USAF callsigns are assigned to a squadron. They could have a few different callsigns, and somebody chooses which flight takes each one. Or they could just use one callsign, and different missions use a different number. For example, if 1FS was flying 3 missions that day, the flight leads might be Fury 11, Fury 21, and Fury 31.
Personal callsigns are chosen by peers. The best ones are accompanied by stories...one of the more lewd stories I heard (I was at the callsign night where this was presented) was this guy was in his car with a female. Apparently the top of her head kept hitting the stereo and changing the station (think about it). His callsign was radio or stereo or something like that.
Some folks have a callsign that's a play on their name (like mine). For example, Lt Hoff will most likely end up with the callsign "Hassle." That's a good one because its actually a word (one with a negative connotation even
) in addition to the name game.
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Originally Posted by gunnut
I can't come up with one for myself...
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You wouldnt get it anyway. They'd go out of their way to find something more devious. In general heavy pilots dont go for the callsign thing, from what I've seen and heard. ABMs have them too...one theory behind that is since there's a lot of coordination between ABMs and fighters, it makes it easier to keep track of people in briefings. I know the pilots at Tyndall called us by our callsigns when we interacted.