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Air Force AFSC · Aviation

1C1X1 Air Traffic Control

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

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Overview

An Air Traffic Control specialist manages the flow of aircraft through all aspects of flight on the ground and in the air. The specialist monitors multiple variables and makes quick decisions to maintain the safety and efficiency of air traffic at bases and in airspace.

Minimum clearance: Secret

Minimum ASVAB: G 55

ASVAB policy: Not policy-reviewed · coverage unknown · as of 2026-10-19

Program scope has not been reviewed.

Policy applicability and coverage of the program's score routes have not been reviewed. Shown-route arithmetic is not an eligibility decision.

Source: dafecd-atch4-2025-10-31 (source date 2025-10). Policy applicability has not been established.

See if you would hit this score: free ASVAB practice test

Skill levels: 1C111 helper · 1C131 apprentice · 1C151 journeyman · 1C171 craftsman

Core Skills

  • Visual, radar, and non-radar traffic control
  • En route and terminal traffic control

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

Air Traffic Controllers

Military control of en route and terminal traffic through visual, radar, and non-radar methods directly overlaps civilian air traffic control.

How to prepare: Assemble existing certifications, facility ratings, and dated live-traffic experience records to assess the FAA experienced-controller route first: the supplied 2026 notice requires 52 consecutive weeks of full-time active traffic separation after certification or facility rating within five years of application, excludes pre-certification military training, allows no educational substitute, sets an original-appointment age limit of 35, requires citizenship and a pre-employment physical, and places appointees into field training for full certification, potentially including Academy courses. If that route does not fit, assess the FAA entry-level route against its separate conditions: US citizenship, age under 31, clear spoken English, one year of progressively responsible work or a bachelor's degree or a postsecondary education/work combination totaling one year, medical examination, security investigation, pre-employment tests including ATSA, required courses and several months at the Academy, followed by 2-3 years of classroom and on-the-job training for professional certification and annual medical requalification.

What the civilian work involves
  • Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
  • Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
  • Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.

Training & Development

Choose credentials for your target role. COOL funding markers describe program listings, not a guarantee of eligibility or funding.

Getting Started

  • Air Traffic Control Tower Operator (CTO)

    For tower work, have existing qualifications assessed before pursuing missing CTO requirements: 14 CFR 65.31 permits an FAA Credential with a tower rating as an alternative to the CTO certificate. Either route requires a facility rating or qualified-position work under required supervision, with applicable medical qualification; operating positions and facility ratings involve practical tests. A CTO certificate does not secure an FAA appointment.

    Eligibility and preparation: The CTO certificate requires age 18, good moral character, English adequate for two-way radio communication, the written knowledge test, and a second-class medical certificate issued within the prior 12 months unless the specified FAA employment or military employment/active-duty exemption applies. A facility-rating application requires six months of qualifying tower experience under section 65.39, which includes a military-member experience provision.

    For: Air Traffic Controllers

Notes & Sources

  • The FAA 2026 experienced-controller notice is a resume repository, not a guaranteed opening. It also requires willingness to work at any FAA facility, designated or random drug testing, and lists a Secret clearance.
  • Under that notice, previously appointed FAA or DOD civilian 2152 applicants must document their original appointment before the maximum entry age with an SF-50. FAA appointment age limits should not be applied to every non-FAA controller job.
Evidence for this guidance (7 documents)
  1. DAFECD, 30 Apr 26: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (1C1X1)

    [1] Specialty Summary section "AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL"; normalized cached text lines 1984-2004; explicit AFSC match for 1C1X1

    Supports: Visual, radar, and non-radar traffic control, En route and terminal traffic control, Air Traffic Controllers (O*NET 53-2021.00)

  2. O*NET: Air Traffic Controllers

    [2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Air Traffic Controllers (O*NET 53-2021.00)

  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Air Traffic Controllers

    [3] How to Become an Air Traffic Controller; retrieved 23 September 2026

    Supports: Air Traffic Controllers (O*NET 53-2021.00)

  4. FAA: Air Traffic Controller Qualifications

    [4] Minimum qualifications and training requirements; official page updated 2025-02-27, checked 2026-09-24. Current entry-level threshold is one year, not the older three-year wording.

    Supports: Air Traffic Controllers (O*NET 53-2021.00)

  5. FAA 2026 experienced Air Traffic Control Specialist direct-hire notice

    [5] FAA-FAA-26-PUB NOT-96466: Duties, Conditions of employment, Qualifications, Education. Checked 2026-09-24; a resume repository, not a guarantee of an opening or appointment.

    Supports: Air Traffic Controllers (O*NET 53-2021.00)

  6. FAA: Air Traffic Control Tower Operator certificate and facility-rating requirements

    [6] 14 CFR 65.31, 65.33, 65.35, 65.37, 65.39 and 65.41; official eCFR XML API as of 21 September 2026

    Supports: Air Traffic Controllers (O*NET 53-2021.00), Air Traffic Control Tower Operator (CTO)

  7. COOL credential mapping: Air Traffic Control Tower Operator (CTO)

    [7] 1C1X1 cached COOL credential feed

    Supports: Air Traffic Control Tower Operator (CTO)

Defense contractor jobs for 1C1X1

Predecessor codes

Historical codes with documented links to 1C1X1. Each history page explains the change.

27210Air Traffic Control Helper27230Apprentice Air Traffic Control Operator27250Air Traffic Control Operator27270Air Traffic Control Technician27290Air Traffic Control Superintendent272X0Title not stated in source

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

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