The Material Maintenance Warrant Officer specialty was once part of the normal path to appointment for Aviation Survival Technicians (AST), but as of 2017 only one rating—Damage Controlman, or DC—serves as a feeder rating for the specialty. (Personnel in the AST rating now advance to Marine Safety Specialist Deck CWO.)
Chief Warrant Officers serving in Material Maintenance (MAT) are technical experts in the fields of repair, maintenance, damage control, and firefighting (both shipboard and ashore). Repair and maintenance are closely linked, so Material Maintenance CWOs often head up and supervise Guardsmen in the DC and MSSD ratings to carry out ship maintenance and repairs involving metal working, welding, woodworking, pipes and drainage, and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) defenses. During repairs or new construction, MAT Warrant Officers inspect building and construction materials and provide technical advice regarding their characteristics, uses, and capabilities and limitations. Like the Navy’s SeaBees, they organize and oversee both the repair and maintenance of a variety of shore facilities, including docks, towers, buildings, street paving, and pipelines carrying water and sewage.
The leadership skills they have acquired during normal duty and at special classes such as the USCG’s Chief Warrant Officer Professional Development course make them ideally suited to serve as the Officer-in-Charge of repair or maintenance detachments, as well as to develop and supervise training programs involving their main skill areas.
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