THE AMERICAN WELDER AUGUST 2016 / WELDING JOURNAL 75 Fig. 2 — Last year at FABTECH, I presented “Welding in the Military” to a group of attendees as part of the AWS Education Program. Many recruiters may not want to talk about specific jobs the applicant is interested in. This is partly because there are always high-demand Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs) that need to be filled. For metalworking, MOS 91E Allied Trades Specialists are generally not in that category. If applicants get through their local recruiter, Military Entrance Processing Station, and enlist as a 91E, they can expect to go to Basic Combat Training for 10 weeks. Once individuals complete that stage, they will be shipped to Fort Lee in Virginia for Advanced Individual Training as an Allied Trades Specialist. Allied Trades Training Welding and machining together are Allied Trades. At one point, welders and machinists were separate jobs in the Army. A few years ago, as part of a larger restructuring effort, the two jobs were combined to form one MOS. So, if a school-trained welder joins the Army as a 91E, he or she will also be a trained machinist once training is complete. For most people, this is a huge benefit, especially those who already have a background in the trades. Personally, I have found it easier for skilled welders to learn how to be machinists than the other way around. Having the skills, experience, and knowledge of both trades can be a valuable asset to the Army as well as individual service members when they prepare to leave the service and begin searching for work. Training for Allied Trades Specialists is currently 19 weeks, 2 days and is conducted at Fort Lee in Virginia. The Ordnance Corps, which is the Army corps that oversees most maintenance related fields, was moved around 2010 from Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to Fort Lee. The Allied Trades hall, located on the Ordnance Center and School campus, houses modern equipment for Soldiers to train on. The course is laid out as follows: • Introduction to Machining (23 h) • Bench Layout Operations (52 h) • Lathe Operations (192 h) • Milling Operations (82 h) • Introduction to Welding (35 h) • Oxyfuel Operations (38 h) • Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) (54 h) • Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) (62 h) • Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) (88 h) • Army Unique (69 h). Fig. 3 — An Army welding trailer in the Army Unique portion of the school at Fort Lee. Soldiers practice setting up and using this equipment before completing training.
Welding Journal | August 2016
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