We honor our heritage, advance our profession, and strengthen the AB community through advocacy, mentorship & camaraderie. Established in 1974 as the professional working organization of the Navy's finest Sailors, Aviation Boatswain's Mates, in order to collectively identify, and develop corrective action to the problems that plague our Sailors, our Equipment, and Naval Aviation Safety. Since our founding we have been extraordinarily successful in providing numerous improvements in the areas of aircraft launch and recovery, refueling, aircraft handling, and more effective fire fighting procedures. The Aviation Boatswain's Mates Association continues to have an annual Professional Working Group where old friendships can be renewed, and new friendships formed, but most importantly a place where AB's can gather and have their voices head as they join an excellent forum for problem resolution. The Professional Working Groups "workshops" are professionally oriented and are attended by shipboard fleet and shore based personnel along with system command level technical specialist, in-service engineering agents, and manpower management directors. Workshop results are then forwarded to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations for review and future correction. No other group enjoys this "avenue to the top brass" as does the AB community.
