CALL SIGN:  A Call Sign is not just a nickname.  A Call Sign is what the people on your side call you on the radio.  It's not okay for your Flight Lead to say, "Dave, break right."  You are addressed by your Call Sign.  For me, that is "Sidney, break right."  My Squadron Commander David Hamlin designated me "Sidney" right before the Persian Gulf War.  He had never met a psychiatrist before, so I was named after the character on the TV show MASH.

Only the Commander can designate an Official Call Sign, and this happens during what is called a Call Sign Committee.  The Commander is the Committee.  Others can nominate you for a name, but the Commander decides.  Unofficial Call Signs get applied all the time, typically for random acts of stupidity. However,  proper call sign etiquette discourages frequent changes.

 

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