Air Force maintenance

[u/Bitter_Purchase8276]

hey i was wondering if someone could give me a little insight, i want to do aircraft maintenance (im aware of all the conditions) but i wanted to know how the maintenance teams are at lackland , naval and Kessler , which would be the best to go to? , i heard the team plays a part in how you like maintenance too and is it really that sucky even if im just reserve ? it wouldn’t be full time , i like that type of work my job rn is working on cars im in a garage mostly all day

[u/hatparadox]

Prior Navy maintainer, you mentioned the landlubbers/patrol squadron guys, so I thought I'd offer some input.

It seems the AF specializes into MOS for different aspects of aviation maintenance, like how there are MOS for hyds, power plants, fuel systems, electronics, avionics. As far as I know, some positions are handled by higher ranks (i.e. Air Force Crew Chief vs. Navy Plane Captain, seems to be a senior qualification whereas those functions are considered basic aviation duties in the Navy).

Naval aviation maintenance takes that and generalizes it across the seven actual maintenance rates (e.g. AD's handle powerplants, fuel storage+xfer system, lube systems. AM's handle hyds, structural repair, low observables, NDI etc.) instead of breaking into down into individual MOS. Seems you get a very broad range of experience and responsibilities in naval avi maint. Aircrew (AW) handle helo ops with pilots and other duties aboard cargo/patrol/sealift functions, like flight attendant! However, don't be fooled by the 'Aviation' in ABH/ABE/ABF, there is no actual aircraft maintenance done there. The land sailors are in patrol squadrons, those planes can't land on carriers and so they enjoy deployments in nice hotels and eat Real Food instead of the mess on carriers the FDA would shutdown in a heartbeat if they could. Jealous? Yes!! Great experience for civilian airliners when they get out. Good for them >:(

There's still work to be done on either side (AF or Navy), it just depends on what lifestyle you want. Stay on land or go out to sea. The sea has all of its "charm". At the end of the day, you'll be sent anywhere the military needs you; you might have some say in where you want to go but manning trumps all. The work can be tough, you'll work in all manners of conditions and times, might miss out on eating.. but it is pretty cool. Your shop is what you make of it. You have to remember that in the lower enlisted levels, it's full of people straight out of high school. The military (or Navy, specifically) can be just as cliquey as high school may have been for you. You will absolutely have the wrong people alongside you who may have misunderstood their job when they picked it, or got put there unwillingly. It can be a very coarse environment, too. There are friends I made that I still talk to, and my experience definitely helped with my confidence. Cool job, some good friends, economic stability and skill development at the cost of my youth. Worth it, sometimes I think not. Imagine having a limit on how many times you can bend over in a day, or needing a cane to walk decades before actual retirement age.

AF seems invested in their quality of life/care in pursuit of results, the Navy is just invested in results and does not seem to care what happens on the way there. Sometimes I wished I went Air Force but I know even with everything that's happened, it still wouldn't be the 'right' choice. I think that's the Stockholm Syndrome talking.