Job Description

As a member of the Navy Flight Support crew, you will be an important component on a world-class team. Undergoing some of the most intense and comprehensive training in the field. Doing anything from supporting your squadron’s flight line to performing detailed maintenance on a strike fighter or helicopter to handling the ordnance onboard Navy aircraft.

As a member of Navy Flight Support, you may:

• Provide vital attack, defense and logistic support to the Fleet
• Inspect and maintain all internal and external aircraft systems

Your hands-on skills will make you an important, respected member of this powerful unit.

Specific Responsibilities

Maintain the intricate mechanics of SH-60 Seahawk helicopters and F/A-18 Super Hornet jets. Provide flight crews with safe, operation-capable aircrafts on each and every mission. Whether as an Enlisted Sailor or an Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer (AMDO), your role with Navy Flight Support will require you to perform at the best of your ability at all times.

A college degree is not required to become an enlisted member of the Navy Flight Support team. As a Sailor, you can expect to:

• Operate and maintain hydraulic and steam catapults to launch aircraft
• Run and sustain landing gear, brakes and related systems

A four-year college degree is required to become a Navy Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer (AMDO). As an Officer, you can expect to:

• Make certain all aircraft maintenance has been performed correctly
• Influence emerging aviation weapon system designs to reduce, simplify or eliminate the requirement for maintenance actions
• Provide operational support to the Fleet’s personnel and aircraft
• Manage all material and manpower needed to support flight operations

Work Environment

Members of the Navy Flight Support community occupy a variety of positions, allowing them to be a part of just about any aspect of Naval Aviation. Whether you’re maintaining an aircraft carrier’s electrical and navigation systems or performing mechanical repairs on a jet fighter, your assignments will take you anywhere across the globe.

Training and Advancement

America’s Navy offers some of the world’s most advanced and comprehensive aviation training in the world. Enlisted Sailors and Officers who demonstrate academic and physical aptitude and a potential for leadership and responsibility are considered ideal candidates for this highly select, prestigious unit.

If you are an Enlisted Sailor, the aviation training you will receive in this field is a mix of hands-on experience and classroom study. Advanced technical and operational training in the aviation field is also available as part of your career development, preparing you for any number of future civilian careers with airports, airline industries, government and law enforcement agencies, aircraft manufacturers and more.

Those prospective Officers entering aviation programs must first attend Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, and then complete a six-week air indoctrination course at Naval Aviation Schools Command in Pensacola, Florida. From there, Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers (AMDOs) attend Aviation Maintenance School in Pensacola, Florida, to learn leadership, logistics and operational support of the Naval Aviation Fleet.

Education Opportunities

As an Enlisted Sailor, a large amount of the training you will receive in the aviation field can be counted toward credit hours for a vocational certificate, as well as toward a college degree.

As an Officer, there is a possibility to earn a master’s or doctoral degree while being paid full-time.

Pay Range

For enlisted members of the flight support team, pay is dependent upon rank or rate and years in service. Like all enlisted positions, promotions will depend upon your performance and time in service, to which you would have to earn an increase in rate.

Qualifications

A college degree is not required to become an enlisted member of the Naval Aviation community.

If you’re an Aviation Officer candidate, you must have a bachelor’s degree and attend Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island.

After the Navy

Whether an Enlisted Sailor or Officer, being a member of the world’s most respected aviation force will lead to endless career opportunities after your service. As a Sailor, you could become anything from an aircraft electronics mechanic to an aviation support equipment repairer to a computer peripheral equipment operator. As an Officer, the aviation expertise you receive could lead to work as an aircraft maintainer for a major airline, corporation or government agency.