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In the early
years of Coast Guard Aviation, the US Coast Guard trained its enlisted
aviation personnel at Navy schools. In 1949, Aviation Machinist's
Mate (AD) "A" school was moved from San Diego, CA to the Airc raft
Repair and Supply Center (ARSC) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. That
same year saw the movement of Aviation Electrician (AE), Aviation
Structural Mechanic (AM) and Aviation Electronics Technician (AT) "A"
schools from San Diego, CA to the Naval Training Center in Memphis,
Tennessee.
The AT "A"
school later made another move to ARSC in 1964. Finally, in 1972, "A" schools
for Aviation Structural Mechanics and Aviation Electrician Mates were
moved to ARSC.
In August
1972, the Office of Personnel, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC,
commissioned an in-depth study of the aviation technical training needs
of the Coast Guard. The study pointed out the growing need to train
Coast Guard personnel to operate and maintain Coast Guard equipment
different than the equipment used by the Navy. With unique
specifications for Coast Guard aircraft and different maintenance
philosophies existing between the two services, the Coast Guard
eventually determined that centralized training under one management
would enhance effectiveness.
The
recommendation to consolidate all aviation technical training at
Elizabeth City was approved, budgetary action was initiated, and
additional planning was undertaken. Construction of the training center
began in July 1976, the unit was commissioned on August 4, 1978 and all
the schools previously held at ARSC were moved to the new facilities
along with many of the "C" school courses.
In 1980, the
Aviation Survivalman (ASM) "A" School was added to the ATTC curriculum.
Throughout the years, numerous "C" Schools offering advanced training in
aviation maintenance have been added and removed at ATTC to keep pace
with the changing aircraft of the Coast Guard. These advanced schools
reflect the high degree of complexity associated with aviation
maintenance.
In 1995 the
Coast Guard undertook another service-wide study of the aviation
maintenance workforce, which resulted in a complete restructuring of the
enlisted aviation workforce. In October 1998 ATTC began training and
graduating petty officers in three newly created aviation ratings:
Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT), Aviation Survival Technician
(AST), and Avionics Technician (AVT).
Another
fine-tuning of aviation maintenance occurred in 2003 when the AMT rating
exchanged some of the electrical system responsibilities with the AVT
rating. These changes prompted the formation of the AET, Avionics
Electrical Technician.
The four buildings comprising ATTC today house 20 classrooms, 5
maintenance/electronic labs, a multipurpose room, aircraft mock-ups, and
a computer media center . A dedicated staff of 6 officers,70 enlisted
and 7 civilians provide apprentice level ("A" School) and journeyman
level ("C" School) training to nearly 700 of the Coast Guard's aviation
maintenance personnel yearly.
The future of ATTC is a bright one. Projects are currently under way to
bring C-130 maintenance courses to ATTC. We are also examining the
feasibility of hosting courses and providing training materials via the
internet, as well as other means to expand training avenues for the
field. |
