Approval for the design of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Officer (PAMO) insignia was announced in NAVADMIN 051/09 on February 9, 2009, preceding the release of the Personnel Qualification Standards for PAMO qualification by more than three months. Dated May 19, 2009, OPNAVINST 1412.11 states that the PAMO qualification was established to recognize the contributions of the Navy’s aviation ground officers who support the service’s aviation mission and its warfighting capabilities.
OPNAVINST 1412.11 specifies four types of officers as eligible for PAMO qualification: 152X Aerospace Maintenance, 633X Limited Duty Officer Aircraft-Maintenance, 734X CWO Aviation Maintenance Technician, and 738X CWO Aviation Electronics. A little over three years later, the Navy announced the merger of CWO designators 734X and 738X to 733X, CWO Aviation Maintenance Technician. On December 8, 2009, nine officers became the first to receive the new PAMO qualification and be pinned with the approved breast insignia, which features a silver spread eagle and a shield over a pair of gold wings with the inscription “Aero Maintenance” in capital letters at the bottom. At the time these nine officers received their breast insignias at the Naval Personnel Center in Millington, Tennessee, Navy Personnel Command, another 365 officers had already qualifed for this new warfare designator.
In addition to completing all the Personnel Qualification Standards listed in NAVEDTRA 43438, officers seeking the PAMO qualification (Additional Qualification Designator IL6) must spend at least 24 months engaged in maintenance activity at the organizational level while assigned to an Aviation Maintenance Officer billet; they also must meet those same time and billet requirements performing intermediate-level maintenance activity. Additionally, they must complete a minimum of one 90-day operational deployment during a period they are assigned to an Aviation Officer billet.