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Army MOS · Aviation

15Q Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator

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 Operator provides and supervises air traffic control services at ATC facilities. They conduct flight following under visual flight rules, instrument flight rules, and special visual flight rules.

Minimum clearance: Secret

Minimum ASVAB: ST 101

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: smartbook-611-21-ch10c-fy2025 (source date 2025-12). Policy applicability has not been established.

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

Core Skills

  • Flight following under VFR, IFR and SVFR

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

Providing military ATC services and flight following under visual, instrument and special visual flight rules directly overlaps civilian air traffic control work.

How to prepare: Assemble your certifications, facility ratings and dated records of post-certification live traffic separation to assess which FAA hiring route fits your documented experience. The experienced-controller route has a maximum original-appointment age of 35 and requires 52 consecutive weeks of full-time active traffic separation after certification or facility rating within five years of application, excluding pre-certification military training and allowing no educational substitute; entry-level applicants must be under 31 and have one year of progressively responsible work experience, a bachelor's degree, or combined post-secondary education and work experience totaling one year.

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

Notes & Sources

  • FAA entry-level hiring also requires U.S. citizenship, a medical examination, security investigation, pre-employment testing including ATSA, and clear spoken English; Academy and subsequent facility training are required, with annual medical requalification.
  • The cited FAA experienced-controller notice requires U.S. citizenship, a pre-employment physical, drug testing, Secret clearance and willingness to work at any FAA ATC facility. Appointees complete the appropriate field-training phase, potentially including Academy courses; the notice is a resume repository rather than a guaranteed opening.
  • The FAA appointment age limits above are specific to FAA hiring, not universal limits for non-FAA controller jobs.
Evidence for this guidance (4 documents)
  1. Army COOL MOC feed: 15Q Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator

    [1] data/authority/army-codes.json entry 15Q (OSD COOL feed, fetched 2026-07-25); DB rank enlisted, authority codeType enlisted

    Supports: Flight following under VFR, IFR and SVFR, 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. FAA: Air Traffic Controller Qualifications

    [3] 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)

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

    [4] 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)

Defense contractor jobs for 15Q

Predecessor codes

Historical codes with documented links to 15Q. Each history page explains the change.

93C1Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator93C2Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator93C3Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator93C4Air Traffic Control (ATC) Operator

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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