How Do Fighter Jet Pilots Get Their Callsigns?

Call signs are an important component of military aviation. Popularized in films such as the Top Gun series, call signs captivate the non-flying public and galvanize the team mentality within military squadrons. Here’s a brief overview of military call signs and how they are assigned to pilots.

Origin of call signs

The genesis of call signs came about during World War II. According to the US Department of Defense (DOD), call signs started to be used to describe aircraft, geographic features, and naval ships. Call signs were thought of in informal and fun way, a tradition that influences the derivation of contemporary call signs. During this time, call signs were generally derived from personal attributes. For instance, being from Texas earned Army Brig. Gen. David Lee Hill the call sign “Tex.”

Photo: US Air Force

Call signs became more prevalent during the 1970s as the jet age swept through military branches and speeds increased. It was easier to refer to squadron members in formation by a single syllable word rather than a full call sign with a denominator and a number. It’s thought at air traffic controllers were strong proponents of call signs during the 1970s as it simplified their jobs a bit, but this is little more than heresay.

Enemies also earned call signs, though they could perhaps be thought more of as nicknames. The DOD cites the example of World War I German ace Manfred von Richthofen. His German call sign was “Der Rote Kampfflieger,” an equally difficult name to pronounce and unintelligble sounding one over the radio. Instead, American pilots referred to von Richthofen by the color of his plane, which was painted red. Thus, the Red Baron was born.

Naming conventions

Naming and call sign designations are rituals of multiple branches of militaries around the world. According to an article in Slate, naming ceremonies are held within a squadron when enough new pilots are assigned to it. These pilots, new to the squadron, generally receive a new call sign that is completely up to the naming committee (unless, as the Slate article points out, a bribe is received by the naming committee elders). Tenured aviators are often allowed to keep their previous call signs, unless the squadron sees fit to rename the pilot for something they did within the squadron since their arrival.

Photo: US Air Force

The generation of one’s call sign is lighthearted and fun, meant to poke fun or elicit a 1-2 syllable reminder of an embarrassing moment or inside joke within the squadron. Call signs can be a direct reference to how a person looks, something they did (good, bad, memorable, funny, etc.), something they did in training, or something they said. The older members of a squadron generate these ideas (the naming committee) that ultimately get approval by the squadron’s commanding officer to ensure tacit guidelines are met.

Conclusions

Examples of call signs are “Zeus, Mad Dog, Hoss, or BamBam.” Some are acronyms, others descriptors, and still others are references to something the pilot has done to earn distinction. Call signs can be terms of endearment or symbolize a rite of passage. Regardless of the reason, the DOD points out that all call signs have different origin stories, but all are meant to evoke a sense of pride and bring a squadron closer together.