Job Details

Officer, Australian Defence Force Academy

Air Force Joint Battlefield Airspace Control (JBAC) is a highly specialised service based on formally trained Air Traffic Control skills with additional post graduate training in Battlefield Airspace Control to provide safe and expeditious control of military and civil aircraft in the air and on the ground in both the air base and tactical environments. Air Force JBACs come under the command of No 44 Wing, and may be posted to any 44 Wing location within Australia, overseas or on exchange to our allies.

Air Force JBACs are responsible for aircraft control and airspace management in the Air Base (Australian Defence Force air base) environment, more commonly known as Air Traffic Control (ATC), for military and joint user (civil and military) aerodromes within Australia and overseas. They also assume those responsibilities on the battlefield when called upon to deliver Joint Battlefield Airspace Control and Joint Airspace Management. An Air Force JBAC is expected to operate at short notice from established and temporary airfields anywhere within Australia and overseas.

In addition to processing flying operations at airfields, JBACs provide specialised skills in the deconfliction of artillery, aircraft and UAV operations. Consequently, JBACs can expect to be deployed on RAN ships, with Army Brigades and Parachute Regiments, or as part of a larger Australian Defence Force or Coalition operation. Some JBACs are selected for further tactical training in the Joint Terminal Attack environment.

Because of its operational tempo, 44 Wing members have received many awards and decorations. For example, a significant number of 44 Wing members were awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for their work in Baghdad. Other operational experiences have included the Sinai, Somalia, East Timor, Iraq, Solomon Islands, Banda Aceh (Indonesia) and Khartoum (Sudan) and Afghanistan. Typical overseas exercise deployments may include New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.

Due to the nature of military operations, JBACs are shift workers and may be posted to a Detachment which operates 24 hours a day.

Additional areas of employment are:

Training Officer. A JBAC who is proficient in either the Tower control or Approach control environment and has attended a Training Officer’s Course may become a Training Officer. It is the responsibility of the Training Officer to train all new graduates or JBACS newly arrived from other 44 Wing Detachments.

Supervisor. A highly proficient JBAC employed as a Supervisor in the Tower and/or Approach environment. It is the Supervisor's responsibility to oversee flying operations in either Tower or Approach.

Senior Training Officer. A Senior Training Officer is a highly proficient, suitably qualified and well reported Flight Lieutenant JBAC who is posted to a Detachment specifically to perform the duties of the Senior Training Officer. This officer is responsible for ATC theory training, training administration and the management of Training Officers within the Detachment.

ATC Instructor. An ATC Instructor is an experienced and well reported JBAC who is posted to the School of Air Traffic Control to carry out instructional duties.

Operations and Training Flight Commanders. Squadron Leader Operations and Training Flight Commanders at each Detachment are responsible for supervising the daily function of ATC services and the training and proficiency assessment of JBAC personnel.

Detachment Commander. The Wing Commander or Squadron Leader Detachment Commander is the manager and co-ordinating authority for the overall control of all air traffic operating within an Air Force area of responsibility. The Detachment Commander not only manages the JBACs but is also responsible for the technical workforce that maintains the equipment required to provide Air Traffic Control services.

Staff Officer. There are a number of senior and junior officer staff positions available in Canberra, Glenbrook, Williamtown or Melbourne. In these positions a JBAC can be responsible for airspace management, tactical training and deployment, administration or long-term planning and policy development for the JBAC specialisation.