“Our primary focus is to produce ready-for-use engines, modules, parts, and support equipment for flight operations.”
“Everything we do supports flight operations.”
“But what really makes the shop run are our Collateral Duty Inspectors (CDIs).”
Maintain and repair aircraft engines, propellers, and associated systems. Troubleshoot mechanical problems and perform scheduled maintenance.
ASVAB VE+MK+AS: 158 OR VE+MK+EI: 155
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Aviation Machinist's Mates maintain aircraft engines and propulsion systems on the flight line and in the shop. Days follow the flight schedule, which means turnaround inspections, troubleshooting write-ups, component changes, and engine runs. Shipboard work adds the constraints of a confined hangar bay and a deck that moves. You document every action in maintenance records that are audited closely. Deployments mean sustained high-tempo operations with limited parts and limited space.
You learn turbine engine theory, fuel and lubrication systems, and precision measurement. Troubleshooting from symptom to cause using technical publications becomes the core professional habit. The rating teaches foreign object damage prevention, tool control, and aviation safety culture. You gain experience running engines and interpreting test data. Accumulated experience supports eligibility for FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification.
The job builds exacting attention to detail, because aviation maintenance errors are unforgiving. You develop personal accountability, as your signature certifies an aircraft as safe to fly. It teaches calm under schedule pressure, since flight operations do not pause for convenience. Aviation Machinist's Mates tend to become careful, systematic people who verify rather than assume. You also gain confidence working on complex, expensive systems young.
Commercial airlines, regional carriers, and maintenance repair organizations hire military engine technicians consistently. FAA A&P certification converts the experience into a licensed civilian trade with strong pay and geographic mobility. Turbine knowledge also transfers into industrial power generation, where similar principles apply. Many veterans move into quality assurance, maintenance planning, or technical instruction. Aviation maintenance has a documented workforce shortage, which supports the long-term outlook.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“Our primary focus is to produce ready-for-use engines, modules, parts, and support equipment for flight operations.”
“Everything we do supports flight operations.”
“But what really makes the shop run are our Collateral Duty Inspectors (CDIs).”
“My older brother was in the National Guard, and I definitely knew I wanted to do some form of military so I could go to college.”
“My mentor told me about how I could travel and do interesting things in the Navy as well as go to college after, so I started looking into it.”
“Every time I felt like giving up they would tell me ‘what you are feeling right now is not a final feeling’ and ‘you are going to be so much more than what you think.’ I think being pushed every now and then when I needed it is what set me up for success.”
“I joined the Navy to enter a career field that would give me an opportunity to peruse higher education.”
“After realizing that I wanted to make the Navy a long-term career, I decided to come to RTC to better enhance my leadership ability and give back to an organization that I truly enjoy being a part of.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
Your morning opens on the flight line or hangar deck pulling maintenance panels and reviewing the aircraft's engine logs with your work center. You inspect, troubleshoot, and repair jet engines, propellers, and fuel systems, running turn-ups and borescope inspections to catch problems early. Turning wrenches alongside your fellow mechs and signing off maintenance actions fills the rest of your day before the aircraft flies.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Navy AD Aviation Machinist's Mate, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.
Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioningService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.
Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirementsSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Maintain and repair aircraft engines, propellers, and associated systems. Troubleshoot mechanical problems and perform scheduled maintenance.
Aviation Machinist's Mates maintain aircraft engines and propulsion systems on the flight line and in the shop. Days follow the flight schedule, which means turnaround inspections, troubleshooting write-ups, component changes, and engine runs. Shipboard work adds the constraints of a confined hangar bay and a deck that moves. You document every action in maintenance records that are audited closely. Deployments mean sustained high-tempo operations with limited parts and limited space.
You learn turbine engine theory, fuel and lubrication systems, and precision measurement. Troubleshooting from symptom to cause using technical publications becomes the core professional habit. The rating teaches foreign object damage prevention, tool control, and aviation safety culture. You gain experience running engines and interpreting test data. Accumulated experience supports eligibility for FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification.
Commercial airlines, regional carriers, and maintenance repair organizations hire military engine technicians consistently. FAA A&P certification converts the experience into a licensed civilian trade with strong pay and geographic mobility. Turbine knowledge also transfers into industrial power generation, where similar principles apply. Many veterans move into quality assurance, maintenance planning, or technical instruction. Aviation maintenance has a documented workforce shortage, which supports the long-term outlook.
ASVAB VE+MK+AS: 158 OR VE+MK+EI: 155. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — Navy, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.