Navy careers
Navy
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Aircrew Survival Equipmentman

Inspect, repair, and pack parachutes, life rafts, anti-exposure suits, and survival kits used by naval aircrew. Trains aircrew on survival equipment use.

ASVAB / entry requirement

ASVAB VE+AR+MK+AS: 185

Enlisted
Catalog rank range: E-1 to E-9Maximum rank: E-9Initial term: 4 years

Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.

Inside the PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman job

What the job looks like

Aircrew Survival Equipmentmen pack parachutes, maintain flight gear and look after the equipment that keeps aviators alive when something goes badly wrong. The shop is a clean, well lit space with long tables, sewing machines and a rigging loft, and the work there is patient and exacting. You inspect and repack parachutes on a schedule, service oxygen systems, test survival radios and rafts, fit helmets and harnesses, and repair flight clothing. Sea duty puts you aboard a carrier supporting a squadron for months, while shore tours at air stations bring a steadier working day. Aircrew come to your counter before they fly, which makes the link between your work and their safety completely direct.

Skills you learn

You learn parachute rigging, inspection and packing to a documented standard, including the care and repair of canopies, harnesses and containers. Industrial sewing and fabric fabrication become real skills, covering patterns, machine work, seam types and repairs that have to hold under load. Oxygen system maintenance teaches cleanliness discipline, pressure testing, leak checks and the handling of equipment where contamination is genuinely dangerous. Life support work adds inflatable raft service, survival radio and beacon testing, and the inspection cycles that keep everything current. Every job is signed for, so maintenance documentation and quality assurance become part of the craft rather than paperwork bolted onto it.

What it builds in you

The job builds meticulousness in a very pure form, because a parachute either was packed correctly or it simply was not. You develop a strong conscience about your own work, since the person depending on it has a name and a face you know. Repetitive precision work teaches focus and the ability to stay just as careful on the fortieth item of a long day. You learn to inspect honestly and to reject your own work when it is not right, which is much harder than it sounds. Riggers tend to be calm, orderly people who take quiet pride in things nobody notices when they function.

How it pays off after service

Parachute rigging is a civilian trade, and sport parachute centers, manufacturers and test programs hire riggers with documented military experience. Aviation safety equipment work with airlines, manufacturers and repair stations values life support and oxygen system maintenance experience directly. Technical textile and gear fabrication, from industrial sewing shops to outdoor equipment makers, hires people who can run a machine and read a pattern. Quality assurance and inspection roles in aerospace manufacturing suit the documentation habits and inspection judgment this rating builds. Others use benefits toward an aviation maintenance or safety program, where the hands on background gives them a real head start.

Service member stories

Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.

“It’s all aviation life-support systems. When something happens in the aircraft, it’s our gear that gets the aircrewman or aviator out safe from the aircraft to the ground. Then once they’re on the ground, there are radios and equipment inside the gear that help them get to where they need to go.”

“I’d like to say that we’re the best PR shop in the air wing.”

“I know everyone says that, but we actually are. We’ve got a good group of people in here. We’re a small group. We have five PRs, and even though we have a bunch of junior airmen, we’re all trusted technicians.”

— Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Class Donald BustinPR shop LPOAirborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 121

“When you’re with a squadron, you get to talk with aircrew and pilots, and I like being around that environment a lot.”

“The air crew is using our gear to go fly and also rescue people. They are using it to survive.”

— Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 2nd Class Adam DoumbiaNaval Air Station Sigonella paraloft
Source: In the Spotlight, DVIDS, Petty Officer 2nd Class Josh Cote, January 8, 2021

“As part of the Aviation Life Support System division, our mission consists of ensuring that all escape, environmental and fire extinguishing systems, life rafts and life preservers, anti-exposure suits, emergency signaling equipment, flight helmet, oxygen equipment and other miscellaneous survival and life support items are operating to their maximum capacity.”

— Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 2nd Class Jason Wayne MahonUSS George Washington (CVN 73)

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.

A day in the life of an Aircrew Survival Equipmentman

You start the day at the packing table inspecting and repacking parachutes, life rafts, and survival kits in the paraloft. Your work involves maintaining anti-exposure suits, oxygen equipment, and aircrew survival gear, and training aircrew on how to use it. Sewing, inspecting, and rigging life-saving equipment that pilots trust with their lives defines your careful 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.

Illustrative annual base pay

$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.

  • E-4 · over 4 years: $43,902
  • E-6 · over 10 years: $57,114
  • E-7 · over 20 years: $74,948
Allowances, special pays, pension and full breakdownDFAS 2026 source

Training achievements and distinctions

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.

  • Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)

    Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.

    Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS)

    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.

  • Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS)

    Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.

    Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS)

    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.

  • Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist (EXW)

    Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.

    Eligibility and official sources for Enlisted Expeditionary Warfare Specialist (EXW)

    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.

Possible higher ranks and career paths

Possible higher ranks and career paths

For Navy PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman, 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.

Rank information for this listing

Rank Type
Enlisted
Catalog pay-grade range
Not independently verified for this specialty; no range asserted here.
Maximum Rank
Not independently verified for this specialty.

Examples of higher service ranks

E-5
Petty Officer Second Class
E-6
Petty Officer First Class
E-7
Chief Petty Officer
E-8
Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9
Master Chief Petty Officer

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 reference

The 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 commissioning

Higher career paths — not verified

Service-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 requirements

Specialty-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.

Civilian careers related to Aviation

Commercial Pilot$122,670 / year medianAircraft Mechanic & Service Technician$75,020 / year medianAir Traffic Controller$144,580 / year median

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.

Categories & Specializations

Aviation
Maintenance
Safety
Survival Equipment
Non-combat

PR questions, answered

What does Navy PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman do?

Inspect, repair, and pack parachutes, life rafts, anti-exposure suits, and survival kits used by naval aircrew. Trains aircrew on survival equipment use.

What can day-to-day work in Aircrew Survival Equipmentman look like?

Aircrew Survival Equipmentmen pack parachutes, maintain flight gear and look after the equipment that keeps aviators alive when something goes badly wrong. The shop is a clean, well lit space with long tables, sewing machines and a rigging loft, and the work there is patient and exacting. You inspect and repack parachutes on a schedule, service oxygen systems, test survival radios and rafts, fit helmets and harnesses, and repair flight clothing. Sea duty puts you aboard a carrier supporting a squadron for months, while shore tours at air stations bring a steadier working day. Aircrew come to your counter before they fly, which makes the link between your work and their safety completely direct.

What skills does Navy PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman develop?

You learn parachute rigging, inspection and packing to a documented standard, including the care and repair of canopies, harnesses and containers. Industrial sewing and fabric fabrication become real skills, covering patterns, machine work, seam types and repairs that have to hold under load. Oxygen system maintenance teaches cleanliness discipline, pressure testing, leak checks and the handling of equipment where contamination is genuinely dangerous. Life support work adds inflatable raft service, survival radio and beacon testing, and the inspection cycles that keep everything current. Every job is signed for, so maintenance documentation and quality assurance become part of the craft rather than paperwork bolted onto it.

How can Aircrew Survival Equipmentman experience translate after service?

Parachute rigging is a civilian trade, and sport parachute centers, manufacturers and test programs hire riggers with documented military experience. Aviation safety equipment work with airlines, manufacturers and repair stations values life support and oxygen system maintenance experience directly. Technical textile and gear fabrication, from industrial sewing shops to outdoor equipment makers, hires people who can run a machine and read a pattern. Quality assurance and inspection roles in aerospace manufacturing suit the documentation habits and inspection judgment this rating builds. Others use benefits toward an aviation maintenance or safety program, where the hands on background gives them a real head start.

What entry requirement is listed for Navy PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman?

ASVAB VE+AR+MK+AS: 185. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.

Can a civilian enter Navy PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman directly?

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.

Related military jobs

Browse all military jobs
Sources & Review

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.

Deployment 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.

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