2nd Lieutenant Derek Miller receives his Combat Systems Officer wings from the 479 Flying Training Group, U.S. Air Force.
Air Force 2nd Lt. Derek C. Miller graduated from Undergraduate Combat Systems Officer (CSO) training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.
This 10-month CSO training program begins with 15 weeks of “primary training,” consisting of 212 hours of ground instruction, 21 hours in a flight simulator and 25 hours of actual flight in a turboprop T-6A Texan II aircraft.
After primary training, students proceed to multiple simulator phases to learn basic radar navigation, aircraft defense and weapon-employment tactics. This phase involves 295 hours of ground instruction and 86 more hours in a flight simulator. The students also spend 31 hours in the T-1A Jayhawk, the military version of the Beech Jet 400 business jet.
The 479th Flying Training Group graduates more than 300 Combat Systems Officers annually. A CSO is a tactical expert in aircraft, aircraft weapons systems, electronic warfare and navigation. CSOs excel at employing both kinetic and non-kinetic effects at the right place and the right time supporting operations across the spectrum in today’s military.
Miller is the son of Gail L. and Gerry E. Miller of Ontario.
He is a 2011 graduate of Brookwood High School, Ontario, Wis. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2015 from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
