# Why would a colonel be in the backseat of an F-15? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053 "2026-04-05T23:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/1 "2026-04-05T23:43:57Z")
The Weapons Systems Operator of the F-15 that was shot down in Iran is reported to be a colonel. Without getting political, why would such a high ranking officer be in a combat mission like that? Bear in mind, just about everything I know about the military comes from Hollywood or here. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/2 "2026-04-05T23:48:17Z")
To get actual combat duty on his record, not just sitting at a desk giving orders in theater. That means a lot to career military. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/3 "2026-04-06T00:30:00Z")
So is this normal procedure or is it more like a higher ranking official helping a friend out? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/4 "2026-04-06T00:34:24Z")
The dude joined the Air Force to be a weapons operator, and he has a lot of experience doing that. Why wouldn’t he be doing what he’s trained and practiced in? Being a colonel mostly means that he’s career military with a lot of experience. Up until about that point, rank mostly depends on years in service. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/5 "2026-04-06T00:37:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Being a colonel mostly means that he’s career military with a lot of experience. Up until about that point, rank mostly depends on years in service. I think I may have asked something like this long ago: Is there a rank where officers stop being in combat and stay behind the lines? (if this is a hijack say so and I will post in another thread but this kinda feels like what the OP is asking about…a high ranking officer being out in the battle) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/6 "2026-04-06T00:41:28Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Is there a rank where officers stop being in combat and stay behind the lines? In the Air Force, it’s usually when you get your first star (Brigadier General). But some general officers fly alert missions that could become combat missions as commanding flag officer in an airborne command post. Not the same, but technically a general officer in a warplane, and not as a passenger. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/7 "2026-04-06T00:41:32Z")
Not a hijack IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/8 "2026-04-06T01:02:41Z")
Regardless of his rank, he still has to maintain qualifications. This would be the case even if there were no combat missions to fly. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/9 "2026-04-06T01:07:54Z")
Is this the military equivalent of continuing education? Is it likely that his commanding officer has to maintain qualifications too? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/10 "2026-04-06T01:16:25Z")
It’s not continuing education. There’s a list of tasks or competencies each position (pilot, weapons officer, RIO, etc.) must demonstrate and each task must be demonstrated within a specified time after the last such demonstration. The officer making the unit’s flight schedule takes all of these into account to ensure all flight personnel complete their competencies. If the weapons officer outranks the pilot, the pilot is still the PIC (Pilot in Command) of the aircraft. That’s the case even if the weapons officer is the unit commanding officer. And, yes, the commanding officer must maintain qualifications. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/11 "2026-04-06T01:28:36Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > So is this normal procedure or is it more like a higher ranking official helping a friend out? The military will fly non-pilots somewhat regularly, whether that’s a celebrity, a local news person in the days before an airshow in town, or even military members as a reward (especially aircraft maintainers) but they would _never_ do that in a combat zone. Fighter pilots have to go thru SERE (Search, Evade, Resist, Escape) training, which the colonel effectively used. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/12 "2026-04-06T07:24:52Z")
Weapons Officer is a member of the crew. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/13 "2026-04-06T07:29:20Z")
The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. General Tomer Bar, flew an F-15 on a bombing raid over Teheran on March 7. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/14 "2026-04-06T07:32:39Z")
The only reference (other than copy from it) was Trump’s post about a well respected … colonel. He doesn’t know military ranks from previous posts; the back-seater WSO could have been a Lt. Colonel, an O-5, not a full bird O-6. I defer to any better reference and better facts will come out after the fog lifts. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/15 "2026-04-06T07:35:01Z")
In a twin-seater, is it the pilot calling the shots and telling the WSO what to do “Okay, we’re about to start the bombing run, get those LANTIRN and Sniper pods ready to illuminate target” or the WSO tells the pilot, “Fly us thirty degrees northwest so I can start bombing?” Ditto question for Apache helicopters and other such crew. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/16 "2026-04-06T13:13:55Z")
My understanding, as a non-military person but someone who has worked on some of the systems you mention, is that the actual parameters of the mission are extensively pre-planned (waypoints, targets, weapon selection, countermeasures). So they are generally just “following the script” when it comes to executing the mission. That said, the pilot is in charge regardless of rank. The WSO will be handling all the fiddly button-pressing stuff that is harder to do with HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) controls, particularly while flying a jet. And I agree with @smithsb that it’s more likely that the WSO was a LtC (there are _way_ more of them than full birds). I worked with a few of those and it wasn’t uncommon to refer to them as “Col So-and-So” in conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/17 "2026-04-06T13:18:10Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I worked with a few of those and it wasn’t uncommon to refer to them as “Col So-and-So” in conversation. Isn’t that the rule? All colonels are addressed “Colonel”, all generals are addressed “General”, all lieutenants are addressed “Lieutenant” and all sergeants are addressed “Sergeant”? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/18 "2026-04-06T13:21:37Z")
Yes, I believe that is the rule. But I worked with civilians (and was one), who are notoriously bad at following military protocol correctly. More than once I made mistakes that would probably get me chewed out if I were in uniform. It got to where I just called everybody “sir/ma’am” because that’s safer than misreading the insignia or not noticing somebody got a promotion. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/19 "2026-04-06T13:28:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > and all sergeants are addressed “Sergeant”? “Sergeants” (or rather NCOs above _Sergeant_) actually get kind of sensitive about that one. My experience is that one must typically take pains to address NCOs above E-5 (or above E-6 in the Navy) by their full title to avoid such “sensitivities.” So, for example, I’d always call a Staff Sergeant “Staff Sergeant,” a Gunnery Sergeant “Gunnery Sergeant,” and a Senior Chief Petty Officer “Senior Chief” (ok, not their full title, but not merely Chief, and _certainly_ not “Petty Officer”). Anyway, in the Navy, when a senior officer would take a flight off the CVN, it would typically be as a “proficiency flight” to maintain qualification. That said, the decision for a Colonel (or, as noted above, perhaps only a Lieutenant Colonel) to be involved flying a combat mission could have been influenced by a number of other factors, including but not limited to (a) making sure that all available air crew are used, to spread the burden out amongst the squadron/wing, (b) the feeling that a senior officer might provide important judgment and oversight to the mission (while the pilot flies, in the Navy, the equivalent of a WSO could conceivably be the “mission” commander, exercising tactical command—while the pilot flies according to the mission—of the aircraft, and possibly other aircraft involved in the same mission), or (c) a senior officer wanting to finally get his chance at combat (but then again, it’s not like Iraq and Afghanistan were that long ago). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053/20 "2026-04-06T13:53:56Z")
My friend, an Air Force Lt Col at the time, said that Lt Colonels are sometimes jokingly called Telephone Colonels because they’d identify themselves as “Hello, this is Colonel Johnson” on the phone. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-colonel-be-in-the-backseat-of-an-f-15/1029053.md?page=2)