Aviation Electronics Technician (United States Navy rating)

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Aviation Electronics Technician rating insignia

Aviation Electronics Technician (AT) is a US Navy enlisted rating or job specialty (often called MOS by other services). At the paygrade of E-9 (Master Chief Petty Officer) ATs merge with the Aviation Electrician's Mate (AE) rating to become Avionics Technicians (AV). There has been talk of completely merging the two ratings but as of yet no definite plans have been announced. Aviation Electronics Technicians wear the specialty mark of a winged helium atom.

Aviation Electronics Technicians (Intermediate) perform intermediate level maintenance on aviation electronic components supported by conventional and automatic test equipment, including repair of Weapons Replaceable Assemblies (WRA) and Shop Replaceable Assemblies (SRA) and perform test equipment calibration/repair and associated test bench maintenance.^[1]

Aviation Electronics Technicians (Organizational) perform organizational level maintenance on aviation electronics systems, to include: communications, radar, navigation, antisubmarine warfare sensors, electronic warfare, data link, fire control and tactical displays with associated equipment.^[1]

1 History
2 General Info
3 Different types
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The rating now known as AT can trace its origin to World War II, when the rating of Aviation Radio Technician (ART) was established on 11 December 1942. This rating was redesignated Aviation Electronics Technician's Mate (AETM) on 31 October 1945. Effective 2 April 1948 the name of the rating became Aviation Electronics Technician (AET); the abbreviation was changed to (AT) on 9 June of the same year. A separate rating, Aviation Electronicsman (AL) was absorbed in 1955. The former ratings of Aviation Fire Control Technician (AQ) and Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Technician (AX) were absorbed into the AT rating effective 1 January 1991.

ATs were at one time further subdivided into ATA (Aircraft Equipment), ATG (Ground Equipment), ATN (Radio and Navigation Equipment), ATR (Radar and Navigation Equipment) and ATO (Ordnance), and ATW (Airborne CIC Equipment).

[edit] General Info

ATs perform duties at sea and ashore all over the world. They may work indoors, outdoors, in a shop environment, in an aircraft squadron or on an aircraft carrier. They work closely with others, require little supervision, and do mental and physical work of a technical nature.

ATs, as well as the other members of the Navy's aviation community, are sometimes referred to as "airedales" or "brown shoes" by those in the surface or submarine forces. They are sometimes referred to as "trons", "tron chasers", or "tweakers" within the aviation community.

Billy C. Sanders, the fifth Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, served as an Aviation Electronics Technician throughout his pre-MCPON career.

[edit] Different types

There are two types of AT's:

http://buperscd.technology.navy.mil/bup_updt/508/OccStandards/CHAPTER%2011.htm

I-level and O-level. I-level (intermediate level) technicians work on the individual circuit boards and such things circuit boards within the actual component such as a radio. They are the technicians that connect the component to a test bench and let the bench tell them what to fix.

(Note: only one NEC utilizes Automated Test Equipment -ATE- "let the bench tell him what to fix". Most I-level Techs, by far, are specially trained to isolate and repair failed components using typical bench repair tools, not ATE). Whoever wrote this before obviously was an O-level tech, or not a tech at all.**

O-level (organizational level) technicians troubleshoot various gripes with the use of multimeters and avionics test equipment to locate the fault within the aircraft. Once the O-level tron has determined if it is a wiring issue or a component the tron will either fix the wiring or turn in the bad component. The component is turned in to an I-level tron who fixes the bad part and delivers a good one from either a pool of spare parts or by fixing the same one turned in. Due to military operations, the prior is the most likely case as it can take up to several days to fix the problem. Another major difference between I-level and O-level trons is where they work. I-level trons are usually in a command called Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment or AIMD, which now are being combined with depot level to form a 7 new commands called Fleet Readiness Centers. They work in climate controlled work spaces on land and at sea. O-level trons work in squadrons and perform most of their work on the flight deck of carriers and in the aircraft hangars on land.

I-level and O-level trons also take a different advancement exams as if they were different rates. (If they do, this is new - they didn't take different exams between 1982 and 1992, for certain**) ****They have giving both an "I" and "O" level test since at least 2000---Written by an ATO2****

** edits 31DEC07 by ex-Navy TD/AX, 1981-1990, AVIC-7 school graduate, AIMD/6534 NEC & AMRIP C-level micro-min certified module repair technician.