets signed off before meeting the standard reaches supervised-solo authorization before they are ready, and the separation event that follows is traced to the training documentation — which has your supervisor's name on it alongside yours. Honest training records protect both of you.
  • ×DUI or alcohol-related incident during the ACAN-ACAA phase. Shore-duty billets at NAS and carrier homeports have more liberty access than most junior enlisted environments, and the AC community has seen this end careers at E-2 before the first certification is signed. The ATCO at a safety-critical facility has zero tolerance for the off-duty judgment failure that creates on-duty risk.
  • ×OPSEC breach on social media. ATC personnel know aircraft types, tail numbers, sortie schedules, call signs, and ordnance configurations from routine watch work. The ACAN who posts a 'cool photo from the tower' with the flight schedule visible in the background has a career marker that surfaces at every clearance investigation for the rest of their service. The rule is simple: nothing from the facility, nothing about the airspace, nothing about what flew and when.
  • ×Failing a BCA or PRT event before the first certification is complete. ATC is not physically demanding by military standards — there is no reason to show up unfit. The ACAAN who fails a physical readiness standard in a rate the Navy trusts with $100 million aircraft and aircrew lives has made a character statement the facility supervisor will not forget.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500-0545Wake up. Check the facility watch bill for the day's assignment — supplemental position, observation session, or ground training block. If on duty section, check overnight shift turnover notes.
  • 0545-0645Command PT or independent PT. ATC duty hours rotate across the 24-hour flight schedule; PT happens before or between watch periods. Cardio-focused — running, swimming — three days per week; strength work two days. No falling out.
  • 0645-0730Hygiene, utilities, chow. Before heading to the facility: review the day's training block objective, review the NOTAM and weather products for the facility's area, brief yourself on what the traffic picture will look like for the expected watch period.
  • 0730-0800Muster. Plan-of-the-day from the ATCO or LCPO. Training assignments confirmed. The ACAN who comes to muster knowing the day's training objective and the scheduled certifications under review signals readiness to the watch supervisor before the first transmission.
  • 0800-1000Observation or supplemental assignment in the facility. If observation: use the traffic-picture drill — estimate bearing and distance between targets, check against the system, 20 reps minimum. If on supplemental (flight data, strip marking, ATIS): execute the position-relief briefing from the checklist, every time, without exception.
  • 1000-1130Ground training block. If scheduled: systems training on the radar display, communication switching, or coordination procedures. If no scheduled block: self-directed FAAO JO 7110.65 review — current chapter with the facility training supervisor's most recent debrief note as the starting point.
  • 1130-1230Chow. Mental rehearsal: run through a position-relief briefing from memory, think through the standard phraseology sequence for a clearance delivery or ground control position. This is the 20 minutes most ACANs waste.
  • 1230-1500Second watch period — supplemental, observation, or direct-supervision position training with the watch supervisor. If a supervised transmission opportunity is available, this is the slot. Position-relief briefing executed in full before assuming any position role.
  • 1500-1600Training debrief with watch supervisor. The debrief runs from the supervisor's notes and any traffic recordings. The goal is not to defend the errors — it is to understand the rule that was violated and confirm the corrected standard. Write the corrections down. The ACAN who reviews debrief notes at the next study session internalizes twice as fast as the one who files them away.
  • 1600-1630Knock-off. Facility housekeeping, binder updates, training record notations. Brief the relieving position controller if on supplemental — run the full brief even for a 15-minute handoff.
  • 1630-1800Most garrison days: liberty after knock-off. Watch section rotation may extend this block. The ACAN who plans to use 1800-2000 for study has the right idea.
  • 1800-2000FAAO JO 7110.65 study and NWAE BIB review — 30 to 45 minutes minimum, documented in the study log. Read the chapter aloud. If a debrief note from today cited a specific section, read the full section in context, not just the sentence that was cited.
  • 2000-2200Phraseology drills — speak clearance sequences aloud, copy clearances from flight procedure publications and read them back at pace. ATIS text composition practice. Lights out by 2200; the watch bill does not care whether you are tired tomorrow.

Weekly Cadence

The Mon-Fri rhythm at ACAN-ACAA is driven by the facility watch bill rotation and the training syllabus milestone schedule. Monday starts with muster, the plan-of-the-week from the ATCO or senior trainer, and confirmation of which certifications are scheduled for observation or supervised position work in the coming days. The ACAN who arrives at Monday muster having already reviewed the week's training objectives and pulled the relevant FAAO JO 7110.65 sections is visibly different from the one who pulls up the document for the first time when the supervisor asks. Tuesday through Thursday are the core training days. Observation sessions in the facility, supplemental position assignments under direct supervision, ground training blocks on systems and procedures, and debrief sessions with the watch supervisor. The pattern is cyclic: supervise or observe, debrief, self-study, supervise or observe again. The trainee who closes the loop on each debrief — returning the next session with the corrected standard already built in — moves through the syllabus at the timeline the ATCO expects. The trainee who arrives at the next session without internalizing the previous debrief's corrections moves slower, and the training record reflects the pace. Friday carries the administrative and self-development close-out. NWAE study log reviewed against the BIB for the week's coverage, training record checked for completeness, any pending documentation submitted. The weekend study block — two hours total, spread across Saturday and Sunday — keeps the phraseology and chapter-navigation drills current between watch periods. The ATC training environment does not pause for the weekend; the trainee who treats Friday as the end of the study week is the one who arrives Monday morning slower than when he left.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Recite standard ATC phraseology from FAAO JO 7110.65 for basic clearance delivery, ground, and local control positions — clean, crisp, no filler words, correct read-back check.
    Read the phraseology sections of FAAO JO 7110.65 aloud, alone, every night after watch. Not silently — out loud, at pace, the way you will say it on frequency. The filler words ('uh,' 'uhh,' 'like,' 'okay') come out under pressure; the only way to train them out is to hear yourself say the standard phrase until the standard phrase is the muscle memory and the filler has nowhere to fit. Record yourself on your phone, play it back, and count the deviations. The watch supervisor who hears clean phraseology on the first supervised transmission knows he is working with a trainee who did the work between watches.
  2. 02
    Scan a sector's traffic picture and call the relative bearing and distance between two aircraft without reaching for a ruler — the mental picture has to be faster than the traffic.
    Every time you are in the facility as an observer, practice the mental picture drill: pick any two targets on the display, estimate the bearing and distance between them in your head, then check against the system. Do this 20 times per observation session. You will be wrong at first and that is fine — you are calibrating the mental model, and the calibration comes from reps, not from passive watching. The trainee who can call 'traffic, 10 o'clock, 5 miles, same altitude' without hesitation is the trainee the watch supervisor authorizes to advance to radar training on time.
  3. 03
    Write a complete position-relief briefing for a non-radar position: weather, NOTAMs, active runways, equipment status, outstanding clearances, special activities — handed off clean, nothing discovered after the sector is yours.
    Build a personal position-relief checklist from the NAVAIR 00-80T-114 and the facility SOP and run it every single time — even for a three-minute position hold while the certified controller steps out. The checklist is not a crutch; it is the standard. The ACAAN who briefs consistently from a checklist develops the habit that makes the brief automatic under pressure; the ACAAN who briefs from memory skips items when the traffic is busy, and that is exactly when skipped items cause incidents.
  4. 04
    Navigate the FAAO JO 7110.65 by memory to a chapter and section, not by scrolling from page one — the watch supervisor will ask you to cite the rule during a training debrief.
    Make a one-page outline of the 7110.65 chapter structure — what each chapter covers, what the major sections are — and review it weekly. When the watch supervisor cites a chapter in debrief, you want to recognize the topic before he finishes the sentence. Download the document to your phone and read it on the bus, during chow, in the barracks. The ACAAN who can open to Chapter 5 (Radar) or Chapter 10 (Emergencies) without scrolling has built the navigation habit that will carry through every certification for the rest of the career.
  5. 05
    Copy and read back an IFR clearance verbatim at dictation speed without a single incorrect element — pilots do not re-read clearances because an AC trainee missed the departure procedure.
    Practice clearance copying outside the facility. Pull instrument approach procedures from the FAA's Aeronautical Information Services, have a friend dictate them at speed, and write them down. Read them back verbatim. Do this until you can copy a full RNAV departure procedure, an altitude, a squawk, and a frequency change without asking for a re-read. The pilot who has to re-read a clearance because the trainee missed the altitude assignment is the pilot who is forming an opinion about the facility's training program — and that opinion travels.
  6. 06
    Operate the facility's voice communication equipment, ATIS update process, and coordination lines under direct supervision without requiring the supervisor to handle the equipment for you.
    During every observation session, identify the communication equipment by function and practice the switch sequence mentally before you are authorized to touch it. Ask the watch supervisor to walk you through the ATIS update process on a quiet period — not during the brief where mistakes cost time. The ACAAN who walks up to an ATIS update with a clear mental checklist and completes it without fumbling equipment they have never touched saves the watch supervisor from a distraction at a moment when the traffic may not allow for one.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • FAAO JO 7110.65 — Air Traffic Control (current edition)
    This is the primary ATC standard in the United States and every certification you earn is an examination of your fluency in its chapters. Chapter 2 covers general rules and phraseology; Chapter 3 covers airport traffic; Chapter 4 covers IFR separation; Chapter 5 covers radar; Chapter 10 covers emergency handling. At the ACAN-ACAA tier, start with Chapters 2 and 3 because that is where the certifications begin. Do not wait for the supervisor to assign the chapter; the trainee who reads ahead is the one the watch supervisor notices.
  • OPNAVINST 3721.32 — Naval Air Traffic Management
    The FAA standard governs civilian and joint airspace; OPNAVINST 3721.32 is the Navy overlay that governs how naval ATC commands are organized, how military-specific procedures differ from civilian standards, and how the NEC pipeline and facility certification program are administered in the Navy context. At ACAN-ACAA tier, read the sections covering facility organization, trainee responsibilities, and the training program structure so you understand the framework you are operating inside before you start navigating it.
  • NAVAIR 00-80T-114 — Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) for Air Traffic Control
    The NATOPS ATC manual is the Navy-specific execution standard for ATC procedures, certifications, and safety requirements at naval air facilities — including CATCC aboard carriers. It supplements and where necessary supersedes FAAO JO 7110.65 for military operations. At ACAN-ACAA tier, read the sections covering position-relief procedures, facility certification requirements, and the trainee evaluation criteria; these are the standards the watch supervisor uses when he signs or withholds your training progress.
  • FAAO JO 7930.2 — Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) Procedures (current edition)
    Every position-relief briefing includes active NOTAMs; the ACAN who cannot parse a NOTAM is the one who misses the runway closure or the temporary flight restriction during the brief. FAAO JO 7930.2 defines NOTAM format, NOTAM types (D, FDC, pointer, military), and parsing rules. Read the format definitions early so that by the time you are briefing positions independently, you parse a raw NOTAM in seconds, not minutes.
  • NAVPERS 18068 Vol II — Manual of Navy Enlisted Manpower and Personnel Classifications (NEC 7718, 7721, 7723 entries)
    The NEC catalog defines the source rates, training pipelines, and qualification requirements for every Navy Enlisted Classification code. At ACAN-ACAA tier, read the 7718 (Approach Controller), 7721 (Radar Controller), and 7723 (CATCC Controller) entries before you talk to the career counselor — because the career counselor's conversation makes more sense when you know what each NEC actually requires and what billets it feeds. The ACAAN who arrives at the NEC conversation knowing the pipeline is the one who makes an informed choice.
  • NWAE Bibliography for Advancement (BIB) for the current AC3 advancement cycle — pull from MyNavyHR / NETC
    The BIB is the exam reading list. The NWAE draws from documents on the BIB — which at the junior enlisted tier are largely the same documents you are studying for facility certifications. Pull the BIB at check-in and build a 30-minute daily study block alongside your facility training; the overlap between certification study and NWAE prep means the work compounds. The ACAAN who builds the study habit at month two is the one who advances to AC3 without a scramble.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • Facility ground training syllabus complete on the timeline the ATCO sets — falling behind is visible and documented.
    Map the syllabus milestones onto a personal calendar at check-in and update it weekly. If a milestone slips, find out why before the watch supervisor asks — is it a knowledge gap, a scheduling gap, or a self-study gap? The ACAAN who identifies a gap before the supervisor does and arrives at the next training session with the corrective study done demonstrates exactly the self-management the facility looks for in a controller candidate. The one who waits to be told demonstrates the opposite.
  • FAAO JO 7110.65 chapter reference speed: locate the rule in under 60 seconds during a debrief.
    Drill the chapter index. After any debrief where the supervisor cites a chapter and section, go back to the document that evening and read the full context of the cited provision — not just the paragraph he quoted. The ACAAN who builds a working mental map of the document's structure is the one who, in six months, will tell a fellow trainee the chapter and section without opening the manual. That navigation fluency is a direct proxy for how deeply the content is internalized.
  • Zero independent radio transmissions before supervised-solo authorization on any position.
    This standard has no gray zone — either a transmission is supervised or it is not. If the certified controller steps away unexpectedly and traffic calls, use the intercom to get the supervisor rather than taking the transmission independently. The consequence of violating this is not a training note; it is an unauthorized action on a safety-critical position, and the facility log reflects it permanently. Build the habit early: you do not talk on frequency without authorization, period.
  • PRT Good Low or higher; BCA in standard — there is no operational justification for a physical readiness failure in this rate.
    Two running days and two strength days per week, minimum. Run the PRT at training pace — do not save yourself for test day. The ACAAN who shows up to the PRT physically prepared has removed one variable from the first eEVAL cycle. The one who fails a physical readiness standard while studying for a safety-critical certification has introduced a character question the LCPO did not need to consider.
  • NWAE study habit documented and running before the first eEVAL cycle closes.
    Pull the BIB from MyNavyHR / NETC at check-in. Open a study log — a notebook, a spreadsheet, anything with dates and topics. Log 30 minutes per day, six days a week. When the LCPO reviews your advancement worksheet, the study log is your evidence. The ACAAN with a documented study habit is the ACAAN the LCPO can describe as 'on pace for AC3 advancement on time' — and that sentence in the eEVAL has advancement-rate effects for years.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Filling a moment of uncertainty on the frequency with filler words or a best-guess instruction.
    The pilot hears the instruction and acts on it. If the instruction was wrong — a wrong altitude, a wrong heading, a premature clearance to land — the consequence is a separation event, a runway incursion, or worse. Silence while you think is procedurally correct and operationally safe; a wrong instruction delivered with confidence is how the NTSB accident board convenes. The watch supervisor who catches the filler word in debrief is giving you an inexpensive lesson.
  • Skipping the position-relief briefing because the previous controller is a friend and things look quiet.
    Active clearances, pending coordination actions, equipment anomalies, and special airspace activities do not announce themselves after handoff — they surface as traffic conflicts and clearance violations. The controller who discovered the pending instrument approach clearance two minutes after accepting a 'quiet' position without a brief will brief every single position for the rest of the career. The controller who does not discover it in time participates in an incident report.
  • Reading back a clearance with one changed element because you misheard and were too embarrassed to ask for a re-read.
    The pilot confirmed what he heard, not what was issued. If the altitude in the read-back was wrong, the aircraft climbs to the wrong altitude. Read-back is the safety check — it exists precisely to catch the misheard element. Asking for a re-read takes eight seconds; it signals professional confidence, not weakness. The deviation investigation for an altitude bust takes considerably longer than eight seconds.
  • Using non-standard phraseology because it sounds more natural or because the certified controller next to you does it.
    Non-standard phraseology is a deviation regardless of how widely it is used at the facility. When it appears in a pilot deviation investigation, the non-standard phrase is the evidence that the controller was not operating to standard — and the fact that others do it the same way does not distribute the finding. The ACAN who establishes the standard-phraseology habit now does not need to unlearn a deviation later when the stakes are higher.
  • Treating OPSEC as someone else's job because you are just a trainee.
    Naval ATC trainees know aircraft types, call signs, tail numbers, sortie schedules, ordnance configurations, and departure routes from routine watch work — the same information a foreign intelligence service would pay to have. The ACAAN who mentions flight schedule details in a text message, posts from the tower, or talks about current operations in a public space has committed an OPSEC breach that follows the clearance investigation and the eEVAL for the rest of the career. Trainee status does not reduce the classification sensitivity of operational information.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • NEC pipeline target — NEC 7718 (Approach Controller), NEC 7721 (Radar Controller), or NEC 7723 (CATCC Controller): which track to aim for from day one
    At ACAN-ACAA tier the NEC decision feels abstract because you have not worked any operational position independently yet. But the track you aim for influences which certifications the ATCO prioritizes in your syllabus, which facility you might receive follow-on orders to, and — critically — which post-Navy pathway you are building toward. NEC 7721 (Radar) is the broadest certification and the most transferable to the FAA hiring pathway, because FAA terminal radar approach controllers are the core of the civilian ATC market. NEC 7723 (CATCC) is the carrier-specialist track with fewer FAA parallels but significant operational depth and strong eEVAL narratives for the AC1 and Chief boards. NEC 7718 (Approach) is the entry rung, often en route to 7721. Talk to your ATCO and LCPO in the first 60 days — not to get a definitive answer, but to understand the command's manning needs and how they align with the post-service path you are starting to think about.
  • FAA credential bridge — when to start thinking about it and what the pathway actually requires
    The FAA Controller-in-Training (ATCS) pathway and the PEPC (Public Notice for Controller Hiring) veteran preference hiring program are the most direct post-Navy career transitions for military-trained ATC controllers. The FAA PEPC program has its own application windows, medical and security screening timelines, and selection competition. The ACAN who understands the FAA hiring timeline at E-2 knows what certifications and hours to accumulate, which NECs make the application stronger, and when to start the application clock so the transition does not require a gap between Navy and FAA employment. You are not applying now — but the ACAAN who asks the LPO about the FAA pathway at month three, reads the FAA hiring announcements, and starts building the picture is ahead of the one who discovers the PEPC timeline at re-enlistment.
  • Shore-duty NAS versus carrier-based first command — if you have orders flexibility, what each environment gives you
    Shore-duty NAS billets (NAS Oceana, NAS Lemoore, NAS Pensacola, NAS Jacksonville, NAS Norfolk, NAS Whidbey Island, and others) give you a stable facility environment where the training pipeline runs on a fixed schedule, the watch bill is predictable, and the FAA-parallel certifications accumulate cleanly. Carrier-based billets put you in the CATCC environment earlier — the most operationally demanding ATC environment in the naval inventory — and build the CATCC-specific experience the NEC 7723 pipeline requires. Neither is wrong. The ACAN who understands what each gives before accepting orders is the one who makes a deliberate choice rather than showing up surprised.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Naval Air Station tower and approach control (major facility — NAS Oceana, NAS Lemoore, NAS Pensacola, NAS Norfolk)
    Large NAS facilities run a full FAAO JO 7110.65 tower and approach control environment with high traffic density, instrument approach procedures, military training routes, and coordination with adjacent ARTCC sectors. The training pipeline is well-resourced and structured; there are enough certified controllers to run dedicated training sessions, formal debrief programs, and observation rotations. The ACAN at a major NAS facility learns in a deep, busy environment where the traffic volume and the training infrastructure accelerate the certification timeline. The challenge: you are one of many trainees, and standing out requires deliberate self-study on top of the structured program.
  • Naval Air Station tower (smaller facility — NAS Meridian, NAS Whiting Field, NAS Kingsville, NAS Chase Field area)
    Smaller facilities run a more limited traffic picture — training aircraft, local military operations, limited instrument approaches — but the training environment is tighter and the ACAN gets more direct watch-supervisor attention because there are fewer trainees competing for supervised training hours. Certifications often come faster because the position variety is smaller and the watch supervisor can run more supervised-solo sessions per shift. The limitation: the operational variety that builds the mental model for complex traffic does not arrive until a follow-on billet at a larger facility.
  • Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) aboard a carrier or large-deck amphibious ship
    The CATCC environment at E-1 through E-3 is primarily observational and supplemental. You will see the full recovery sequence, the marshal stack, approach control, and the CATCC departure controller working in a coordinated effort to get an air wing back aboard the ship in the minimum time with maximum safety. This is the most demanding ATC environment in the naval inventory — no runway, a moving deck, aircraft at varying fuel states, weather, and night operations all compounding simultaneously. The ACAN who uses observation hours in the CATCC to build the mental model — not just to watch passively — arrives at NEC 7723 training with an advantage no classroom at Pensacola provides.
  • Expeditionary or austere ATC support (TACAMO, forward operating base, JTAC-adjacent support)
    Expeditionary ATC environments are less common at junior enlisted tier but exist in naval expeditionary combat command assignments and joint environments. The key difference from a garrison NAS is reduced equipment sophistication, reduced back-up support, and higher operational stakes for every transmission. ACANs in expeditionary billets develop independent decision-making faster because the senior controller is less immediately available and the stakes of each position-relief briefing are higher. The downside: the formal training pipeline is less structured and certification advancement can be slower due to facility traffic limits.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good ACAN is the trainee the watch supervisor assigns to the supplemental position early because the phraseology is already clean and the position-relief briefings are already complete. Not 'pretty good for a new check-in' clean — actually clean. Chapter-and-section clean. The kind of clean that comes from reading the 7110.65 aloud after watch instead of watching television. The watch supervisor notices the difference between the ACAN who studied and the one who showed up hoping A-school was enough, and that difference is in the eEVAL before the first certification is signed. His facility training syllabus is ahead of schedule — not because the supervisor pushed it, but because he showed up to every training session with the previous session's corrections already internalized. When the debrief identifies a phraseology error, the next transmission is correct. When the position-relief briefing misses a NOTAM, the next brief starts with NOTAM review. The pattern is visible: he uses debrief to improve, not to defend, and the watch supervisor eventually stops correcting the same item twice. His NWAE study log is running and documented by month two. His BCA and PRT are in standard. His OPSEC posture is solid — nothing from the facility, nothing about the airspace, nothing about what flew and when. The LCPO at the first eEVAL cycle describes him as 'on pace' because every metric that matters is either green or trending green, and the traits that matter most — self-study, accuracy under pressure, and the professional discipline to be silent when uncertain — are exactly the traits the rate needs from the people it trusts with live aircraft.

Preview — The Next Rank

AC3 (E-4) is the moment the trainee badge comes off and the petty officer crow goes on. You have at least one facility certification — ground control, local control, clearance delivery, or a supervised-solo endorsement — and you are on the watch bill as a working controller holding that position independently. The first thing that changes is the accountability: the watch supervisor no longer supervises every transmission, and the errors you make are now your errors, not training errors. The incident report with your name on it as the controller of record is a different document than the training debrief with your name on it as the trainee. The second thing that changes is the peer expectation. As an AC3 you are the most junior certified controller on the watch, and the AC2s and AC1s you work alongside will measure your bearing, your phraseology, and your position-relief briefings from the first watch. The petty officer who still needs to be reminded to brief the position is the petty officer the section notes — and that note follows eEVAL cycles. The NWAE for AC2 and the NEC pipeline both get real at AC3. You are studying for the next advancement cycle and building the NEC packet simultaneously. The ACAAN who built the study habit at E-2 arrives at AC3 already running — the ACAAN who waited is catching up from behind.
FAQ

AC E1-E3 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E1-E3 AC (Air Traffic Controller) actually do?
Fresh out of A-school at NATTC NAS Pensacola (training flows through NAAS Whiting Field for the flight-side tower and approach environment), you check in to your first NAS or carrier-based command and the ATC facility supervisor hands you a facility SOP binder and a trainee position on the watch bill.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E1-E3 AC?
You are not a controller yet — you are a trainee with a rate badge and a binder of SOPs you have not memorized.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E1-E3 AC?
Time-blocked day at the E1-E3 AC rank tier: 0500-0545 Wake up. Check the facility watch bill for the day's assignment — supplemental position, observation session, or ground training block. If on duty section, check overnight shift turnover notes, 0545-0645 Command PT or independent PT. ATC duty hours rotate across the 24-hour flight schedule; PT happens before or between watch periods. Cardio-focused — running, swimming — three days per week; strength work two days. No falling out, 0645-0730 Hygiene, utilities, chow. Before heading to the facility: review the day's training block objective,…
Q04What mistakes get E1-E3 AC soldiers fired or relieved?
Making an independent radio transmission on a position you are not yet certified on — even to help, even because the certified controller stepped away for 90 seconds. The facility log is permanent, the traffic recordings are reviewed after every incident, and the ATCO reads the trainee's badge on the transmission that caused the problem. An unauthorized transmission is a career marker, not just a training note;…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E1-E3 AC rank tier?
NEC pipeline target — NEC 7718 (Approach Controller), NEC 7721 (Radar Controller), or NEC 7723 (CATCC Controller): which track to aim for from day one — At ACAN-ACAA tier the NEC decision feels abstract because you have not worked any operational position independently yet. But the track you aim for influences which certifications the ATCO prioritizes in your syllabus, which facility you might receive follow-on orders to, and — critically — which post-Navy pathway you are building toward. NEC 7721 (Radar) is the broadest certification and the most transferable to the FAA hiring pathway,…
Q06What's next after E1-E3 for a AC (Air Traffic Controller) in the Navy?
AC3 (E-4) is the moment the trainee badge comes off and the petty officer crow goes on.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E1-E3 AC need to know cold?
FAAO JO 7110.65 — Air Traffic Control (current edition). This is the ATC bible; every certification you will ever earn is built on chapters from this document. Live in it.; OPNAVINST 3721.32 — Naval Air Traffic Management. The Navy-specific overlay on top of the FAA/ICAO framework; know how military requirements differ from the civilian standard.; NAVAIR 00-80T-114 — Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) for Air Traffic Control.…

Based on 3 tips from 0 contributors · Early data — contribute to improve this guide

Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards