The story of how 13Ms came to be known as "unicorns" in the USAF is debated among the community. I first heard of the term from Capt Joe Withers when we were deployed in Iraq in 2011. He explained that since we are in a high demand, yet extremely low density career field we are the "unicorns" of the Operations world within the USAF.

 

I heard the term "unicorn" again while attending Squadron Officers School (SOS) at Maxwell, AFB in the Fall of 2013. The term was used by a guest speaker at SOS and was talking about his time as an Air Operations Center (AOC) Commander. While I believe the speaker meant no disrespect or malcontent, how he used the phrase cemented "unicorn" in the lexicon of 13Ms around the world.

 

When giving a lecture, the retired officer asked if there were any active duty officers in the crowd that were Airspace experts or have been trained in the art of building Combat Airspace. Reluctantly, I raised my hand and was the only person to do so. He then asked me to stand up, which I complied. The speaker then goes on to explain to the entire 300 person SOS class, that these "airspace" officers are "vitally necessary to the Air Component Commander's mission execution." He then went on to give an analogy as to how rare and valuable they are to the mission. He stated, "The airspace officers are like unicorns, you hear about them, but rarely are seen." He continued, "The airspace officers that are great at their jobs are even more rare. They are unicorn poop. If unicorns are mythological creatures, finding unicorn poop is even harder to accomplish." 

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So now you know the story as I know it. If you have heard a different version or want to add to the story, please use the contact page to send us a note and we will incorporate them into this evolving story.

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- UA