Maintain and operate ground support equipment used to service aircraft. Repair hydraulic, electrical, and pneumatic support systems.
ASVAB VE+AR+MK+MC: 206
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Nothing on a flight line moves without support equipment, and this rating keeps that whole fleet of machines running. Your customers are tow tractors, hydraulic test stands, mobile electric power units, air start carts, and the diesel engines and small gas turbines inside them. Work happens in a shop and out on the deck, usually at the worst possible moment, because a dead power unit stops a launch cold. Aboard ship the gear lives in a punishing mix of salt, heat and constant use, so preventive maintenance never really finishes. Watch rotations keep a technician available whenever aircraft are flying, which underway means every hour of the day.
You learn diesel engines, small gas turbines, hydraulics, pneumatics and electrical systems across a wide mix of machinery. Troubleshooting becomes a real discipline, reading schematics, isolating a fault and proving the fix rather than swapping parts hopefully. Welding, basic machining, gauge calibration and load testing show up depending on which equipment you support. The naval maintenance system teaches parts ordering, work order flow and quality control alongside the hands on repair. You also get practiced at making do, since the nearest supply warehouse may be an ocean behind you.
Fixing machinery that an entire flight schedule is waiting on teaches you to work fast without getting sloppy. You build a methodical mind, because the shortcut diagnosis usually turns out to be the expensive one. The rating grows ownership of your gear, since your name is on the unit that either starts or does not. Deployments add patience and adaptability, especially when the shop is hot, loud and moving under your feet. Technicians here tend to become the people others call first when something mechanical quits.
This is one of the more portable trades in naval aviation, because hydraulics, diesel power and industrial electrics exist everywhere. Airlines, airport service companies and cargo operators hire ground support equipment technicians directly, and the machines are broadly similar to what you already know. Beyond aviation the skills fit heavy equipment dealers, generator and power rental companies, material handling fleets and plant maintenance departments. Some veterans move into field service roles, traveling to repair industrial machinery for manufacturers at good money. The trade needs no degree, and experienced troubleshooters stay employable through every economic cycle.
You start the shift in the support equipment pool checking out generators, hydraulic carts, and tow tractors before they head to the flight line. Your work is repairing and servicing the ground gear that powers, tests, and moves aircraft, troubleshooting hydraulic, electrical, and pneumatic faults. Keeping the yellow gear operational so the mechanics and aircrew can do their jobs fills your day.
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 AS Aviation Support Equipment Technician, 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.
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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 operate ground support equipment used to service aircraft. Repair hydraulic, electrical, and pneumatic support systems.
Nothing on a flight line moves without support equipment, and this rating keeps that whole fleet of machines running. Your customers are tow tractors, hydraulic test stands, mobile electric power units, air start carts, and the diesel engines and small gas turbines inside them. Work happens in a shop and out on the deck, usually at the worst possible moment, because a dead power unit stops a launch cold. Aboard ship the gear lives in a punishing mix of salt, heat and constant use, so preventive maintenance never really finishes. Watch rotations keep a technician available whenever aircraft are flying, which underway means every hour of the day.
You learn diesel engines, small gas turbines, hydraulics, pneumatics and electrical systems across a wide mix of machinery. Troubleshooting becomes a real discipline, reading schematics, isolating a fault and proving the fix rather than swapping parts hopefully. Welding, basic machining, gauge calibration and load testing show up depending on which equipment you support. The naval maintenance system teaches parts ordering, work order flow and quality control alongside the hands on repair. You also get practiced at making do, since the nearest supply warehouse may be an ocean behind you.
This is one of the more portable trades in naval aviation, because hydraulics, diesel power and industrial electrics exist everywhere. Airlines, airport service companies and cargo operators hire ground support equipment technicians directly, and the machines are broadly similar to what you already know. Beyond aviation the skills fit heavy equipment dealers, generator and power rental companies, material handling fleets and plant maintenance departments. Some veterans move into field service roles, traveling to repair industrial machinery for manufacturers at good money. The trade needs no degree, and experienced troubleshooters stay employable through every economic cycle.
ASVAB VE+AR+MK+MC: 206. 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.
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