The field of Aerospace Propulsion inspects, maintains, modifies, tests, and repairs propellers, turboprop and turboshaft engines, jet engines, small gas turbine engines, and engine ground support equipment (SE). You will plan, organize, and direct aerospace propulsion maintenance activities including; interpreting and implementing directives and publications pertaining to maintenance functions. These include ensuring environmentally safe maintenance practices, determining resource requirements, facilities, equipment and supplies, and inspect and evaluate all maintenance activities. You will diagnose and repair malfunctions using technical publications and Interactive Electronics Technical Manuals (IETMS). You will remove, install, inspect, repair and modify engines, engine modules, components, and propellers. You will also be responsible to coordinate with the base engine manager to analyze scheduled engine removals and recommend forecast actions to the weekly or monthly maintenance schedules. back to top

In this job, you will be an active participant in maintaining a clean environment. You will operate, maintain, and repair water collection, supply, and treatment plants and systems; and wastewater treatment plants and systems. You will perform analysis on water and wastewater samples to comply with Environmental Protection Agency guidance. Also, training will be given in the operation and setting up of field water purification units as well as field water distribution systems and waste water collection and disposal. Your civilian equivalent would be a municipal water/waste water treatment plant operator. back to top

You will construct, maintain, plan, and repair wooden, masonry, and concrete buildings and structures. You will construct and repair concrete footings, foundations, walls, floor slabs, piers, and columns for prefabricated and permanent structures. You will erect framework by placing, joining, and fastening sills, joists, sub-floors, studs, rafters, trusses, and wall and roof sheathing using hardware and fastening devices. You will install interior and exterior trim and finishing materials. You will lay structures according to blueprints, building plans, and other directives. You will apply mastics, repair or construct mortar beds and install floor and wall tile. You will adjust, troubleshoot, repair, and install locking devices on security containers.

You will install, construct, repair, and modify structures that are made of sheet metal. In addition, you will cut, measure, and join pieces using metal cutters, benders, and riveting equipment. You will also cut and join steel sections by using gas and electric welding equipment. Some things you may be working on include shower stalls, corrosion-resistant tables, fireproof partitions, metal roofing, metal siding, and guttering. You will inspect, maintain, and repair overhead, roll-up, personnel, hangar doors, and gates. back to top

You will operate and maintain heavy construction equipment. This equipment may include front-end loaders, road graders, bulldozers, dump trucks, skid steer loaders, backhoes, water trucks, forklifts, excavators, cranes, and multi-purpose sweepers. You will operate tractor-trailer combinations, transporting construction equipment and materials. You will also construct, maintain, and inspect concrete and asphalt runways, aircraft parking aprons, and roads. You will be operating small powered equipment, such as pneumatic hammers, air compressors, and vibrator tampers. You will install and maintain different types of security fencing. You will be required to ensure compliance with all safety and environmental regulations. Depending on the regional area, you may be involved with snow removal operations by operating snow blowers, plows, and power brooms. back to top

When a doctor looks at an X-ray, they are "seeing" inside our bodies. The Air Force uses similar methods to inspect the insides of metal objects. As a Nondestructive Inspection (NDI) Apprentice, your job will require you to identify possible defects in Air Force equipment.

You will determine what test method to use, and prepare fluids and parts for inspection. Once you've completed the test, you will interpret the results and provide information about any defects you found to the repair center. You will analyze wear metal content on engine lubricating oil and other fluids and recommend corrective action. You will also establish radiation areas for radiographic operations, compute and monitor personal exposure areas for radiographic operations, and monitor personnel exposure data.

You could be performing NDI on structures, components, and systems. You will be able to detect cracks, delaminations, voids, processing defects, and heat damage. Some of the tests you'll use could be penetrates, eddy current, magnetic particle, radiographic, optical, or ultrasonic.

Additionally, you'll operate, maintain, and inspect the nondestructive equipment and perform operator maintenance and service inspections on shop equipment and tools. You'll be trained in characteristics of metals identification, detecting metal discontinuities and flaws, radiological safety and radiation monitoring procedures, and interpreting technical orders and directives. back to top

Plans, schedules and organizes use and maintenance of aircraft, engines, munitions, missiles, space systems, aerospace ground equipment (AGE), and associated support systems. Documents and maintains aircraft, engines, missiles, munitions, AGE, and associated support systems records. back to top

You will monitor maintenance performance data systems for compliance with established procedures. In this job, you will collect and maintain maintenance performance data for use in analysis reports, studies, and problem identification. You will assemble information by extracting and tabulating maintenance data in logical presentation sequence, using computerized and manual methods. You will control and operate the Maintenance Management Information and Control System (MMICS). This is a computerized data system which enables you to keep maintenance managers informed as to what maintenance is required, the current status of the assigned equipment (aircraft, missiles, support equipment, etc.), and what areas of the automated file require attention. back to top

Download PDF BrochureIn this AFSC, you will be operating and maintaining avionics systems. Your job will consist of isolating malfunctions in avionics systems, radar, integrated test systems built-in-test (BIT), recording systems, video display systems, and various other systems. You will remove, install, check, and repair avionics systems and line replaceable units (LRU). You'll be using technical orders, schematics, wiring diagrams, etc. to diagnose malfunctions. back to top

You will install, maintain, repair, and operate heating plants, systems, and equipment, which operate on oil, gas, or coal. Your duties could entail working on anything from a room space heater up to a base heating plant. You will be working with furnaces, boilers, stoves, heat exchangers, burners, blowers, fans, and radiant heaters. Also, you will learn how to use high and low pressure systems with oil, gas, or coal-heated furnaces and boilers.

You will install, operate, maintain, modify, and repair refrigeration, heating plants, systems, and equipment, will operate on all types of air conditioning, evaporative cooling, air compressing, and ventilation equipment, plants, and systems. This may be large, cold storage systems, package type air conditioners, and large industrial cooling systems. You are also responsible for maintaining electric, electronic, and pneumatic controls associated directly with the refrigeration/cooling equipment. back to top

Prepares, maintains, and monitors Civil Engineer (CE) operations plans and supporting documents for mobility, response, and recovery operations. Prepares, reviews and provides input to installation contingency plans. Monitors prime base engineer emergency force (Prime BEEF), air base operability, hazardous materials emergency response, emergency management programs, and schedules and conducts associated training. Manages assigned equipment and supplies, performs or schedules equipment maintenance, and inventories assets. Maintains and inspects chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN), and conventional protective clothing and equipment. Conducts CBRN and conventional detection, identification, monitoring, sampling, individual protection determination, decontamination, warning, and reporting activities. Maintains and inspects equipment, conducts training, and prepares for peacetime response to Terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive (CBRNE) weapons. back to top

Installs, removes, operates, maintains, and repairs electrical power generating and control systems, aircraft arresting systems, and associated equipment. back to top

Aircrew Flight Equipment personnel issue, fit, repair, and maintain human-side flight equipment such as parachutes, helmets, oxygen equipment, anti-gravity garments, anti-exposure suits, aircrew ocular devices, survival kits, life preservers, rafts, electronic communications, helmet mounted weapons integration devices, and aircrew Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) equipment. Personnel also instruct aircrew on the proper use and care of aircrew flight equipment under normal, contingency, and CBRN operations. Additionally, this career field maintains, and sets up aircrew contamination control areas (ACCA), and processes aircrew through the ACCA. back to top

Download PDF BrochureAircraft Structural Maintenance is a very important part of maintaining our multi-million dollar aircraft and missiles. As an Aircraft Structural Maintenance Apprentice, you will become involved in classifying damage to aircraft structures for repair to original strength, weight, and contour. You will remove, repair, and install repaired or replacement parts. You will align component structures. You will balance aircraft control surfaces and ensure repairs are pressure, fluid, and weather tight. You will inspect damage or deterioration and determine repair or replacement. You will repair or replace plastic, fiberglass, bonded structures, and bonded honeycomb assemblies. You will cut, bend, and install hardware on all types of tubing. You will seal fabricated tubing assemblies and select components, fabricate, and pull test aircraft cable assemblies. You will operate and maintain powered and non-powered tools and equipment to include precision measurement equipment. You will use spray equipment such as conventional spray guns, airless spray guns, and electrostatic spray equipment. You will use various methods of identifying metals, such as mechanical and chemical testing, in order to ensure that the proper corrosion treatment procedures are followed. You will identify the type of corrosion present, the treatment required to preserve the metal, and the causes of corrosion in order to help prevent the recurrence of corrosion. Once you have identified the metal and its corrosion, you will remove the corrosion by using various chemical and mechanical methods, and then treat the metal to preserve it. You will use spray equipment to apply protective coatings to aircraft structural materials. You will also construct and apply aircraft markings and insignia. back to top

You will measure broken or worn parts using calipers, gauges, and micrometers. You will draw working sketches, make templates, consult shop drawings, and select material. You will perform machine tool-cutting operations such as cutting off stock, threads, and tapers. You will use engine lathe cutting gears, slots, keyways, and similar work pieces. You will preheat and post heat materials as needed. You will weld by oxyacetylene, arc welding, tungsten inert gas, metal inert gas, and other methods or processes. You will weld cast iron, carbon steel, copper, copper alloys, light gauges of heat and corrosion resistant ferrous alloys, aluminum, magnesium, titanium alloys, nickel, and cobalt base alloys. You will conduct hardness tests to determine results of heat treatment. You will perform precision grinding and remove poisonous or corrosive deposits. You will perform maintenance on welding and machining equipment and adjust gibs, clutches, and feed screws. back to top

As an Aircraft Hydraulic Systems Apprentice, you will be responsible for everything dealing with the hydraulic systems on aircraft. You will troubleshoot, remove, repair, overhaul, inspect, and install the systems and their components, including support equipment.

You will advise on any problems maintaining these systems and determine maintenance procedures and performance characteristics using technical publications. Your job will also be to diagnose malfunctions and recommend what corrective action should be taken or else correct the defect yourself.

You will be responsible for inspecting the aircraft hydraulic systems, their components, and any support equipment. To ensure maximum performance of the systems, you will also be performing system operation checks, and taking corrective action, if necessary. back to top

Download PDF BrochureAircraft have fuel systems similar to automobiles, but more complex. Aircraft fuel tanks are large enough for people to enter and you will work inside and outside of fuel tanks to remove, repair, inspect, install, and modify aircraft fuel systems, including integral fuel and water cell tanks, bladder cells, and external tanks.

You will advise on aircraft fuel systems removal, repair, and installation maintenance procedures and policies. You will diagnose fuel system and component malfunctions and recommend corrective actions and/or resolve problems.

In this job, you will perform maintenance on fuel tanks and cells by removing, repairing, and/or replacing malfunctioning components. Your job will also be to inspect aircraft fuel systems maintenance activities. Additionally, you will be responsible for cleaning fuel cells and tanks, and inspecting for foreign objects, corrosion, cell deterioration, and fungus.

You will learn about internal hardware such as valves, interconnects, lines, gauges, controls, pumps, and other attachments. You will also learn about sealing techniques and materials, layout drawing use, interpreting technical publications and concepts, and applications of maintenance directives. back to top

Download PDF BrochureIn this job, you will be working on virtually every electrical and environmental (E & E) system on the aircraft. These systems include landing gear, anti-skid and nose steering, electronic engine control, ignition and starting, lighting, master caution and warning, flight control, cabin pressurization, air conditioning, etc. back to top

Download PDF BrochureYou will perform scheduled inspections, functional checks, and preventive maintenance on aircraft and aircraft installed equipment. Prior to flight, you will inspect and perform various functional checks of the aircraft as well as ensure that the aircraft has been properly serviced with fuel, hydraulic fluid and liquid oxygen. After flight, you will be responsible for ensuring the aircraft is still in "operationally ready" condition. You will maintain and repair all parts of the aircraft, performing general mechanical work as opposed to working on a particular system or subsystem. back to top

Download PDF BrochureAll aircraft mechanics require some type of ground support in order to perform maintenance and servicing of the aircraft. As an Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) Mechanic, you will be taught, using typical ground support equipment, the principles of electronics, refrigeration, hydraulics, power generation, reciprocating engines (gasoline and diesel), gas turbine engines, pneumatics, and heating. This will prepare you for servicing, inspecting, troubleshooting, repairing, and performing preventive maintenance on motor and engine driven generator sets, air conditioners, hydraulic test stands, air compressors, bomb-lifts, heaters, and other similar support equipment. You will also be taught equipment forms maintenance, use of technical data, use of common tools and hardware, and soldering techniques. back to top

This job is similar to working in a Federal, State, County, or City Public Health Department. If you are interested in helping people and educating them on how to remain healthy, this is an excellent opportunity for you. Airmen are asked to work independently and use their knowledge and judgment early in their careers. Major areas of specialization include Communicable Disease Control, Facility Sanitation, Occupational Health, and Food Inspection. back to top