I'm a BM2 without any ATON experience and trying to decide which type of ATON unit I should try to go to before I participate in the BM1 SWE.

I would like a unit that could prepare me for a BM1 XPO position at an ANT Team or a Construction Tender or just qualify me for a variety of different ATON positions in the future. And most importantly a good job.

Which types of units should I put at the top of my E-Resume: 175', 160', 75' or ANT Teams?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I would have to say, hands down, a 175' Buoy Tender. I was in your position about 5 Years ago. I'm now at an ANT as the XPO. The 175' groomed me perfectly for this job.

quote:

Originally posted by ANTWILLY:
I would have to say, hands down, a 175' Buoy Tender. I was in your position about 5 Years ago. I'm now at an ANT as the XPO. The 175' groomed me perfectly for this job.

I'll have to agree with this! If you can get an ATON afloat unit you can also work on your u/w DWO certification. That will put you leaps and bounds ahead of others when it comes to transferring into and XPO job down the road. I wasn't able to get my first ATON job until I had already been a first for a couple years. I never thought they'd give it to me, but I went to an ANT as XPO coming from and XPO afloat job. More than likely, though, that will be my only ATON experience. The cards just line up for me to stay on the MM side of things.

the OPS job on the Buckthorn is open

Construction tenders are great to you work all the different aspects of aton not just buoy's. But i wouldn't hold your breathe on getting one it's not as easy a saying I want one give it to me. The aton world is very close knit, once you get in most people tend to stay in it.

225 OPS

160' or river tender

Years ago the detailers would try to give you a well rounded background... one tour may be SAR, the next AtoN. That would give them a larger pool of people to pick from. After a mainly SAR background, I went from an OIC of a SAR station to OIC of a WYTL. Then OIC of WLIC, and then OIC of WLR.... (once you've been on a WLIC or WLR you won't want to go back to SAR.)

Good luck.. hope you get a shot at AtoN..

Wray...

If it is ashore ATON experience you seek.....go to ANT Galveston!! You will get a tours worth of experience in a year. We AVERAGE 70-100 discrepancies a MONTH and have a PAL of 15 to get the job done. Plus we have a gamete of different unique challenges from still having FA-240's in service to converting ranges to LED lighting. I assure you that you will not leave that unit without a very firm grasp on ATON.

WEJ BM,

Ughh on Galveston, Houston Ship Channel, ICW and mosquitoes. You guys surely have your work cut out for ya, especially after IKE!

Yeah we did!! We (all aton units) worked something like 700-750 aids in a month. Over 400 by just ANT Galveston!! It sucked but it was better than setting another trlb, which is the name of the game for the HSC.

Don't do it shepmate, ATON is LAME, in my opinion. Stay on the brite side with us.

Spoken like a true 9-5 office person.
You will work hard each and every day in ATON but at the end of each day you will have acomplished some thing. I found a lot more personal satisfaction in working ATON than running small boats and doing le punching holes in the water.
Try it once if you dont like it you can always go back.

quote:

Don't do it shepmate, ATON is LAME, in my opinion. Stay on the brite side with us.

I think some of us here may have a tad more experience than you do...

As they say, been there, done that.. SAR & AtoN... If you haven't done it, how would you know it is "lame"? Which WLIC or WLR were you on?

Wray...

Hmmm,. I just read an article about a buoy tender in the 14th District. Those poor folkls had to work aids in Pago Pago, Samoa and a few other miserable holes.

Yep, I really feel sorry for those folks....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ex_CG_GM,

whoa!!! didn't mean to git yall's panties up in a bunch, sorry bout that

Don't sweat it No Black Hulls, I guess we should have know what you're advice would be based on your name.

ATON is pretty fun and extremely rewarding to everyone involved at the end of the day; if the CG does wind up giving this mission over to the individual states it will be a sad day.

Just my two cents

I served on 5 WHEC's and two 180's. The one thing both the big white ones and the buoy tenders had in common that made the duty so good.......... was none were shore duty!

All the fun is underway!

THERE ALL A GOOD CHOICE. I THINK WLIC ARE KIND OF BORING BUT YOU CAN'T REALLY COMPLAIN ABOUT GETTING SEA TIME AND PULLING IN EVERY NIGHT. THROUGH THREE UNITS I HAVE GOTTEN OVER SIX YEARS OF IT AND NEVER BEEN OUT SIDE OF AN INLET. ANY CUTTER WILL GIVE YOU THE MOST OPPORTUNITIES AND IF YOU WANT XPO EXPERIENCE GO SOMEWHERE SMALL AS THE FIRST LT SO YOU GET A CHANCE TO DO PLENTY OF THE XPO'S PAPER WORK.

Well ,, I feel thr best place for you is an industrial base like galvaston or when I was in govorners Island. 81-85. I came in as an FA and left as a DC-2. I was the guy that beat the guy in galvaston and came up with the solar panel project for over 6000 units to ATON.
He produced 4 units per day and I produced over 700 units per day that were perfect and still interchangable .

Thats how you get experience. Find a base industrial or hop on a bouy tender.



Go to a base industrial or a bouy tender.