Meet the Navy's 'Swiss army knife': The sailors who keep carriers and other warships running
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marlan Sawyer, US Navy
Dec 2, 2019, 11:44 AM
The Navy's machinist's mates keep its warships in fighting shape, maintaining everything from the catapults that launch fighters off carriers to the kitchen equipment that keeps sailors fed.
The rate of machinist's mate has a long and proud history in the United States Navy. Established in 1880 as finisher, the rate changed names a couple of times before being settled as machinist's mate in 1904.
According to the Navy CyberSpace website on enlisted jobs, "Machinist's mates (non-nuclear) operate, maintain, and repair (organizational and intermediate level) ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary equipment, and outside machinery, such as: steering engine, hoisting machinery, food preparation equipment, refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, windlasses, elevators, and laundry equipment; operate and maintain (organizational and intermediate level) marine boilers, pumps, forced draft blowers, and heat exchangers; perform tests, transfers, and inventory of lubricating oils, fuels, and water; maintain records and reports; and generate and stow industrial gases."
https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-machinists-mates-keep-carriers-and-other-warships-running-2019-12
