Definition
A Command Communications Service Designator is a unique identifier code assigned to a specific telecommunications circuit or service within the U.S. Department of Defense communications network. It identifies a particular point-to-point service, including its endpoints, routing, and service characteristics, for the purposes of provisioning, billing, and operational management.
Plain English
A code that names and tracks a specific military communications line so the people running the network know exactly which circuit it is and what it does.
Context Anchor
Seen mainly in FAA acronym, abbreviation, and NOTAM-contraction material, or in technical references about aviation communication services. It is not common cockpit wording for student pilots.
Why Pilots Care
For most civilian pilots, this term has no operational impact. It appears in the FAA acronym list mainly because the FAA shares some communications infrastructure with the Department of Defense. Recognizing it as a back-office network identifier — not something you act on in the cockpit — is enough.
Analogy
Think of it like an account number for a phone line. The number itself doesn't carry the conversation; it just tells the phone company which specific line it is and how it's set up.
Intuition Check
Do not read “Command” as a command given to the pilot. In this term, it points to an FAA communications service; “Designator” means the identifying label for that service.
Example Sentence 1
Each leased military circuit carried its own CCSD so the network operations center could track outages to the right line.
Example Sentence 2
Controllers used the CCSD to confirm the correct service for the operation.