ASOG Article of the Month | September 2025
Source | Patrick Ryan
Ask someone about airborne sensor operations, and they'll likely mention the equipment, the aircraft, or the task. Rarely do they consider the human behind the console, the operator who makes it all work. The operator is less visible but just as important.
The job of an Airborne Sensor Operator (ASO) is very demanding on people. It requires skill, flexibility, and the ability to work for years or even decades. Much of the discussion focuses on how to launch an ASO career, but not as much attention is given to maintaining it over the long term, i.e., “Sustainment!”
After the First Decade
Most ASOs do well in their first few years because they are excited and curious. Each mission feels new, each system is challenging to learn, and each deployment is filled with excitement and discovery. But as the years turn into decades, the problems change. Operators start to ask different questions, like, "How can I keep doing well when my reflexes and eyesight aren't what they used to be?" How can I stay up-to-date with technology as it changes rapidly? And maybe most importantly, how do I keep my body and mind safe from the stress that comes with the job?
I can understand this from my own career experience. As a navigator and HAL UAV pilot for twenty years, I've seen how the initial excitement fades as people become tired, travel frequently, and must keep up with constantly changing systems. Long missions were just part of the adventure when I was younger. Later, they became a test of my endurance and discipline, prompting me to reassess how I managed rest, training, and adaptation if I wanted to remain effective in the cockpit and at the console.
Keeping the Body Safe
Flying an airplane is not as obvious as flying an airborne sensor, but anyone who has spent hours strapped into a seat and staring at a screen knows how hard it is. If not managed carefully, back pain, repetitive strain, and fatigue can become common problems.
For instance, survey and mapping operators often have to do two missions in a row over long distances. Flying for hours over and over again in rough weather is hard on both your posture and your stamina. One ASOG member said it simply: "The flying is steady, the sensors are accurate, but the body eventually complains." I learned the hard way that a good chair cushion and daily stretching were just as important as any mission checklist.
ASOs can be called out at any time for public safety missions, even if they've already worked a full shift. This doesn't give them much time to recover. As the moderator for this year's Police Aviation Conference, I heard many operators say, "It's not the one-off night call that gets you; it's the fifth or sixth in a week." You can get burned out quickly if you don't have a regular recovery schedule.
In defense operations, the pace is often unrelenting, and operators must work with heavy gear, body armor, or UAV control stations that weren't designed for prolonged comfort. I personally thought that fitness and flexibility routines were necessary, not optional. Without them, the stress of sitting for long periods and poor posture would have ended my career. I eventually learned that sleeping well and obtaining regular flight physicals were just as important as learning how to do my job effectively. I still do these things every day, even though I'm no longer in the military.
Keeping Your Mind Sharp
The mind is the other side of the coin from the body. Technology changes constantly, and the tools an operator used twenty years ago are almost unrecognizable today. To stay in the field for a long time, you need to be able to adapt, which means continually learning.
During my time working with UAVs, I observed that platforms and payloads have improved significantly, evolving from simple systems to highly complex sensor suites. To stay relevant, operators had to learn new interfaces and understand how automation, data management, and communication were changing their jobs.
This is true in all fields. In aerial surveying, individuals who initially used analog cameras had to transition to LiDAR and high-resolution digital mapping systems. A veteran in the field told me, "At first, I thought digital was taking my place." Then I realized that my ability to read terrain and light conditions made me more valuable, not less.
In public safety aviation, police and fire ASOs went from using early thermal imagers to today's advanced EO/IR systems with AI-assisted analytics. I recall that the fire aviation ASO stated that, despite technological advancements, fires remained the same. What changed was how people understood information when they were under stress, which made them depend on both their own experience and the machine.
In defense, operators who previously worked with single-sensor payloads now work with multi-sensor, networked systems, where cognitive agility is just as important as stick-and-rudder skills. Cognitive fitness, which can be achieved through taking classes, practicing drills, or learning a new language independently, helps ASOs stay up to date. Resilience is just as important. This means being able to handle stress, getting help from friends, and knowing when you're about to burn out.
Adapting to Changes
Not all ASOs spend thirty years strapped into a mission seat. To keep a job, you often have to move into related ones.
I've seen operators in defense move into training, where they pass on lessons learned in the field to the next generation. Survey and mapping experts often transition to system integration, project management, or selling the systems they previously worked on. Their knowledge of how things work directly affects how new tools are used. In public safety, experienced operators often become supervisors, which means they must lead a team while continuing to perform their own duties.
When I help other ASOs or ASOG members with their careers, I always tell them, "At some point, your worth isn't just what you see on the screen; it's what you've seen on hundreds of missions. That point of view can help teams and programs achieve their organizational goals. I personally found that transitioning into roles where I could apply my operational knowledge beyond the immediate mission made my career both sustainable and rewarding.
The Importance of Community
Maintaining identity is just as crucial as maintaining performance. Airborne sensor operations can be lonely because operators work long hours, have unpredictable schedules, and go on missions that take them far from home. Being part of a professional community gives you perspective and support. Groups like ASOG make that network possible by providing a platform for individuals from mapping, public safety, defense, and other fields to share ideas, compare experiences, and recognize that they are all part of something bigger than their own mission.
What I hear all the time from ASOG followers and members is "Before ASOG, I felt like we were all working in our own silos. I can see the bigger picture now: we're not just a job, we're a profession."
Playing the Long Game
The true measure of an ASO career is not just the missions flown or the systems mastered, but also the ability to play the long game. It takes effort and discipline to stay effective, flexible, and strong over the years, but the reward is much more than just living longer. It's a chance to leave a lasting mark on the field, to show that a career in airborne sensor operations can be a long-term commitment, not just a short-term one.
When people ask me if I would do anything differently in my long career as an aircrew member, I always say "No Way! I wouldn’t change a thing."
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