ECO

An ECO, or Electronic Countermeasures Officer,^[1] is responsible for the electronic countermeasures on a Raptor (Miniseries, "33").

The first ECO seen was Karl "Helo" Agathon, working with Sharon "Boomer" Valerii during an ill-fated Viper Mark VII squadron attack against two Cylon Raiders during the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies (Miniseries, Night 1).

ECOs also operate computer equipment, including scanning and detection equipment ("Water", "The Hand of God").

ECOs are also trained to fly a Raptor in case the primary pilot is incapacitated or unavailable. Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo pilots his Raptor when his pilot Karma is killed (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I). Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson has served as both pilot and ECO on several occasions ("Fragged", "Final Cut").

As Galactica initially faces chronic pilot and ship shortages, ECOs such as Agathon and Edmondson often pull "double-duty" as either pilot or ECO as assigned by the CAG. As of the post-New Caprica exodus events, this has become less of an issue (Torn).

References

↑ While the term has not been explicitly defined as such on screen, it falls along the lines of the ECMO role in US Naval and Marine Corps aviation. In a blog entry Ron Moore also states that he originally envisioned the Raptor as an electronic warfare platform, similar to the modern EA-6 Prowler.

[1] While the term has not been explicitly defined as such on screen, it falls along the lines of the ECMO role in US Naval and Marine Corps aviation. In a blog entry Ron Moore also states that he originally envisioned the Raptor as an electronic warfare platform, similar to the modern EA-6 Prowler.

[1]