Executive Officer (XO) The XO is the second senior naval aviator in the squadron. He/she is the direct representative of the CO, whose duties are prescribed in  U.S. Navy Regulations. The XO is assisted by various department heads, whose duties vary according to their designated mission and tasks. The executive officer assures that the squadron is administered properly and the squadron commander's orders are carried out. Maintenance Officer (MO) The MO has administrative control over the main- tenance department and is responsible to the CO for accomplishing the squadron mission. The maintenance officer establishes procedures and delegates authority to subordinates. The MO reviews the decisions and actions of subordinates and controls personnel assigned to divisions within the department. The MO is assisted by the assistant maintenance officer (AMO). Maintenance Material Control Officer (MMCO) This officer is responsible for the production effort of the department. The maintenance material control officer (MMCO) plans, schedules, and supervises all activities of the production divisions. The MMCO is responsible for obtaining all supplies needed to support the squadron workload and keeping related records. Aircraft Squadron Departments All aircraft squadrons have an administrative department and a safety department. Most squadrons also have an operations department and a maintenance department. Some squadrons have one or more departments in addition to the four already mentioned. Based upon the mission of the squadron, there may be a training, photographic, or intelligence department. A department head reports to the commanding officer, and is responsible for the operational readiness of the department. Department heads are responsible for organizing and training within the department. Operation, planning, security, safety, cleanliness of areas assigned, and records and reports are some of the department head responsibilities. OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT.—The opera- tions department (OPS) is responsible for the operational readiness and tactical efficiency of the squadron. Normally, the operations department consists of the logs and records, schedules, training, communications, and navigation divisions. ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT.—The administrative department (ADMIN) is responsible for all the administrative duties within the squadron. This department takes care of official correspondence, personnel records, and directives. The personnel office, educational services office, public affairs office, and legal office are all part of the administrative department. The first lieutenant and command career counselor work as members of this department. SAFETY DEPARTMENT.—The safety depart- ment is responsible for all matters concerning the squadron's safety program. Generally, this department is divided into the ground safety, aviation safety, and NATOPS divisions. The NATOPS division is responsible for ensuring that standardized procedures are followed in operating the squadron's aircraft. MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT.—The main- tenance department is responsible for the overall maintenance of the squadron's aircraft. The maintenance department is usually divided into six areas. They are maintenance/material control, qual- ity assurance/analysis, maintenance administration, 2-9 ANF0204 COMMANDING OFFICER EXECUTIVE OFFICER AIR OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT SAFETY DEPARTMENT ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENTS ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT Figure 2-4.—Typical aircraft squadron organizational chart.