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Date: 10/15/2025

Airfield Operations Specialists

Ensure the safe takeoff and landing of commercial and military aircraft. Duties include coordination between air-traffic control and maintenance personnel, dispatching, using airfield landing and navigational aids, implementing airfield safety procedures, monitoring and maintaining flight records, and applying knowledge of weather information.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Conduct departure and arrival briefings.
    • Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions.
    • Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields.
    • Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.
    • Use airfield landing and navigational aids and digital data terminal communications equipment to perform duties.
    • Maintain flight and event logs, air crew flying records, and flight operations records of incoming and outgoing flights.
    • Procure, produce, and provide information on the safe operation of aircraft, such as flight planning publications, operations publications, charts and maps, or weather information.
    • Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft.
    • Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.
    • Post visual display boards and status boards.
    • Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation.
    • Train operations staff.
    • Receive, transmit, and control message traffic.
    • Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds.
    • Coordinate with agencies, such as air traffic control, civil engineers, or command posts, to ensure support of airfield management activities.
    • Coordinate with agencies to meet aircrew requirements for billeting, messing, refueling, ground transportation, and transient aircraft maintenance.
    • Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies.
    • Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.
    • Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel.
    • Maintain air-to-ground and point-to-point radio contact with aircraft commanders.
    • Anticipate aircraft equipment needs for air evacuation and cargo flights.
    • Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.
    • Receive and post weather information and flight plan data, such as air routes or arrival and departure times.
    • Coordinate changes to flight itineraries with appropriate Air Traffic Control (ATC) agencies.
    • Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields.
    • Plan and coordinate airfield construction.
    • Provide aircrews with information and services needed for airfield management and flight planning.
    • Relay departure, arrival, delay, aircraft and airfield status, and other pertinent information to upline controlling agencies.
    • Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.
    • Check military flight plans with civilian agencies.
    • Collaborate with others to plan flight schedules and air crew assignments.

    Skills

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    Knowledge

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 56750/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 27.28/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 70
    • Yearly Projected Openings 10

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Alarm systems
    • All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
    • Animal control traps
    • Area lighting
    • Articulating boom lift
    • Desktop computers
    • Dump trucks
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Flares
    • Forklifts
    • Joint cleaning or refacing machines
    • Lawnmowers
    • Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
    • Liquid crystal display LCD panels or monitors
    • Multi function printers
    • Power sanders
    • Rescue truck
    • Road sweeper
    • Safety glasses
    • Security or access control systems
    • Snow blowers
    • Sporting shotguns
    • Sporting traps
    • Two way radios

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Application server software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Expert system software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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