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» AES Op History |
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Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators Military Occupation Code 081 MOS ID 00019
AESOP is a military classification for Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator. The AESOP is an aircrew noncommissioned classification in the Canadian Armed Forces and AES OPs are responsible for the operation and employment of a wide variety of airborne surveillance sensors, communications and ordnance duties. Surveillance sensors include Radar, Electro Optical & Infrared Imaging (EO/IR), Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD), Electronic Support Measures (ESM), underwater acoustics, photographic and communication equipment on both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. AESOPs also perform hoisting duties and operation of the Machine Gun on Rotary Wing aircraft . Most missions are conducted in Maritime waters or Northern areas of Canada, however deployments to other areas of NATO responsibility and around the world are not uncommon.
Where did it start?
Previous discussions talk, of that Gunner who rode a balloon and called the fall of shot for the Artillery. Others talk of the WAG (Wireless Air Gunner) and the TAG (Telegraphist Air Gunner) employed during the war in the RN and RAF.
If we consider a NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer Aircrew trade employed primarily in the ASW Anti-submarine Warfare) field, then the AESOP origins really start in 1950 within the RCN.
Prior to 1950 the RCN employed 2 aircrew classifications in ASW Pilot and Observer, both Commissioned. In 1959 the RCN purchased the American TBM (Torpedo Bomber Medium) Avenger aircraft and re-configured it for ASW. This required a 3-person crew and the choice was made to add an NCO who was designated an OM (Observers Mate). The criteria for the NCO position was that they be volunteers from the AC {Aircraft Handlers trade, would be employed for 2 years as aircrew and then returned to the AC trade. Those selected would be from the ranks of O/S (Ordinary Seamen) and A/B (Able Seamen) with less then 1-year seniority as an A/B (youth was of primary concern for carrier flying!). The primary duties of an OM were operator of Radar, Mad, ESM, HF Communications and Ordinance man. The Pilot was isolated in the cockpit, but there was a way of reaching into the cockpit if the Pilot required a "shake". The Observer occupied a position in the turret at the top of the fuselage and his primary job was as TACCO (Tactical co-coordinator). He shared HF communications with the OM and had access to the OM's space in the main fuselage. Eight Avengers were configured to the "Guppy version”, which was an AEW (Airborne Early Warning) role for protection of the fleet. This aircraft was fitted with the ASV 21, powerful long-range Radar for surveillance with the added capability of vectoring Sea Furries and Avengers toward distant targets. The large radome was situated in the lower-fuselage extending between the main undercarriages. The Guppy was quite a sight in that day and age with its grossly pregnant look. The OM was the radar operator and worked his magic from a rather claustrophobic compartment.
The initial group of OM's went to sea aboard HMCS Magnificent in 1951. Assigned to their own Mess (living space) aboard, a L/S (Leading Seaman) non-aircrew AC had to be assigned to fill the traditional position of "Mess Deck Killick" the senior man, a sort of mother hen to oversee control and cleanliness within the Jr rank's living spaces because the group had nobody of the appropriate rank. This Killick (Naval jargon for L/S), Joey Saunders, soon remustered to OM and subsequently became the Patriarch of the trade until his release in the early 1970's.
In 1952 it was decided the OM would be an integral part of the RCN ASW Aircrew team and was then designated as an official RCN trade. The trade was opened to remuster from any RCN tradesmen and initially included PO2's (Petty Officers 2nd class) to form the nucleus of a rank structure.
During this short period of SrNCO's entering the trade, some ex-Royal Navy aircrew who had joined the RCN as ground crew were accepted into the trade - On the first course to include SrNCO's was, PO2 AC Tom Scanlon who later transferred to the RCAF and became a pilot Sqn Ldr, In 1953 the Observer school was completed at naval Air Station, HMCS Shearwater.
With the purchase of the Carrier HMCS Bonaventure and the CS2F Grumman Trackers, the RCN decided to eliminate the observer classification and use a 2 pilot / 2 OM team. This dramatically increased the rise of the OM trade. During the next few years another batch of decisions enhanced the OM trade.
The RCN had helicopters in various utility/rescue roles and subsequently equipped the HO4S Sikorski to the ASW role. It carried a "Dunking Sonar" and RCN Sonar-men operated it initially. OM's were then trained in sonar and it was obvious the sonar job could be handled more effectively by the OM who had a dedicated background in ASW flying. The HO4S operated from Bonaventure, but trials were being conducted to use them aboard RCN Frigates. The HO4S was subsequently replaced by the Sea King, which initially was crewed by 2 Pilots and 2 OM's. The Sonar console was shared by both OM's and as well the 2nd OM was required for hoisting duties and look-out, it was during this period also that the Sea King began operational flying from RCN Destroyers and AOR'S.
In 1956/67 the Sea King was fitted with a tactical nav system and this added another Officer to the Sea King crew. This was happening around the time of integration of the Services and the first of the Air Force Nav's came onto the Sea King scene as TACCO’s A few OM's had previously been commissioned and were employed in various air positions. Some of these were trained as TACCO and in addition, an active program of commissioning from the OM trade commenced to further fill TACCO positions. The commissioned OM’S were placed into the navigator's classification one of the former OM's (Bud McLean) achieved LCOL rank and subsequently commanded a HS Sqn.
It was also decided the OM would man the Shearwater Tower as Tower Controllers and GCA (Ground Control Approach Controllers) and the CCA (Carrier Control Approach) controller aboard Bonaventure. Tower controllers were trained by the Dept. of Transport in Ottawa (the RCAF would not allow NCO'S on their Officer's ATC courses), and the GCA controllers were trained by the RCAF or United States military. These positions gave the OM a break from his flying duties and certainly broadened his career.
Of particular note is that during the period the OM's manned the Shearwater tower, Shearwater had the lowest take-off, and landing limits of any airfield in Canada. There Is no doubt the flying skills of the Shearwater Pilots contributed somewhat to this fact upon integration a few OM's received commissions as ATC Officers.
Although the OM name has been used up to this point, for the sake of accuracy there had been a few trade name changes; in I960 the OM became a NA (Naval Air-crewman). In 1966 a RN (Radio Navigator), and in 1968 an OBS (Observer).
Prior to integration a study was conducted to determine who could operate the equipment in CF ASW aircraft. The RCAF had the RO (Radio Officer) In the Argus/Neptune operations and the RCN had the NCO Observer in the Tracker and Sea King, Both operated similar equipment including Jezzabel (Jezz was subsequently lost to the Nav cell), Wing Commander Miller did a study on this matter assisted by 2 or 3 Commissioned Observers and it was recommended the NCOs would man the Sea King sonar and the RO's the remainder of positions. This study arrived at the Maritime Commander's (Admiral O'Brien) desk and was rejected as unacceptable as SrNCO OBS had not been included in the talks. Subsequently Col Smale as DCOS Air became involved and studies were done which included representation at the CPO (Chief Petty Officer) level and a decision was made that the OBS would fill the flying positions and the RO classification would be phased out.
With Integration came a centralized Posting & Careers organization at NDHQ and an OBS was posted to Posting and careers (Air Operations) as Career Manager. This cell handled Navigator, ATC, AWC and MET officers as well as the NCO trades of AD Tech, ATCa, MET and OBS. in 1970 Posting & Careers was reorganized whereby the men's trades were separated from officers and the Flt Eng (NCO) Trade came under the men's AOP's umbrella.
With the creation of the OBS position in Postings (later the position alternated between OBS & FLT ENG) a large remuster program was created to build up the OBS trade to phase out the RO ASW positions. At one point there was a list of over 350 applicants awaiting training. The operational VP Sqns (404,405, 415) were established with 48 OBS positions, VP 407 with 50, with other positions at the OTU VP 449r ANS, Marcom Test Flt etc.. 407 Sqn carried 2 extra OMs because they were geographically distant and could not be easily supplemented which was not the case in Greenwood. All of this expansion from a trade that had between 100 & 125 tradesmen prior to integration. Remuster to OBS was open to all Canadian forces trades, with a maximum rank of MCpl. At first there was no age restriction, however a short time later age restrictions were established, A basic (Phase 1) Course was setup in the ANS (Air Navigator School) in Winnipeg where trainees were taught in basics of radar, communications, airmanship, meteorology, electronics, etc. They flew in the DC 3 Dakota aircraft. This phase lasted 3-4 months and successful applicants went on to the Argus MOAT (Maritime Operational Aircrew Training) course at CFB Greenwood for another 3 months.
On completion of the MOAT course (wings standard), the OBS was posted either to an Argus Sqn (Canadair Argus) or conversion training for a Tracker Sqn. OBS were posted to Helicopter Sqns only after serving at least one fixed-wing tour.
The OBS who came through the ANS (Air Navigation School-Now Canadian Forces Air Navigation School CFANS) route were known as "Pipeliners" within the trade, distinguishing them from the former "Dark Blue" coming from the RCN, Later, the initial training was moved to CFB Summerside and then CFB Comox. Subsequent changes had trainees going directly to Tracker and Helicopter conversion from the basic course.
From 1966 through 1973 the Maritime commander had decreed the priority for manning of OBS positions was first and foremost the Helicopter Sqn’s. The VP Units had the lowest priority as they were already filled with RO's and the RO was only replaced as the OBS arrived on the VP Sqn. Within the VP Sqn’s the initial plan was to man Greenwood (VP 404 and VP 405) completely before any OBS Were posted to the remote areas of Summerside (VP 415) and Comox (VP 407). There were attempts to slow down the OBS pipeline and to retain the RO's on Sqn. But between the Maritime Commander and the manning requirements of NDHQ, notwithstanding a few hiccups the flow continued. After a mere 2 years on VS 880 a few Pipeliners were posted as Instructors on the Tracker Conversion course. This led to a change in thinking on the VP side- and it was finally decided to start filling the OBS instructor positions on the MOAT QTU and to start posting to VP 415 & VP 407 Sqn’s. The first OBS arrived on VP 407 during 1970.
There was rivalry and friction during the evolution following integration between the Air Force way and the RCN way, as well as between Dark Blue and Pipeliner OBS, throughout it is worthy of note that the NCO'S took care of their own. With the increase of established positions, there was nothing within the NDHQ policy that would have prevented all of the senior rank positions from being filled immediately by these existing personnel. Instead it was decided (by the SrNCO's) that the rank positions would be promoted to, only as the base of the trade grew; thus ensuring that promotion opportunities would he available into the future as the trade built up. Certain cutbacks in the overall numbers of established positions did finally overtake this unofficial policy, but it lasted for a considerable period.
In the early 80's the trade name was changed to AESO and subsequently AESOP. In 1984 VP 407 received its first CWO OBS who had started through the system as a Pipeliner end he had achieved the rank after only 17 years service.* Written by Jim McCaffery, CWO retired; with editing help and input from Joey Saunders CPO retired, Dave Kelly MWO retired, and Billy Blake Capt retired. Some historical data was confirmed through the highly recommended publications " Hands to flying stations Vol I & II, written by Stuart E, Toward.
More recently?
The 1980’s was again a time of great change for the trade by the time the transition from the Argus to theCP140 Aurora was completed many VP crews were under manned some with only two as opposed to the established number of four AESO’s. A recruiting drive was started which saw many young faces showing up for AESO Basic Aircrew Training (ABATS) at CFB Summerside in 1982-1990. Many of this new breed of observers were unsuccessful pilot or air navigator candidates and quite a few seemed to come from the artillery (think back to the beginning of this history) and other combat arms due to introduction of LOTP (Land Occupational Transfer Program). Although a number of this new breed was eager to go sea, initially the tradition of all Basic AESO’s completing a VP tour prior to Sea King employment was retained.
Promotion to MCpl on completion of MOAT (wings standard) and pay incentives such as reapplying spec one pay to the trade were added drawing even more candidates during the mid 80’s into the 90’s. These were the good old for today’s older crowd the crews were strong, the flying was good and away trips and flight rations were plentiful we have the belly’s to prove it – or maybe beer was cheap.
New AESOP developed and instructed courses such as EWOC (Electronic Warfare Operators Course), followed by AATC (AESOP Advanced Technologies Course) were being taught to all AESOPS other CF and international trades raising to the trades profile to never before seen levels. Others saw us as a trade that had fun doing our jobs, who got promoted quickly, wore snazzy flight suits and were paid extra to boot. Trade selection boards had roughly 150 to 300 files yearly to chose from. As our manning levels increased so did the number of out of trade positions, an AESOP could be employed in almost any province in Canada, doing thinks like Cadet liaison, Recruiting, Adv EW instructors, CFEWC, JLC and Alphabet school instructors, some even got the chance spend a few months cross polling in New Zealand.
As the 90’s came in the Tracker went out, ABATS moved to Comox and utilized Aurora’s as the basic training platform requiring massive changes to course content some feel negative changes. Then the budget cuts started, flying hours began to get cut year after year, the EH101 got canceled Sea Kings started falling out the sky, we went off to the Persian Gulf on Operation Sharp Guard then to Somalia – Now we were being seen as that bunch that was never home or who flew in those “unsafe” helicopters. The numbers of applicants outside those who new how things really were 500 series trades slowed to a trickle.
In the Late 90’s it was decided that something better had to be developed for ABATS the decision was made after a long process of studies to relocate Basic AESOP training back to the Nav School and reintroduce many of the skills that could not be taught economically using the Aurora. A plan was put into place to complete a final course in Comox shut down training for one year and carry on. Things didn’t go quite as planned 7 of 8 candidates selected for us did not complete the last Comox course, things took longer than expected to get the new BAC (Basic AESOP Course) up and running at CFANS in Winnipeg. In the mean time AESOP to Nav transfers and releases increased dramatically for a couple of years.
The result: Things have gotten pretty tight for the first few years of the new millennium. Plans to increase manning throughput had been denied. The trade had to pull back most ATR billets just to keep the Op Sqn’s manning at minimums. Our expertise was drained as our people opted for chivvy employment. Coursing and PD were almost non-existent for some units, opportunity’s for manning AWAC’s, Griffin and UAV employment are uncertain. Applications for remuster into the trade are extremely low.
Sounds a little grim but remember we are AESOPS, we still stick together and look after one another, things are getting better the first batch of newbees is fresh off the BAC, plans are being made to improve recruiting, throughput and PD. Yes its going to be a busy time for the next little while but I’ll bet you all the next update to this history will be pretty rosy. After all we have the AIMP (Aurora Incremental Modernization Program) and HS replacement programs to look forward to.
Today AESOPs fly on the CP140 Aurora, CP140 Arcturus and CH124 SeaKing operating a variety of airborne surveillance sensors, communications and performing ordnance duties. Surveillance sensors include Radar, Electro Optical and Infrared Imaging (EO/IR), Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD), Electronic Support Measures (ESM), underwater acoustics, door gunner, hoisting, digital photography and communication equipment for missions as varied as:- Anti-Submarine Warfare
- Surface Surveillance;
- Over-the-Horizon Targetting;
- Sovereignty Patrols;
- Search & Rescue;
- Anti-pollution Patrols;
- Anti-drug Patrols;
- Anti-Alien Smuggling;
- Fisheries Patrols, and
- Northern Patrols
Most missions are conducted in Maritime waters or Northern areas of Canada, however deployments to other areas of NATO responsibility and around the world are not uncommon. Most recently as part of Operation Apollo in SW Asia. New sensors and updates for both aircraft have should have improved over land capabilities and new missions are constantly being discussed.
BAC instruction is closely tied with Nav training at CFANS 17 Wing Winnipeg utilizing the CT-142 Dash 8 {aka GONZO}.*80’s –90’s Update by MWO Rob Hayes an ex-herbie who prefers the Artillery spotters theory.
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