Interesting numbers

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Although this USA specific the numbers are interesting...

DOD Encourages Military Mechanics To Get A&Ps

By Lee Ann Tegtmeier/Overhaul & Maintenance

01-Jul-2002 10:49 AM U.S. EDT

The U.S. Department of Defense is deploying troops worldwide. The majority of the aviation industry still is aggressively searching for experienced A&Ps. The U.S. military is offering big bonuses for recent retirees in the maintenance field to come back for a few years, without it affecting their retirement. If you think the pool of current and future qualified A&Ps is satisfactory, think again.

One bright spot for the U.S. military, however, is the Joint Service Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council (JSAMTCC -- click here for more info), a program that received DOD charter in January 2001. This group, comprising representatives from all branches of the U.S. military and FAA, reviews military maintainers' training and experience from an A&P perspective, and provides a path to help them obtain an A&P while still in the service.

This program provides a plethora of benefits to enlisted mechanics: from making them more well-rounded and qualified technicians to giving them the certification needed for future employment in the civilian sector. As Air Force Master Sgt. J.R. Breeding said, "It's a way of taking care of our troops."

The program, however, isn't designed to be a ticket out of the military to the civilian world -- it also helps the mechanic possess a broader knowledge base while in the military, and it's a great retention and attraction tool. Advocates say it's good for everybody involved, including the FAA, which now has a better understanding of the differences in military training and experience and how those equate to A&P maintenance certification.

DOD blessed the JSAMTCC program more than a year ago, but since then, each service has been fine tuning and filling in the training holes for its own certificate. Each military branch creates and maintains its own program, largely based on the aircraft they operate and on their service missions.

For instance, just compare the Coast Guard's missions to the Army's deployments. It's not an apples to apples or even aircraft to aircraft comparison. Coming to an understanding of how their maintenance programs and operations were different was the first step.

How It Began

Representatives from the different U.S. military branches and FAA met for the first time at Luke Air Force Base outside of Phoenix, Ariz., in January 1998. They gathered to discuss how the services could unite to help military mechanics obtain A&Ps while in the service. Acronyms swirled around the dark conference room like people speaking different languages simultaneously, without anything making much sense. Some progress was made once the group realized it strove toward the same goal and a common language and understanding would have to occur.

The next three years the group expanded to include a few airline and other industry representative and the Tiger Team, as it was dubbed, visited at least one military base from each service to gain first-hand understanding of how it worked and how its operations and training differed from the others. It didn't take long before the Tiger Team became a cohesive group that fervently fostered a common goal and strove to make it happen. Three years may sound like a long time, but considering most Tiger Team members participated in this program on top of his or her normal work duties, and considering the vast differences even within a particular service, let alone the entire DOD, it was quite an accomplishment. Deciding on the common goal was the easy part. Accomplishing the goal was the harder task.

Each military service has created its own Qualification Training Package (QTP) to provide technicians with enough documented training and experience to be able to take the FAA’s A&P written exams (airframe, powerplant and general). The QTPs are tailored to individual career fields and have places to fill in all training and experience. For training necessitated by FAR Part 65 and not traditionally provided by the military, the Tiger Team and services are creating or have found several specialty courses. Some of them are on CD-ROM, some are computer-based training and others involve on-the-job training. Sample computer-based training courses include weight and balance, magnetos and reciprocating engines. Several are in electronic form so mechanics located away from a base can still work on their A&Ps, no matter where they are worldwide.

"Once a person completes the CDCs (career development courses), the person will be well prepared to take the FAA tests, but not just take the tests, but have good knowledge behind the answers," said Dave Chamberlin, Air Tran Airways senior maintenance instructor and a member of the Air National Guard.

After a military mechanic has completed his or her QTP, the military services issue a certificate to that individual showing he or she is qualified to take the FAA written test. This greatly helps the FAA Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) because the safety inspectors do not have to sort through myriad types of training records and experience to decipher whether the military mechanic has met all the FAR 65 requirements. The certificate removes the subjectivity that previously plagued the process. It serves the same function as a certificate of completion from a Part 147 aviation maintenance school. "All FSDOs have to do is grant the authorization to take the test," said Air Force Master Chief Sgt. Jeff Mayle of the Pentagon.

The Air Force has 74,457 aviation maintenance personnel and 3%, or 2,296, have reported to the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) they have their A&P. Mayle expects about one-third of the Air Force's maintainers to take advantage of this voluntary program. The CCAF in Montgomery, Ala., manages and administers the program for its military branch.

The U.S. Air Force officially implemented its program in late December and, as of May, has enrolled 1,100 technicians, several of whom heard about it via word of mouth. Air Force enlisted, guard and reserves from the U.S., Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Guam have responded. Air Force mechanics can enroll in the program via a website and the CCAF will verify their background and training; fill out a QTP with the applicable boxes filled in for completed training, then email the QTP to the program instructor and technician so the maintainer can begin training for the A&P.

After an Air Force technician completes the QTP requirements, a maintenance officer signs a verification letter and the technician sends a hard copy of the QTP to the CCAF, which issues the certificate of eligibility and FAA Form 8610-2 (the airman certificate and/or rating application). This entitles the technician to contact an FAA FSDO to take the A&P written exams. Technicians have 24 months to complete the remaining tests.

One of the traditional stumbling blocks for military maintainers has been the high cost of taking the FAA tests, especially when local designated mechanic examiners (DMEs) charge about $1,000. The JSAMTCC has tried to help by sending a letter to DMEs asking what fee they charge and whether they'd like to be listed on the JSAMTCC website. This way maintainers see exactly what fees the various DMEs charge for military personnel to take the test. DME fees typically range from $200 to $1,200. (The higher ones usually include a test preparation service.) Forty-two of 366 DMEs positively responded to the letter saying they support the program, and the military group intends to do another mailing to recruit more. FAA also is briefing its FSDOs on the military program during training seminars so the number of participating DMEs also might climb based on that. Of course, after successfully completing the battery of tests, the military maintainers will receive the FAA A&P.

The time to complete the program will vary based on the person's experience, but the Air Force esti-mates it will take six to 15 months. Keep in mind that an Air Force mechanic is not eligible to enroll in the program until reaching a 7-skill level, which equates to about 10 years in the service.

This figure varies from military service to military service -- again, based on a mechanic's training and experience, which largely is tied to a military branch's mission. For example, a Coast Guard mechanic graduates for "A" school as an E-4 and receives the G-EAE-2 form, which is annotated with all of the job tasks the mechanic has completed by attending the Coast Guard school, said Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer Don St. Aubin. However, mechanics must wait 30 months prior to applying to take the A&P test. Since the Coast Guard program has been up and running for a while, it already has issued five certificates to take the A&P test. The Coast Guard's program has been quite successful, and in fact, the Elizabeth City, N.C., school is working with FAA to make it a Part 147 school, said St. Aubin.

Army Command Sgt. Major Ed Iannonne said it would take Army mechanics about seven years to be qualified to get the A&P certificate if they receive supplemental training during that time. He said the Army hoped to start enrolling students in the A&P initiative by mid-summer.

The Navy and Marine Corps faced a few stumbling blocks in getting their programs launched, but now have a team that is diligently pursuing getting it launched, possibly by as early as this August.

So although the A&P initiative applies to each U.S. military branch and is endorsed by the DOD, it really comes down to each service executing its program, with support from the JSAMTCC. "DoD just blessed the concept, it's not driving the train," because each service has designated people for implementing and carrying out the program, said Mayle.

Timing if Right

Certification can be worth more than a degree in some fields, and certification programs like the A&P provide specific training for specific career fields. And some people don't want a college degree. Coupled with this, several pieces of legislation are making it easier for people to get government assistance to cut the costs of taking such programs. "Certification is so hot right now that the time is right to publicize this program as a joint services group," said Sandy Winborne, manager of certification programs for DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Services). She mentioned that since March 1, 2001, military personnel can be reimbursed through the G.I. Bill for licensing and certification tests, including taking the A&P test.

DANTES also is working with the JSAMTCC and FAA to administer the written portion of the A&P test online for free. It would be done through a server that would give the exam and then immediately score and print the results. Beta testing in Oklahoma City, Okla, was scheduled for this month.

Number of Potential Retirees Cause for Concern in Military

The U.S. military is concerned about the number of maintainers who are eligible to retire in the next few years. In the Air National Guard and reserves alone, 60% to 80% of maintainers will be eligible to retire in three to five years, according to Dave Chamberlin, a master chief for the Indiana Air National Guard. A manager at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma said 50% of his mechanics will be eligible to retire in five years. Fifty-five percent of the civilian workforce at the Coast Guard's Elizabeth City, N.C. Aircraft Repair and Supply Center is eligible to retire in the next 3 years.

The numbers don't surprise many, however, because enlistment in the military tends to be cyclical. For example, the guard and reserve units usually get a big boost after a war because active-duty members return to the U.S. with a desire to stay in aviation. "We're now seeing people who came into aviation during the Vietnam War retiring," said Chamberlin. Their 30 years of service are up.

Logistics Management Institute (LMI), a research group based in McLean, Va., said that there were 377,000 active-duty military maintainers and 125,000 civilian maintainers in the Department of Defense in fiscal year 2000. By the end of fiscal year 2002, LMI estimates that 13.3% of active duty and 12.9% of civilian technicians will be eligible to retire, which means they have served at least 20 years. However, by the government's fiscal year 2005, LMI projects those estimates will climb to 21.6% and 25.6%, respectively.

LMI said that not all of those people will retire after 20 years. "As an example, among the 8,000 eligible-to-retire civilian maintainers in the workforce at the end of FY2000, 28% were in their first year of eligibility, 37% in their second or third year, and 35% in their fourth or greater year of eligibility," said an LMI report. Of the 25,000 active-duty mechanics eligible to retire in FY2000, 36% were in their first year, 31% in their second year or third years, and 33% in their fourth or more years of eligibility.

Time will tell.