Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist insignia

The Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist (EAWS) insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which was created in March 1980. The insignia recognizes those members of the Navy’s enlisted force who have acquired the specific professional skills, knowledge, and military experience that result in qualification for service in the aviation activities of the Navy. This includes most personnel who are trained flight deck personnel onboard aircraft carriers, or maintenance personnel at an Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment or Department or aircraft squadron.

The basic prerequisite for the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist insignia is that a service member be assigned in a sea-duty status to a deployable naval aviation unit or aviation capable ship. Most service members earning this insignia hold an enlisted rating designated in aviation (though a non-aviation rating is still eligible), or a support rating; in the 21st century Navy the ratings that are eligible include:

The non-designated striker rates of Airman, Airman Apprentice, and Airman Recruit are also eligible to receive the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist insignia. However, due to the time involved in the qualification procedure, most service members obtain at least a Petty Officer Third Class rating before earning the EAWS insignia. Sailors outside the aviation community are eligible to attain EAWS designation; however they must first complete the warfare specialist qualification for their community.

The qualification process to obtain the insignia begins with the Enlisted Aviation Personal Qualification Standards, also known as PQS. There are two PQS for the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist insignia. The first is the Common Core which consists of concepts, policies, and tasks that are common throughout Naval aviation and provide a foundation for the sailor's knowledge. The second is a platform-specific PQS which consists of several training tasks and other practical experience on-the-job exercises relevant to the particular aviation community the sailor is currently serving in, for example an F/A-18 squadron or a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The entire Enlisted Aviation PQS normally takes approximately one year to complete from the point of entering the enlisted aviation community though it can be completed much earlier with much dedication and effort.

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