Aviation Ordnanceman (abbreviated as AO) is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

History

Aviation Ordnancemen operate and handle aviation ordnance equipment. They are responsible for the maintenance of guns,

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

es,

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entir ...

s, and

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

s. Their duties include the stowing, issuing, and loading of

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

. There are three different types of ordnanceman; "O" (organizational) level, "I" (intermediate) level, and "D" (depot) level. O-level ordnanceman are attached to squadrons ashore and afloat. They perform loading/downloading operations on aircraft. I-level perform maintenance on bomb racks, missile launchers, and all other aircraft armament components. As well as store, inventory, issue, and assemble all ordnance. Aviation ordnanceman "A" School is currently held at

Pensacola Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

, in Florida, by the Naval Air Technical Training Center. Aviation ordnanceman training is approximately 5 weeks long. At aviation ordnanceman "A" School, subjects are taught basic aviation theory and skills, along with electronic

troubleshooting Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem in order to solve it, and make the product or process ope ...

. To become an aviation ordnanceman, one must have

color perception Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different wavelengths (i.e., different spectral power distributions) independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of t ...

and

20/20 vision Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

or have their vision correctable to 20/20. One must also have an

ASVAB The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a multiple choice test, administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, used to determine qualification for enlistment in the United States Armed Forces. It is ...

score of ''VE+AR+MK+AS=185'' or ''MK+AS+AO=140''. While some aviation ordnanceman tasks require a secret

security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

, all ordnancemen must be eligible for the clearance. PBY Gun Blister

Ship's company, who are stationed on board ship and are also "O" level AOs, work in the magazines below decks or on the flight deck of

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s. They are in charge of inventory of the weapons on the

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...

whether they are loaded on aircraft or stored behind the island. "I" level ordnancemen work in the aviation intermediate maintenance departments on ships at sea or in facilities ashore. They perform such tasks as preventive maintenance, testing of bomb racks, missile launchers, rocket launchers, handling equipment, loading equipment, aircraft guns for issue to squadrons, and perform any repairs needed. Depot "D" level is for equipment that needs to be completely overhauled and is beyond the capabilities of "I" level maintenance. In a 20-year period, an average aviation ordnanceman spends about 60 percent assigned to fleet units and 40 percent to shore stations. Defense

Aviation Ordnancemen are a close-knit community and one of the few ratings in the U.S. Navy to have their own association, the Association of Aviation Ordnancemen. In addition, aviation ordnanceman had come up with an acronym "IYAOYAS" meaning, "If you ain't ordnance, you ain't shit." One of the most notable aviation ordnancemen was Lieutenant

John William Finn John William Finn (24 July 1909 – 27 May 2010) was a sailor in the United States Navy who, as a chief petty officer, received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbo ...

, who came up as an enlisted sailor making it to the rank of chief petty officer. He was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

for his actions during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

on December 7, 1941.

References

Navy BUPERS

External links

{{Commonscat-inline, Aviation Ordnanceman United States Navy ratings

History

See also

References

External links