"Call Signs Are Often Based on Pilot Errors": US Air Force Pilot Naming Procedure

The vast majority of call signs in combat aviation The USA is assigned based on the shortcomings of the pilot - a case of unprofessionalism shown by the pilot at the beginning of the service, physical features or character traits.

Forget what you've seen in movies like Top Gun. Military aviators do not have such loud call signs as "Maverick" and "Iceman"

- noted in the publication Task & Purpose.

Official nicknames are given to aviators when they begin service with the first squadron, and they usually remain with them throughout their careers. Often they are based on personality traits or weaknesses of the person.

In fact, most of the call signs are meant to belittle the aviator.

- explained retired admiral Chris Harmer, who flew the H-60F and HH-60H helicopters.

For example, one of the admiral's colleagues was given the nickname "Moto", which meant "Master of the Obvious", for the fact that he often spoke about things that were clear and without his replicas. Among other abbreviations that were used as call signs, he calls "Vigit" (village idiot), "Terpid" (deadly stupid). Although callsigns can also refer to the physical features and personality of the pilots, most of them are based on the fact that the pilot "once screwed up".

Quite often the call sign will be based on a retelling of a mistake made by a young pilot, provided that story must be at least 10% true

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Keith Anderson explained.

As retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Tracey Latourette recalls, during the flight of her colleague in an F-16, the fighter ran out of fuel and used an EPU [emergency power unit] to land. After that, the pilot was known as "Meatloaf" ("MEATLOAF"), which meant "My EPU is activated due to the complete absence of fuel."

According to Navy Commander Guy Snodgrass, such an uncompromising procedure for assigning official nicknames is associated with the expectation that the pilot, after gaining a derogatory call sign, will try to show his best side. According to him, this tradition is aimed at developing a healthy ego in aviators.

Comments

[Astra55]

The vast majority of call signs in US military aviation are assigned based on the shortcomings of the pilot

Why such confusion? The call sign is entered into the aircraft equipment and displayed on the screen of the dispatcher?
So they enter: "MOTO" or "Maverick"? And if not, how can the navigators on the ground figure out which of them is MOTO here?

[denplot]

Most likely we are talking about the nicknames between their own. Their callsigns are different for sure.

[Grim Reaper]

Quote: denplot

Most likely we are talking about the nicknames between their own. Their callsigns are different for sure.

Yes, you noted correctly. These are nicknames, not call signs.

[DymOk_v_dYmke]

Quote: Grim Reaper

Yes, you noted correctly. These are nicknames, not call signs.

In a certain environment, they would say "drive".
The admiral did not give his drive.
Perhaps it was "stupid".

[URAL72]

The sheriff doesn't care about blacks...

[akarfoxhound]

The call sign digits are set on board, which during the flight and work in the receive / transmit mode. The same numbers on the screen of the tactical situation are seen by the SBU officer next to the aircraft icon moving to the AID.
What the hell mavericks? Do you think in the cockpit on the shield of the call sign "clave" with the full alphabet, as it is on the computer? And the pilot, turning around on the side panel, prints his urge before launch? Cool

[Astra55]

Quote: akarfoxhound

Do you think in the cockpit on the shield

Well, why in the cockpit? The number entry device can also stand outside the cockpit, where 5 digits are entered: the first two coincide with the tail number of the aircraft, the other three - the pilot's call sign, which changes approximately every 4 months when switching to new radio data.
On the contrary, I am somehow surprised that the Americans have "official call signs" like "Maverick", I'm interested in what op they introduce them into, and how do they see them as a navigator?

[dauria]

the first two match the tail number of the aircraft, the other three - the call sign of the pilot,

Also surprised. Ours was even easier. On the air on the VHF command, the call signs of the commander (three digits, and the fashion was "fifty" as "fifty, fifty" so as not to be confused with "sixty") and the tail number on "Rita" (RI-65) for automatic transmissions on the air. The words were only the airfield itself, for example "Kasyan". True, this is a long-standing one, and aviation was "not real" - helicopters. By the way, there were no nicknames. They stuck only to the "top" of the command staff. There was "Plum", there was "Dumpling". There was even "Half-dumpling" - this is the deputy "Dumpling".

[akarfoxhound]

There was a story in AVVAKUL about the call signs of the command staff. There was such an air defense aviation commander, General Savitsky (yes, the daughter of cosmonaut Svetlana is his). This general had a good habit of checking the air defense regiments, flying to the regiments without warning (and, accordingly, dispatch requests) on his favorite Yak-25. And now, wandering around the Kuban "souths", he experiences a failure of the fuel generation system. Scheduled flights are underway in Armavir, the nearest spare, on the air sounds:
- "Gim, Burav, I'm a Dragon, I'm going on an emergency, to ensure landing, as they understood, reception"
- "Dragon, I'm Burav, landing is allowed, cloudiness ..., visibility ...., wind ..., start ..., approach from .... As you understand, reception."
And the PIU disperses cadets in zones and on routes in all directions.
Here again: "Gim, Drill, I'm a Dragon, I'm going to the emergency ...."
The RP will repeat the repetition about the full doing to receive a distinguished guest: "Dragon, I am Burav, I allow landing and so on ..."
After a gap, it’s great again: “Gim, Gimlet, I’m a Dragon, I’m going on an emergency ..”
In general, the number of repetitions due to the badly working not only fuel system, but also the r / station varies, but the ending is interesting. On the air, in response to another call for security, on the air, from those circling in the aerobatic area, there was:
"Not ccs, Dragon, TK is on the rise!". (TK ground tanker, (this is not for you))
The cadet, after the landing of the commander, was not calculated, they fought everyone and everything that moves, but Hochma went for a long time after.
Already a lieutenant in the first apartment rented in the garrison, on the old wardrobe of the owners, he found Savitsky's memoirs of his combat youth "I am a Dragon, I attack!" It turns out that he drove it to himself even before the war in Transbaikalia. So, albeit partially, this bike was confirmed

[akarfoxhound]

I know how many numbers and which ones. Outside the cockpit, I have not seen it on any device, and I have no idea why?
During a shift I change 3-4 boards, "jumping" from one to another, where as a commander, where as an instructor. There is complete control of everything and everything before launch and after, to which designer should he transfer his overboard?
I do not think that amers are different. Most likely they know which call sign belongs to whom, no more. True, in the turmoil of a particular battle, if you use "drivers", overlays cannot be avoided

[Astra55]

Quote: akarfoxhound

I know how many numbers and what

What planes do you fly?

[akarfoxhound]

Extreme MiG-31, Su-24 and Tu-134UBK and UBL. (I don’t think L-39 and An-26 are short-term and not interesting). Someone (judging by the minuses) does not like the typesetter in the cockpit, some "major specialist" does not agree with the opinion of the Design Bureau

[Astra55]

All clear.

Someone (judging by the minuses) does not like the dialer in the cockpit ...

Yes, it's actually quite simple. The thing is, you're not quite right. The UNN of an aircraft transponder is not always located in the cockpit.
For example, on Su-shki, it is under this small hatch, here:

On the Su-25, according to the scheme, generally under the keel:

Not at all like the 31st.

[akarfoxhound]

Well, I didn’t fly on these devices, on mine everything is in the cockpit. On the MiG-31, the PKN-2 navigation pad is located in the right rack of the chassis, but this does not affect the operation on the theater. On the Su-24, the AB characteristic time (and another N number of parameters) is set to the right on the outer side (I can’t show it so beautifully, sorry, phone) I.e. if the nature (for example, height) of the target changes (the caravan ran down), then carry the cargo back home.
Well, if you go back to the beginning - do you believe that nundos (at least where) have a keyboard with an alphabet? Sounds crazy to me

[Astra55]

Nonsense, I think. Why fence a garden. It's easier with numbers.

[stels_07]

Stupid Sam, cover oblique Harry

[Seryoga64]

Well, or, Blue "A little rougher" Do not cover the natural, on earth you will get

[Rusticolus]

Well, now it’s at least clear why all Americans have such a hypertrophied inferiority complex and, as a result, hyper-aggressive behavior and permanent phobias. And judging also by the examples of nicknames, it seems that they themselves agree with Zadornov in most cases. It's just some wild mixture of dementia and psychiatry.

[Alexey Stepanov]

Well, it’s difficult to serve in any army without healthy humor and jokes

[voyaka uh]

So these two planes flew from the factory somewhere to the duty stations?

[Orange bigg]

Quote: voyaka uh

So these two planes flew from the factory somewhere to the duty stations?

Well, logically, if they have already been put into the troops, they don’t have to stay at the factory. Quote

.As Deputy Minister of Defense Alexei Krivoruchko said in his report, in the fourth quarter of 2021, 17 new aircraft were delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces, including two fifth-generation Su-57 fighters.

[kit88]

I would pay attention to the serial numbers of these boards - 52 201 and 52 202. These are boards of the 52nd series, in contrast to the already available 51 and the crashed 002 - the 51st series. And the equipment differs by series. Albeit slightly, but different.
Let's hope that the conclusions are drawn.

[bober1982]

Quote: Alexey Stepanov

Well, it’s difficult to serve in any army without healthy humor and jokes

The Americans assigned official nicknames to all our aircraft ......... Kettle, War Horse, Rooster, Coke, Cart, etc.

[akarfoxhound]

Quote: bober1982

Quote: Alexey Stepanov

Well, it’s difficult to serve in any army without healthy humor and jokes

The Americans assigned official nicknames to all our aircraft ......... Kettle, War Horse, Rooster, Coke, Cart, etc.

With regard to us, colleague, it seems to me that everything is simpler. All fighters by name on F (fighter), bombers on B (Bomber), attack aircraft on A (Attack aircraft), helicopter on H (Helicopter), etc. From here, and from the absolute bullshit from the dictionary of nouns, Violinists, Bassoons, Beaters, Badgers and Frog legs and other unintelligibly meaningless garbage appear. And then our conspiracy theorists then begin to invent versions about 95 Medved and a frightening association with Russia. But Bison and Badger, then how to shove it into this version? In the general NATO names of domestic materiel, in my opinion, you should not look for meaning at all

[lot]

A normal funny article, however, and that about nothing.

[Errr]

I don’t know how similar we are with the Americans, but I suddenly caught myself thinking that I had already seen something like this in the movie “Only Old Men Go to Battle”.And the frivolous nickname absolutely did not prevent the Grasshopper from filling up the Messer.

[Kapkan]

tradition aims to develop a healthy ego

Is it in the USA?

[Sands Careers General]

Lame calls the crooked, Dodik at headquarters ordered

[viktortarianik]

Well, friendship (in the US Army) begins with .......

[Alien From]

Guys, look at the nicknames of our site

[Vasyan1971]

Quote: Alien From

Guys, look at the nicknames of our site

Not. It's one thing to name yourself (to the extent of your depravity ), and the other is what people will say about you.

[Palmyra]

On the contrary, motivating the pilot by giving him a call sign that he would be proud of and try to justify no does not work?

[Sands Careers General]

It’s the same with us, as soon as they don’t call young people, but then it also changes, how you put yourself))

[Nikolay Sayenko]

I had a decent “Said” at the school. When I got a lieutenant and went to the troops, I understood that something new would be stuck there. Therefore, I wrote “Said” in large letters inside my cap.

[Vasyan1971]

In fact, most of the call signs are meant to belittle the aviator.
- explained retired admiral Chris Harmer, who flew the H-60F and HH-60H helicopters.

I wonder what kind of rattle the admiral himself had? Given that

they tend to be retained by them throughout their careers.

[Private SA]

Quote: bober1982

The Americans assigned official nicknames to all our aircraft ......... Kettle, War Horse, Rooster, Coke, Cart, etc.

And missiles ... RS-20A - "Satan". RS-18A- "Stiletto". As defined in the START treaty.
"Stiletto rocket soared into the sky -
There is no state of New Jersey in America."
And on the topic - "army urges" were assigned to me by my last name in the morning formation.
"Muzzle" was first called. Then the traditional from the Soviet cinema - "Bespectacled". By the way, they were also called in the Soviet school. By the demobilization to the "Student" at the entire floor of the barracks has grown.

[Bratkov Oleg]

- What is it, Baltimore?
- Morons, sir.