3 reasons why I chose Air Force Combat Control over the Navy SEALs

 

Combat Controller or Navy SEAL?

For anyone interested in joining the military and becoming a special operator, there's a lot of choices out there.

 The only solid information I could find with tons of books, movies, documentaries, and online information, was the Navy SEALs.

You may be wanting to be an elite warrior, but don't know which branch to join.

You can easily find out exactly what to expect at BUD/s.  Although it's hard to see every detail, all three phases are described from numerous sources. There's even a lot of information on the pass/fail requirements for course, and which tasks only require completion.

 There's tons of information from former Navy SEALs that tell great stories about training, giving deep insights to the experience beyond the course description. 

It wasn't until I walked into the Air Force recruiting office that I gave Combat Control a serious look. 

 But the reality was,  Combat Control (CCT) looked a little soft from just reading one of the workout books.  All the swimming was shown in a pool!  They were running around a track with sneakers on.  At BUD/s they swam in the ocean, and did their runs on the beach with combat boots on.

Of course, I later learned the CCT course is extremely rugged.  The pool was more difficult than I was able to imagine, and eventually we did open ocean swims later in the pipeline.  

The pool was a contained area to apply an artificial pressure ( making anyone uncomfortable, even Olympic swimmers) that can't be replicated when you're able to have plenty of oxygen.  

A problem Combat Control has ( for future candidates) is there is very limited information available about it.  Sure, some sources state the insane washout rate ( 90 percent), but it's hard to imagine that.  

The SEALs have a reputation of " the toughest military training in the world", so everything else I'd looked at didn't seem to compare;  even though the SEALs have a much lower washout rate than Pararescue or Combat Control, BUD/s looked awesome; until I looked a little deeper.

This isn't an article about CCT being harder, better, or above the Navy SEALs.  The fact is, learned after speaking with other branches' special ops guys throughout my training, all special ops training is incredibly difficult in their own way.  The SEALs specialize in the water, and there's nobody better.  Certain aspects of BUD/s are harder than other training programs, mainly the extreme cold water conditions.

I did a lot of research on all special forces units before I joined the military, and listed below are reasons I chose Combat Control, even over the SEALs, which I obsessed over.  Their culture, training, and operations was intriguing to me.

Here are some reasons I eventually went with Combat Control:

1. As a Combat Controller, you become a FAA certified air traffic controller.

Like Pararescue's ( PJs) core duty is medical training, a Combat Controller's main foundation is air traffic control.  All trainees attend the Air Force air traffic technical school at Keesler AFB.  Air traffic control is the duty that separates, and makes CCT a huge asset to any special ops team.  You go through the exact classroom and simulator training as any other air traffic controller does.  You learn the ability to communicate with aircraft that bring an enormous amount of fire power to a situation.  

Many people sign up for the military and plan on doing one term.  I was one of them.  Somehow I had the ability to think about my life after the Air Force.  I wanted to learn some kind of skill that would be useful in the civilian world.  The SEALs have many opportunities as well, but I was thinking of settling down a bit after my enlistment.  

When I saw FAA certified air traffic controller, I thought about working for the FAA after the Air Force.  It's a job that has a reputation for great pay and benefits. ( I'm actually working for the FAA as a controller right now.)

A few things to think about before getting excited about being an air traffic controller. 

After you finish air traffic control school, you receive a certified tower operator ( CTO) card and a radar ticket.( they used to be pink), but all that really means is you are allowed to train at a facility, not an official ticket that allows you to work as an air traffic controller. 

9 The regular air traffic controllers move on to their assigned facilities and conduct on the job training ( OJT) and work toward an actual CTO or radar ticket. ( The one that matters to the FAA) 

 Once you certify at a facility, you are eligible to be considered for hire by the FAA as a prior experience military controller. As of this time, military air traffic controllers are in high demand by the FAA. In fact, as a previous experience military controller, you can skip the entire FAA academy and head straight to your assigned facility. This is an incredible opportunity because the academy is not that easy. I found it a lot harder than the military school.

Although I didn't realize at the time, because of the mass firing of air traffic controllers in the early eighties by Ronald Reagan, all the controllers hired at the same time to replace the terminated controllers are retiring now, which makes being a prior experience military controller almost a guaranteed to get hired by the FAA at the present time, and many years in the future.

As CCT trainee, unfortunately, you move on to the other schools in the pipeline. You never receive the actual ticket that the FAA wants, but most Combat Controllers acquire an official CTO after they finish the pipeline.

This brings me to the point to consider about the FAA and Combat Control:

In the CCT pipeline, air traffic control school comes after the indoctrination course ( a four week gut check), Army Airborne, and survival evasion resistance escape ( SERE) training. If you wash out of these courses, you will be re classed wherever the Air Force needs you.

If you wash out in after air traffic school, there is a really good chance you'll be assigned an air traffic facility as a regular air traffic controller.

The good news is, the CCT pipeline is set up to gradually build you up before they eventually destroy you, tearing you down. I'll cover more of this below. Making it through air traffic school should't be too bad, as long as some effort is put it, and of course, you never quit! The real test comes at Combat Control School.

Most, if not all Combat Controllers, eventually obtain a facility rating at an air traffic facility.

2. The CCT pipeline looked more fun and interesting than BUD/s

Like I said before, no special ops training is easy. It's all a selection process to find the right candidates, and they're all essentially the same: the training brings you to a point where there is no choice but to dig down deep and test what you can do. There's no way around it... but Combat Control seemed less intimidating on paper for a few reasons.

When you read about BUD/s and the three phases, the intensity seems high from the very beginning. The candidates are pushed to their physical and mental limits from day one of the first phase. Around the fourth or fifth week is hell week. A few weeks in, and you're going through absolute hell.

Combat Control was a bit vague, yet it listed the entire pipeline (a series of schools during the course ) and where they were located. After the orientation course at Lackland AFB, which was two weeks when I went through, but now has increased to four, there was an adventure waiting to happen. Army Airborne school, SERE, air traffic school, and combat control school followed the orientation course.

After combat control school, was high altitude low opening ( HALO) school and combat dive school. Combat Controllers and Pararescue have HALO listed in the course curriculum, which is not the case for other special ops units. A lot of them go, but it's not guaranteed.

HALO is a very sought after course in the military, many people wait years ( including SEALs and other special forces) for a slot. It's a relaxed course involving several high altitude jumps up to 30,000 feet.

So, you are jumping out of airplanes in Georgia, and learning survival skills up in Washington state, just weeks after beginning combat control training. Compare that to a couple of months in the cold pacific ocean, and reading about the horror stories the first few months at BUD/s, made my decision a little easier.

Combat Control looked way easier than BUD/s on paper, but now that I've experienced the training, I don't think that's the case. The pipeline looks deceivingly easy on paper because all you see is a series of schools listed all over the U.S.

Due to a critical shortage of combat controllers, the pipeline was changed. They kept the same intensity, but waited a while before tearing you down.

Now they've changed it again. Now all PJs and CCTs go through a 4 week selection together in an event called Assessment and selection!

Instead of getting kicked in the balls in the beginning, they used save the worst for later during the CCT pipeline. Combat control school was the real selection course, and it included a hell week at the beginning. It's a brutal course, but you don't attend until the end of the pipeline. The reasoning: they wanted to build you up to have a chance at success. They basically spend a year building you up before the nightmare of combat control school.

Air traffic control school is 15 and a half weeks long. You're up three hours before the coursework each day doing intense exercise, preparing for combat control school and combat dive. They push the intensity higher each day.

Even after all that, you have to complete combat dive school, and it's very difficult. People wash after being in training for two years. It's similar to the Navy SEAL curriculum because yes... combat controllers have to swim wand keep up with SEALs on missions.

The worst part is Pre Scuba, which used to be the first part of training as a selection course, where you're pushed to the limit in a small pool. Ask any combat controller, and that's something none of us want to repeat.

3. If I didn't make it, I'd have been in the Air Force for the rest of my commitment.

I had to face reality when I had the goal of being a special operator.  Most people don't make it.  Sometimes the most determined people get injured, fail an academic test, or get a safety violation.  All three happened to me, but I managed to graduate!  I was lucky.  

I knew I didn't want to be in the Navy on a ship, or in the Army driving tanks.  I didn't want to be a Marine either.  The thought of the Air Force was comfortable to me, and I knew I'd be okay with many of the jobs too.  This was probably my biggest determining factor in my planning.  I had a cousin in the Air Force and it seemed to be close to regular job, just wearing a uniform.   He learned a good job skill ( HVAC) and traveled all around the country.

If you have the mindset of being a special operator, look close at the branch you like the most.  If you don't like the Navy, it might not be wise to try and become a SEAL, but if you love the Army, check out the green berets.  I learned each unit is the same, but only have a different mission statement.  I fell into the trap of focusing on the SEALs ( because they were popular), but learned about all the amazing special ops units after I joined the Air Force.  Just because they aren't well known doesn't mean they aren't elite warriors.  They all are.

If you're trying to decide between different branches as a special operator, comment below.  I'm curious to know other thoughts on this topic.

Kevin