Regardless of a Sailor’s rating, the training offered by the U.S. Navy to its enlisted personnel engenders the sort of work ethic and appreciation of teamwork that civilian employers seek in potential employees. For the Aviation Support Equipment Technician (AS), an added benefit is that their job requires them to master skills applicable across a broad range of trades—and they are the sort of trades that are considered “recession proof.”
Consider Mobile Maintenance Facilities (MMF), one of the pieces of equipment that Aviation Support Equipment Technicians are tasked with maintaining. Born out of the need for aircraft maintenance support at forward bases, the U.S. Navy adopted the standards for todays’ MMF back in 1975 (a decision that also led to the concept of container standardization in commercial sea, rail, and over-the-road transportation). Because MMFs are used for work on advanced, computerized avionics, they must be dust-free and temperature- and humidity-controlled; their location at forward bases almost means they must be self-contained with own power source that’s also capable of providing electricity to other pieces of equipment.
In maintaining MMFs, Aviation Support Equipment Technicians must learn the intricacies involved in setting up and operating Environmental Control Units; maintain and repair generator systems, which are typically diesel-powered and thus require engine-repair training; repair MMF components, including HVAC and electrical components; determine optimal site locations for the place of MMFs; and even build power cables used for equipment connected to the MMF (or even to supply juice to other MMFs).
While MMFs are primarily used in military settings, they have proven invaluable in disaster relief operations because they are easily transported and do not required external power sources, which frequently are not available following flooding, hurricanes, or other natural disasters. And as MMF technology moves toward renewable energy sources, the AS seeking working following a career in the Navy is likely to have expertise in yet another important field: advanced battery technology.
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