Quote:
Originally Posted by Maverick07
The AWO rating is on my dream list. I narrowed it down to Nuke, AC, IS, and AWO. I'm leaning towards IS and AWO currently. I love computers, analyzing, and physical work. I do half-ironman triathlons and swim a lot and would like to use both my intellectual and physical skills. Trying to find as much info as I can on the AWO rate.
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AWO is currently grouped into the broader AIRC "Aircrew Program" as a series rating, but we're commonly referred to as "the original AW's" by the older operators because we were our own rate back when the flight engineers, in-flight technicians, and non ASW helo crewmen were all aircrew-designated flightline aviation rates like AT, AE, etc.
AWO's are currently split into two types of operators on two types of aircraft... Acoustic/Sensor 1 and 2 operators, and Non-Acoustic (EWO)/Sensor 3 operators... current aircraft we fly on are the P-3C Orion and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance planes. Currently, P-3 squadrons are based here in Jacksonville, FL... Whidbey Island, WA... and Kaneohe Bay, HI. All P-8 squadrons are currently here in Jacksonville.
SS1/2 Operators are trained to analyze visual and aural returns from sonobuoys in order to locate, identify, and track submarines... we also operate the IRDS camera whenever the SS3 is too busy with other functions. We know every type of submarine in existence, and the detailed in inner-workings of them as it related to sound propagation... we also have an advanced working knowledge of oceanography and how sound transmits through water.
SS3 Operators monitor radar for safety of flight which included terrain-avoidance, possible enemy contacts, and weather avoidance... they know every type of radar signature in existence, what platforms carry those radar types, what weapons may be associated with certain radars, and what the range of that weapon is. SS3's also use Inverse Synthetic Apeture Radar to identify surface contacts, and on the P-3, they operate the Magnetic Anomoly Detector system to locate changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by submerged submarines.
All of the above duties are related to Anti-Submarine Warfare mostly... Both Acoustic and Non-Acoustic Operatora also do other stuff related to the newer ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) missions, but that stuff is all classified.