Found in the Air Force’s Command and Control (C&C) Systems Operation Career Field, the 1C5X1D Weapons Director shredout traces its roots back to the creation of the 17XX officer career field of Weapons Control in 1969. For a time, it was a shredout of the Aerospace Control and Warning Specialty, which was renamed C&C Battle Management Operations.
The Weapons Director shredout is only available at the -3, -5, and -7 skill levels in AFSC 1C5X1, so the first step to entering this career is to be awarded AFSC 1C531 (or higher), and also have met all the requirements for being awarded AFSC 1C551. This opens the door for entry into undergraduate Weapons Director Training. Until 2013, these entry-level courses were the responsibility of the Arizona Air National Guard’s 107th Air Combat Squadron, but with its inactivation the courses found a new home at the 607th Air Control Squadron at Luke Air Force Base west of Phoenix, Arizona.
In all, enlisted Airmen must successfully complete five courses to qualify for the new specialty and earn the right to wear the Weapons Director occupational badge: Initial Qualification Training, Surveillance Technicians, Air Weapons Officer, Interface Control Technicians, and Electronic Protection Technicians. Advanced Training in the Weapons Director specialty is conducted by the 8th WPS at Nellis Air Force Base in California.
Obviously, Airmen who qualify as Weapons Directors will have earned the basic badge for that specialty as well as their original specialty of C&C Battle Management Operations. At that point, Senior and Master levels can only be earned for the currently qualified badge. To earn the Senior Weapons Director badge, Airmen need to have five years of qualified Weapons Director experience under their belts, as opposed to their 1C5X1 badge which requires them to reach the 7-skill level. For the Master Weapons Director badge, Airmen need to have reached the rank of Master Sergeant and have racked up seven full years of experience in that specialty.