I took the ASVAB and qualified for AMT and AET. I hear they are both great. But which one is fun and gets to go on flying missions. which one has a guaranteed A school. Thanks George
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Right now AET is still critical and could possibly be a guaranteed "A" School. AMTs and AETs both fly on missions. Depending on the aircraft, crew positions are different for both rates. I am an AET on C-130 Aircraft, and I currently fly as a radioman and a training navigator. AMTs will fly as loadmasters, dropmasters, and possibly as Flight Engineers. Some AETs are Flight Engineers as well, although it is not required for them to be one. There are also a few other flying positions which AETs and AMTs fly as, but due to OPSEC reasons I will not discuss them on here.
If you want to work on engines and get dirty, then AMT is for you. Although a few AETs also work on engines, we tend to work on avionics gear more often. It all depends on whether you want to chase wires or turn wrenches more often.
I myself am a prior AET (AT>AVT>AET) I was a HC-130H Navigator up in Alaska. In a nutshell the Radioman (more politically correct: radio-person?) is charged with maintaining the radio communications with other assets as well as keeping radio guard with various Coast Guard units. The Navigator is in charge of keeping the 130 on course, assisting with landings, and is also the one who plots out all of the search patterns.
The world of an AET is pretty cool. As BLUETORCH mentioned they too get to work on engines (usually only the generators...), but the bulk of work is anything with a wire containing an electrical current... so there is PLENTY to do.
I was also a "Plankowner" of the C-130J program- which is nearly an AET exclusive world. The J's are all computer operated- it's basically built around two computers. So there is a lot more to do for an AET on that particular airframe. But overall there is plenty to do on ALL airframes as an AET.
So as my out, I was an AET, so I'm not berating the AMT world, I just wasn't part of their world...
With the arrival of the C-model Dolphins, AETs have a much more expanded role in traditional "AMT" jobs. We got back all of the airframe and engine electric system cards that we lost when we became AVTs. It's getting tougher and tougher these days to keep up our manicures.
Originally posted by 12400294: So AET is cool and is it worth it
Aviation is worth it, absolutely. Read over just this message board and compare the number of disgruntled posts by boaties to the number by aviators. We're a generally happy lot. You see the occasional aviator switching rates, but it's usually because they don't meet the physical standards anymore. However, you see a lot of boaties switching to aviation... because our community and lifestyle is so much better.
Whether you go AET or AMT is all up to you. AMTs as much more hands-on workers; AETs spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out why things don't work like they should. You've got to figure out what you'd rather be doing for four years.
Originally posted by 12400294: I took the ASVAB and qualified for AMT and AET. I hear they are both great. But which one is fun and gets to go on flying missions. which one has a guaranteed A school. Thanks George
There's a little trick that they may or may not show you when you are in Boot Camp. When you are filling out your dream Sheet during I believe the fourth week of boot camp. For your first "location" pick...Put Request AET A School, or Request AMT A School. It worked for me. They weren't offering garanteed A School at the time, but I went straight into the airmen program. And Four Months Later I was at A School. Even if you decide to do something else. It's a good little trick. Aviation is da BOMB!!! Good Luck, I picked aviation because I wanted Helicopters and I wanted to do Search And Rescue and I wanted to go to Alaska. I got Everything I wanted. So make sure you know what you want and go for it.
Read over just this message board and compare the number of disgruntled posts by boaties to the number by aviators.
"Boaties"???
Of course a direct numeric comparison of complaints doesn't work too well since the "wingies" are overall a much smaller percentage of the total CG numbers.
Advancement for AETs is good now, but I don't think it's going to last too much longer...
As a radio operator on the aircraft, I keep comms with other assets and coast guard units. After the completion of the radio operator's syllabus, an AET attends Navigator school, and then spends the next 5-12months completing the Navigator Syllabus. The Navigtor helps the Pilots keep the plane on course and makes sure they are heading in the right direction. Completion of the syllabus is done while daily maintenance needs to be completed, duty is stood twice a week, deployments for a few weeks at a time, and long hours flying on cases and for training.
The polar ops you are thinking about are probably the missions we do for the International Ice Patrol. C-130s fly out of Newfoundland and track Icebergs. Usually they will send two or three AETs for this mission. I do not know about missions on the Polar Class Ships, so I can not comment on those.
Polar Operations (Polar Ops or POPDIV) was based in Mobile, AL, for many years. It was disestablished for two basic reasons: (1) the Polar Star & Polar Sea icebreakers are basically laid-up and (2) the Polar Ops HH-65 helos were dispersed to other units for DHS missions, etc.. However, the HH-65C helos and crew of ALPAT (Alaska Patrol) in Kodiak, AK, remain on-line and in business aboard various cutters up yonder.
Good to see you are still out there doing good things.
As far as POPDIV is concerned, don't put away that cold weather gear just yet. There are rumblings that it may return in the near future to beef up patrols in the Artic.
I would hope if they do resurrect Popdiv for Arctic missions, they'll put it somewhere on the west coast instead of the Gulf. Maybe Aviation Deployment Center West located in sunny Ventura California?
Nah, we're an East Coast machine and we'll be damn'd if we don't keep everything back east no matter how ridiculous it is...
If we do go to deployment centers, it would be a better option than Mobile. The reason it was in Mobile was to have a couple more aircraft available for HH-65 training when the aircraft were not deployed. With the current and expected HH-65 pilot thruput at Mobile they can't afford to lose two aircraft for six months.
If we have a deployment center, POPDIV will just be part of the aircraft "pool" available for deployments.
What was it that ol' Brer Rabbit said? "Pleeze don' throw me inta that thar Point Barrow Airfac!!" I'm sitting here watching a special on Animal Planet about polar bears and penguins. Been there, done that, and wouldn't mind doing it again but I doubt that a MCPO-wannabe has much chance of that. Now that the Northwest Passage appears to be a viable shipping lane, we'll have some business to attend to in that area.
