November 3, 2022

What Air Force Combat Controllers Go Through To Earn Their Titles

Eric Hohman

What Air Force Combat Controllers Go Through To Earn Their Titles

In April of 2020, my first supervisor and teammate, Chris “AZ” Rush, took his own life after only six months of leaving the Combat Control teams.

Eric Hohman

Combat Controllers have been part of every major U.S Special Operation Forces (SOF) engagement since the inception of the CCT program in January 1953. Unfortunately, we remain relatively unknown to the public. Combat Controllers (CCTs) have been responsible for saving the lives of Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, and Coalition SOF teams. Controllers have been vital in highly publicized conflicts such as Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Black Hawk Down, Robert’s Ridge, Captain Phillips, Bin Laden’s raid, Iraq, Afghanistan, and countless “black operations.” Combat Control’s role in peacetime has been invaluable, especially after natural disasters like the Haiti earthquake which devasted the entire country. Combat Controllers were “First There,” controlling air traffic without a tower or radar, ensuring aircraft could deliver thousands of pounds of vital supplies to a ravaged country. We have remained true to the warrior ethos of “silent professionalism,” and after all those missions, as well as 22 years of fighting in Afghanistan, we are still unknown to the American people.

I left the teams in 2013 and began what would turn out to be a difficult transition. Even though thousands of programs exist for veterans, none of them knew what a Combat Controller was, or what they do, thus their physical and mental health protocols were ineffective. In April of 2020, my first supervisor and teammate, Chris “AZ” Rush, took his own life after only six months of leaving the Combat Control teams.

The First There Foundation was founded to combat suicide among teammates and establish an extension of the team room where Controllers can find refuge in the midst of the difficulty of civilian life.
Educating the public and bringing awareness of our contributions on the battlefield will aid in garnering for us the recognition that has eluded us for far too long. First There continues to build a strong support network that connects Controllers to trusted mental health providers, career guidance professionals, substance abuse treatments, and physical therapy.

Our gala will always be held on the weekend of 9/11 because of its significance to our nation and because so many of our teammates chose to go to war as a direct result of the attacks. The name for the gala was chosen in honor of the highly coveted scarlet beret which CCTs proudly wear. We hope that you will join us in establishing traditions that will endure for years to come at our first gala on 10 September 2022.

Our donation levels listed on the enclosed page are derived from retired callsigns used by Combat Controllers in battle. The funds raised during the event go directly toward Combat Controllers and their families. Your gift gives a Controller a fighting chance at leading a happy, healthy, and successful life.

“According to the U.S. Air Force’s 24th Special Operations Wing, the mission of a combat controller is to, “deploy, undetected, into combat and hostile environments to establish assault zones or airfields, while simultaneously conducting air traffic control, fire support, command and control, direct action, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance and special reconnaissance in the joint arena.” With such a broad mission, combat controllers must become certified and maintain proficiency in everything from FAA-certified traffic control, qualified combat diving, and free fall parachuting to certification as a joint terminal attack controller.”

Read More: Task & Purpose

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Eric Hohman
About the Author
Eric Hohman
U.S. Air Force Combat Controller (Ret). Eric has an extensive law enforcement background which includes force protection and criminal investigations.