I joined the U.S.the navy in June 2012 and was underway on my first deployment in July 2013 Quickly I found out the difference and utmost importance between Being an Aviation Structural Mechanic and Aviation Structural Mechanic “Safety Equipment”
Safety Equipment meaning the Martin-Baker Ejection Seat. Something that the Recruit Division Commanders did not differentiate between the two ratings in bootcamp. It wasn’t until “ALS” or Aviation Life Support Training, I understand the importance of maintenance on these remarkable life saving systems.
After being assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 142 .which Utilized ICAP III EA-6B Prowlers each equipped with 4 Martin-Baker Gru 7 ejections seats. My maintenance officer at that time, a full time Electronic Countermeasures visited the seat shop just after my arrival to the fleet. And surrender a speech about how Martin-Baker Ejection Seats previously saved her life before I was even old enough to join the military.
Her speech and general gratitude towards the seat shop motivated myself as a 19 year old boot to receive all my ordnance qualifications in a timely manner.
I hustled and quickly before our medpac cruise in 2013. The Squadron was successful with a 100 percent sortie combat completion rate and aided in the 2013 Syrian crisis.
The pictures are myself as a young sailor maintaining the ejection seats in the hangar bay floating somewhere in the Mediterranean sea just outside Syria.
I eventually transferred from the MK 7 to the NACES Seat platform when the squadron transitioned from the EA–6b Prowler EA-18 G Growler.
I thoroughly Enjoyed both work with both seats and providing the squadron with safety knowledge, seat check-outs, and aid to the plane captains and pilots.
Thanks Martin-Baker for the amazing seat journey, I was surely proud to work with such equipment.
The last thing between life and death
CHASE “The Kid” Bochner