Coast Guard Aviation Case Study

1. When the Airman Program was eliminated, the Coast Guard lost the ability to provide hands-on training to personnel entering aviation ratings. Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC) does not have the resources required to properly prepare members for work in the field. Aviation Class A school graduates are reporting to their next units without the basic skills needed to be an asset to an aviation engineering department. The Coast Guard needs an enlisted aviation indoctrination program that will give new aviation petty officers essential basic skills.

2. Coast Guard aviation is a demanding field that requires well trained and experienced members in order to carry out its many missions. A valuable part of the training process is exposing members to hands-on experience in the handling, servicing, and maintaining of Coast Guard aircraft. The Airman
Coast Guard aviation lost a valuable tool in the development of junior petty officers when the Airman Program was incorporated into Class A Schools. Airmen were once able to learn alongside rated petty officers while filling a training allowance billet. The current system requires new petty officers to complete this same learning process while filling a petty officer billet, reducing the capabilities of aviation engineering departments. The training burden on units was not eliminated but merely postponed until Class A school graduates report to their first air station. Hands-on training is required to provide the skills and experience necessary to produce productive members of an aviation engineering department. Air stations still have to train members on the basics of aircraft maintenance just as they did under the legacy Airman Program. A legitimate enlisted aviation indoctrination program located at ALC, the heart of Coast Guard aviation, would provide the consistent, hands-on experience working on and around aircraft that our new aviation petty officers need to provide an immediate impact to the