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- Aviation Survival Technician
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ATTC History
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 Aircraft 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 Electronicsman (AL) "A" schools from San Diego, CA to
the Naval Training Center in Memphis, Tennessee.
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.