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Combat Systems Officer eCourse

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  1. INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A CSO? WHAT'S AN ABM?
    Introduction
  2. The Kill Chain
  3. What's a WSO?
  4. What's an EWO?
  5. What's a CSO?
  6. What's a NAV?
  7. What's an ABM?
  8. THE FIRST STEP - COMMISSIONING
    Commissioning Sources
  9. Qualifications
  10. TRAINING
    The Pipeline
  11. Initial Flight Training
  12. UCT (Undergraduate CSO Training)
  13. Training Progression and Checkrides
  14. UCT Tracks and Phases
  15. UABMT (Undergraduate Air Battle Management Training)
  16. How to Survive and Thrive
  17. Three Keys to Success
  18. Class Rankings and the "Dream Sheet"
  19. Drop Night and Beyond
  20. FTU & Follow-on Training
  21. SQUADRON LIFE & CAREER PROGRESSION
    Officer Life
  22. Deployments
  23. Instructor and Evaluator Upgrades
  24. Fighter Life
  25. Bomber Life
  26. SOF Life
  27. Mobility Life
  28. Electronic Warfare Life
  29. ABM Life
  30. CAREER PROGRESSION
    Upward Moves
  31. Lateral Moves
  32. Civilian Transition
  33. Guard/Reserve
  34. MOVES TO THE FRONT SEAT
    Still Want to Be A Pilot?
  35. Active Duty UPT Transition
  36. Guard/Reserve UPT Transition
  37. GI Bill
  38. Bootstrapping
  39. Scholarships
  40. CONCLUSION
    Parting Words
Combat Systems Officer eCourse What’s a WSO?
Lesson 3 of 40
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What’s a WSO?

WSO (Weapons Systems Officer)

A Strike Eagle WSO loving life
Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

The WSO straps into the cockpit behind the pilot or pilots aboard some of the most deadly aircraft in the USAF inventory. WSOs can be found in both fighters and bombers as an essential part of crews that are highly-trained in delivering devastating ordinance when, where and how it is needed to kill bad people and break their stuff. While the pilots will maintain control of the aircraft, WSOs are directly involved in multiple aspects of aviation and weapons delivery.  

In particular, you can expect to operate sensors (high-powered infrared and TV cameras), manage radios, control defensive systems – radar warnings, flares, etc. – and know everything about the stuff that comes off the airplane and makes bad things go away. For that matter, you may be the crewmember inputting coordinates or actively putting the cursor on the target and guiding hundreds of pounds of hate on whatever needs to be killed. 

These communities, as much as, and maybe even more than the rest, are known to work extremely hard and play extremely hard. If you don’t mind the idea of living and breathing Air Force, and if you truly crave putting warheads on foreheads, this may be the path for  you. 

WSO Aircraft include: F-15E Strike Eagle, B1B Lancer, B-52 Stratofotress