page_title: Aircrew
section_title: Military
hierarchical_section_title: Aircrew / Military
caption_attribution_description: The 301st Airlift Squadron (U.S. Air Force), 99 Squadron, Royal Air Force, and 36th Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, C-17 flight crews and aircraft maintenance personnel assemble in front of their C-17s on the flightline at Royal Air Force Brize Norton, United Kingdom, June 4. In the front row are the squadron commanders: Lt. Col. Stephen Rickert, 301st Airlift Squadron commander; Wing Commander John Gladston, 99 Squadron commander; and Wing Commander Linda Corbould, 36th Squadron commander, along with Col. Lloyd Neblett, retired commander of the 301st Troop Carrier Squadron, predecessor to the 301st. The crews met for the first time as sister squadrons, re-establishing a relationship with the British that goes back to World War II.
context_page_description: Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.
context_section_description: From the start of military aviation, additional crew members have flown on military aircraft. Over time these duties have expanded:
  Pilot
  Co-pilot
  Air gunner, crew member responsible for the operation of defensive weapons, for example gun turrets. Specific positions include nose gunner, door gunner and tail gunner
  Bombardier or Bomb Aimer is a crew member for the release of ordnance, particularly bombs.
  Boom operator, in the USAF the crew member on tanker aircraft responsible for operating the flying boom and the transfer of fuel.
  Combat systems officer
  Airborne Mission Systems Specialist, an aircrew member who operates some form of electronic or other type equipment such as computers, radars, or intelligence gathering equipment to assist or complete the aircraft's mission.
  Airborne Sensor Operator, An airborne sensor operator (Aerial Sensor Operator, Tactical Coordinator, EWO etc.) is the functional profession of gathering information from an airborne platform (Manned or Unmanned) and/or oversee mission management systems for tactical, operational and strategic remote sensing purposes.
  Crew chief, an enlisted aircraft mechanic with many various responsibilities. Primary among those are aircraft maintenance, pre-flight/postflight inspections, passenger management, acting as a doorgunner, in-air fire fighting, airspace surveillance, assisting the pilots to land the aircraft in difficult landing zones, assisting pilots with engine start up and shutdown safety, fuel checks, monitoring "hot" refuels (refueling with engines running).
  Flight attendant, a crew member who tends to passengers on military aircraft.  This position is similar to the duties performed by commercial flight attendants.
  Flight engineer, a crew member responsible for engines, systems and fuel management.
  Flight officer
  Flight surgeon or Flight Nurse, aerial medical staff not involved in the operation of the aircraft but is considered by some militaries to be aircrew.
  Loadmaster, crew member responsible for loading freight and personnel and the weight and balance of the aircraft.
  Navigator, a crew member responsible for air navigation. Still actively trained and licensed in some present day militaries, as electronic navigation aids can not be assumed to be operational during warfare.
  Air observer
  Rescue swimmer on air-sea rescue aircraft
  Air Signaller or radio operator, crew member responsible for the operation of the aircraft communications systems.
  Tactical coordinator (TACCO), Weapon System Officer on board a Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
  Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) Commissioned Aircrew Officer Weapons or Mission System Specialist.
  Weapon Systems Operator (WSOp), as above but Enlisted.
caption: USAF, RAF and RAAF  aircrew and maintenance personnel with their C-17s
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