Combat Controllers

[Aim Small Miss Small]

Hello everyone. I am new to the site but am happy to be able to be in touch with members of the Special Operations community (this is not my introduction, I have already completed that under the designated section). Currently I am training with the goal of getting a Special Warfare Contract in the Navy when I enlist and going the SEAL route. I have been training since March and have been working on my PST scores. I am nowhere near ready but am making progress to be ready. My goal is to be ready around June of 2016 and go into the delayed entry program.

Upon doing research, I have also come to find interest in the Air Force Combat Controllers. I have researched them online and have come to understand roughly the role they play. What I can't find is much information outside of what airforce.com says. There is so much information, true and false, that the internet is flooded with in regards to Navy SEALs and dozens of great books about them, but I can't seem to find a lot out about Combat Controllers besides what the training pipeline looks like and a general description of what they do.

I have a few questions that I would really appreciate feedback from some men who have worked with CCT or have been CCT that I have not seen online or in any forums (I apologize if these questions have been answered already, I did search through the forums looking for these questions and was unable to find anything as well as using the search function to try and find this info. While I did find out some great information, I did not see these questions):

1. What role does CCT play when on a mission with another special operations unit?
2. I know that the primary role of a Combat Controller is not combat but that they are well trained in it. But how often do they encounter combat?

Any additional insight about the aspects of being a Combat Controller would be much appreciated. I'm sure that I will come up with more questions as time goes on but this is currently some questions I have on my mind. Any help would be very much appreciated! Thank you.

And to all who have served, I am eternally grateful. Thank you for your service.

Respectfully,

Sean W.

 

[amlove21]

...snip...

There is a wealth of information out there on the Combat Control career field.

I'll let you search around a little more, see what you can find. Your post has some pretty serious misconceptions- their primary duty isn't to deploy to combat? I think a couple guys may take issue with that.

 

[Aim Small Miss Small]

There is a wealth of information out there on the Combat Control career field.

I'll let you search around a little more, see what you can find. Your post has some pretty serious misconceptions- their primary duty isn't to deploy to combat? I think a couple guys may take issue with that.

I'm sorry I should have clarified it. I was not saying they don't deploy to combat. I was trying to say that their primary role was not to go and fight like a SEAL or some other Special Operations. That's what i've gathered from what the Internet has on them. I read that they are very capable of fighting if they have to, but their primary goal is to be in and out without being detected. Sorry for the misunderstanding. That's what I was tryin. To say.

There is a wealth of information out there on the Combat Control career field.

I'll let you search around a little more, see what you can find. Your post has some pretty serious misconceptions- their primary duty isn't to deploy to combat? I think a couple guys may take issue with that.

And thank you for sharing the link with me about Robert Gutierrez!

 

[amlove21]

I'm sorry I should have clarified it. I was not saying they don't deploy to combat. I was trying to say that their primary role was not to go and fight like a SEAL or some other Special Operations. That's what i've gathered from what the Internet has on them. I read that they are very capable of fighting if they have to, but their primary goal is to be in and out without being detected. Sorry for the misunderstanding. That's what I was tryin. To say.


And thank you for sharing the link with me about Robert Gutierrez!

No issues.

All AF Spec Ops are gunfighters first. Shoot, move, communicate. After that we have our specialties. For Pararescue, it's tech rescue and medicine. Combat Control has their own- premier tactical air control and airfield seizure, to generalize a bit. TACP are the battlefield leaders in providing air liason support and joint fire capability to ground forces (@CDG feel free to vector me if I am off.)

Their primary role (as is ours) is to express their capability in a combat environment. You're mistaking the doctrinal term of "Direct Action" with what your perception is of a specific skillset working to enable a larger combat role.

 

[Aim Small Miss Small]

No issues.

All AF Spec Ops are gunfighters first. Shoot, move, communicate. After that we have our specialties. For Pararescue, it's tech rescue and medicine. Combat Control has their own- premier tactical air control and airfield seizure, to generalize a bit. TACP are the battlefield leaders in providing air liason support and joint fire capability to ground forces (@CDG feel free to vector me if I am off.)

Their primary role (as is ours) is to express their capability in a combat environment. You're mistaking the doctrinal term of "Direct Action" with what your perception is of a specific skillset working to enable a larger combat role.

Oh okay that definitely helped me better understand their role better. I appreciate the feedback very much! Thank you for helping clear that up for me.

 

[CDG]

No issues.

All AF Spec Ops are gunfighters first. Shoot, move, communicate. After that we have our specialties. For Pararescue, it's tech rescue and medicine. Combat Control has their own- premier tactical air control and airfield seizure, to generalize a bit. TACP are the battlefield leaders in providing air liason support and joint fire capability to ground forces (@CDG feel free to vector me if I am off.)

Their primary role (as is ours) is to express their capability in a combat environment. You're mistaking the doctrinal term of "Direct Action" with what your perception is of a specific skillset working to enable a larger combat role.

You're right on brother. To expound a little further, our mission is advise, assist, control. We advise US Army, SOF, and Coalition forces on how to integrate airpower into the ground scheme of maneuver, we assist them with planning that integration, and we provide terminal attack control (TAC) of combat aircraft engaged in support of friendly ground forces.

 

[Aim Small Miss Small]

You're right on brother. To expound a little further, our mission is advise, assist, control. We advise US Army, SOF, and Coalition forces on how to integrate airpower into the ground scheme of maneuver, we assist them with planning that integration, and we provide terminal attack control (TAC) of combat aircraft engaged in support of friendly ground forces.

Thank you for the information I appreciate your feedback!