Air battle manager Air battle manager ( ABM ) is a rated flying position in the United States Air Force . History . Air battle manager has been a rated career field ( Air Force Specialty Code 13BX ) since October 1 , 1999 . This means that ABMs are career aviators who receive flight pay and must actively fly a certain number of months ( called gate months ) to maintain their rating . As a result , all active duty ABMs and those assigned to the Air Force Reserve unit at Tinker AFB , OK are assigned to flying duties after completion of undergraduate training . In the past a small number of graduates were initially assigned to ground assignments in the control and reporting center s ( CRCs ) . This practice was temporarily ceased in 2004 but now occurs based on student merit and assignment availability . ABMs serving in the Air National Guard are typically assigned to a CRC unit , an air defense sector , or an air operations center ( AOC ) . ABMs do receive flight pay and earn rated aviator wings though , at one time , were not awarded them at the completion of UABMT . Under the old system , only ABMs who had completed follow - on training for the E - 3 or E - 8 were awarded wings to wear on their uniforms . As of May 2010 , a new training syllabus at Tyndall AFB allows ABMs to receive their wings at the conclusion of UABMT , finally bringing them in line with pilots and navigators . As of December 31 , 2010 , the Air Force Personnel Center reported that there are currently 1 , 434 ABMs serving on active duty . Training . Undergraduate air battle manager training ( UABMT ) for the active US Air Force , Air National Guard , and Air Force Reserve is conducted by the 337th Air Control Squadron under Eglin AFB , FL but remains at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida . Training at Tyndall is academically challenging from the start to the end , and the wash out rate varies from class to class . There are , at most , 12 officers that make up a class but the average is about 10 . About one to three will never achieve combat mission ready status at their line squadron , either due to washing out of training at Tyndall or advanced training at their next base . By the time an individual finishes training , they acquire 15 credit hours towards a master ' s degree and on average nine credit hours will be recognized by a university as an elective course , e . g . University of Oklahoma . From there , active duty officers are sent for additional training at Tinker AFB , Oklahoma ( for the E - 3 ) , Robins AFB , Georgia ( for the E - 8 ) or directly to a CRC . A select few will be sent to Geilenkirchen AB , Germany to train on the NATO AWACS ( E - 3A . ) Small numbers are also assigned to overseas assignments at either Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage , AK , or Kadena AB , Okinawa , Japan to fly on the E - 3 once the follow on training at Tinker is completed . In the past , ABMs received their wings from Air Combat Command or from NATO once their flight training was completed , making it the only line rated career field that received its wings outside of AETC . However , as of May 2010 , a new training syllabus has begun . Aimed at overhauling the entire course , the new syllabus places significant emphasis on the aeronautical ratings that mission - ready ABMs currently enjoy . Subsequently , all ABM student ( except Air National Guard Officers belonging to CRC and air defense units ) under the new syllabus will receive their wings at the conclusion of UABMT at Tyndall . Students under the new syllabus will also receive flight pay while taking the course . Responsibilities . Air battle managers are primarily responsible for command and control and , what their title implies , battle management . Their primary duty is to ensure the day to day air mission is executed . These duties depend on the overall military operation . For air to air engagement , using either airborne or land - based radars , ABMs ensure combat aircraft find , identify , and destroy their targets by providing the pilots with a " big picture " that increases their situational awareness . ABMs can provide early warning for inbound enemy aircraft and direct friendly assets to intercept them . As their title implies , ABMs control the air battlespace . To ensure the air mission is completed , ABMs aid the fight , they keep track of all the assets in the area of operations to ensure de - confliction , safety of flight for all friendly aircraft , and expedite tactical mission execution . Although ABMs do not — and are not qualified to — serve as air traffic controllers , their role in de - confliction and flight safety makes air traffic control the closest civilian analogue to the ABM ' s role . Most if not all countries that have an ABM equivalent in their military also have ABMs be dual - qualified in civilian air traffic control . This is true in the Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force . In a few cases where there was a lack of air traffic control services in a combat environment , air battle managers have picked up this additional duty with commercial aircraft . ABMs are trained to control the fight , either air to air or air to ground , and ensure mission execution , not the traffic pattern or solely de - confliction and flight safety . Additionally , ABMs plan , organize and task air combat operations . ABMs must be well versed in all combat aircraft systems and tactics ; this includes U . S built aircraft and foreign built aircraft as well as their respective munitions , and as well as ground based threats to aircraft as they may be assigned to work with any weapons system at any time . As a result , their expertise is often called upon in an advisory role by the Air Force ' s sister services or other allied military forces . Duty positions . There are different crew duty positions an air battle manager may be qualified to perform during his career . On both the E - 3 , E - 8 and in a CRC they begin as an airborne weapons officer ( AWO ) , responsible for the direct control of weapons systems in the fight . This position also has several jobs that can be considered a position during a military operation , i . e . strike controller , OCA , DCA . From there , ABMs may upgrade to several different positions , depending on the platform they are serving on . Two positions common to all platforms are the senior director , who directs the weapons section ( consisting of weapon directors and AWOs ) , and the mission crew commander , a senior ABM who controls the entire operations crew . ABMs in charge of the surveillance section are called air surveillance officers on the E - 3 , or sensor management officers on the E - 8 . The electronic combat officer , another upgrade position for AWOs , is only found on the AWACS platform and is in charge of operating certain sensors aboard the E - 3 as well as infusing electronic war fare information and intelligence reports on and off the E - 3 as well as expedite the F2T2EA process between strategic and tactical assets . ABMs may also serve as instructors and evaluators in whatever crew position qualification they maintain . With addition to their flying duties , ABMs also have office duties within their respective line squadron . This can be a flight scheduler , an officer in charge of a shop , or a flight commander in charge of flight operations of either 30 plus officers , 30 plus enlisted , or a mixture of both . At an air operations center , ABMs may be tasked to work in various departments to include operations or plans . When working in operations , ABMs may be tasked with various duties to include offensive operations duty officer , defensive operations duty officer , command and control duty officer , joint interface control officer , and liaison officer to name a few . Within plans , ABMs help plan future operations . Platforms . Air battle manager career paths typically place personnel on several platforms : AWACS , Joint STARS , control and reporting centers or air operations centers . The first two involve flying positions on the E - 3 Sentry or E - 8 JSTARS , respectively . Both of these aircraft are highly modified Boeing 707 airframes equipped with long - range radars and other sensor systems . The E - 3 typically supports air - to - air operations , while the E - 8 JSTARS supports air - to - ground operations . CRCs are land - based mobile radar sites , part of the Ground Theater Air Control System ( GTACS ) . AOCs are the senior node of the Theater Air Control System . ABMs may also serve in various staff positions at higher echelons . See also . Unofficial UABMT information