If you run an aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul shop, you already know the problem. A&P mechanics are hard to find. The experienced ones are aging out. The civilian schools cannot graduate enough new techs to fill the gap. So the line stays short and the work backs up.

There is a labor pool most MRO shops walk right past. Every year, thousands of military aviation maintainers leave the service. They turned wrenches on fighters, helicopters, transports, and shipboard aircraft. They worked to standards as tight as any FAA repair station. Many of them are weeks away from being able to sit for the FAA mechanic tests.

The catch is they do not always look like A&P mechanics on paper. Their resumes are full of military job codes and acronyms. Their training records sit in a system you cannot see. This guide shows how to read past that, map military backgrounds to the roles on your floor, and understand the real military-to-A&P path so you stop screening out people who can do the work.

Why are military aviation maintainers a fit for MRO work?

Military aircraft maintenance is not a loose version of civilian work. It is the same job under more pressure. A military maintainer learns to follow technical orders to the letter. They document every task. They sign for their work. They work a quality system with inspectors and sign-offs, the same idea as an Inspection Authorization on the civilian side.

That habit of work is what an MRO floor runs on. The FAA repair station model is built on documentation, traceability, and accountability. Veterans already live in that world. They do not need to be taught why the paperwork matters.

They also bring depth most civilian hires do not have early. A crew chief on a fighter has seen engine swaps, structural repairs, hydraulics, fuel systems, and electrical faults. A Navy aviation tech has done all of that on a ship, in a hangar bay, with limited parts and a hard deadline. That range maps cleanly to a heavy-check line or a component shop.

How do military maintenance jobs map to MRO roles?

Each branch uses its own job codes. The work behind those codes lines up well with the roles on an MRO floor. Here is how the big ones translate.

Airframe and powerplant work. The Air Force runs aircraft maintenance careers like Tactical Aircraft Maintenance (2A3X3) and Aerospace Maintenance (2A5X1). These are crew chiefs. They own the whole aircraft. The Air Force also trains Aerospace Propulsion (2A6X1) techs who live inside engines. On the Army side, the 15T UH-60 Helicopter Repairer and 15B Aircraft Powerplant Repairer do the same kind of work on rotary wing. The Coast Guard Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) is a strong A&P-track fit.

Avionics and electrical. If you need avionics techs, look at the Air Force Fighter Aircraft Integrated Avionics (2A3X4) and Avionics Test Station and Components (2A0X1) careers. The Army 15F Aircraft Electrician and the Coast Guard Aviation Electrical Technician (AET) fit avionics and electrical benches.

Sheet metal and structures. Structural repair is a hard role to fill. The Air Force Aircraft Structural Maintenance (2A7X3) tech and the Army 15G Aircraft Structural Repairer do sheet metal, composites, and corrosion work every day. Add the Air Force Aircraft Metals Technology (2A7X1) for welding and machining.

Navy aviation ratings round out the pool. Sailors in AM, AT, AD, and AE ratings cover airframes, avionics, engines, and electrical on carrier and shore aircraft. Marine aviation maintainers cover the same ground on the Marine side. For a wider view of the branch crosswalk, see our pillar guide on how to hire veterans for aviation and aerospace roles.

How does the military-to-FAA A&P path actually work?

This is the part most MRO hiring teams get wrong. They assume a military maintainer needs to start an A&P program from zero. That is usually not true. The FAA built a path for military experience, and it can move fast.

The Department of Defense and the FAA run the Joint Service Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council, or JSAMTCC. JSAMTCC reviews military aviation specialties and maps them to the FAA mechanic ratings. When a service member's training and experience qualify, JSAMTCC issues a Certificate of Eligibility.

That Certificate of Eligibility is the key. A military applicant who holds one does not need extra FAA authorization to start testing. The certificate states which tests they are cleared for: general and airframe, general and powerplant, or all three for a full A&P.

There is a second route too. A maintainer without a Certificate of Eligibility can document practical experience directly and apply on FAA Form 8610-2, checking the "Mechanic - Military Experience" box. Under FAA Part 65 experience rules, the floor is 18 months of practical experience for a single rating and 30 months for both the airframe and powerplant ratings. Either way, the experience is already done in uniform.

Why do strong military maintainers get screened out?

Most MRO shops lose these candidates at the resume stage. The reason is simple. The resume reads like a military record, not a mechanic resume. The job code says 2A5X1 instead of "aircraft mechanic." The duties say "performed phase inspections per applicable T.O." instead of "completed scheduled airframe inspections."

Then the resume hits your applicant tracking system. An ATS does not reject anyone. It racks and stacks. It ranks resumes against the keywords in your job posting. A resume packed with military jargon and no civilian terms sinks to the bottom of the stack. A qualified A&P-track maintainer never reaches a human.

The fix is on your side as much as theirs. Train whoever screens to read past the codes. When a job code shows up, look it up before you pass. Better yet, search a candidate pool where the military background is already translated into civilian terms. That is what makes these candidates surface instead of sink.

Where do you find military aviation maintainers?

You do not have to wait for them to find your posting. There are direct channels to reach maintainers while they are still in or right after they separate.

SkillBridge. The DoD SkillBridge program lets service members work at a civilian company during their last few months of service. The military keeps paying them. You get a working tryout at no payroll cost. For an MRO, that is months to watch a maintainer on your floor before you make an offer. The offer comes when they separate, not before, but you get a long look first.

A translated candidate pool. The reason most employers miss these candidates is the translation gap. BMR closes it. Every veteran on the platform builds a resume that turns military experience into civilian, role-ready language. The pool adds over 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and more than 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform. For an MRO, that means avionics, propulsion, and structures techs whose backgrounds are already mapped to the work you do.

Veteran service organizations and base transition offices. Every base has a transition office that works with separating members. Aviation-heavy bases produce a steady flow of maintainers. Build a relationship there and you get a pipeline, not a one-off hire.

How should an MRO hire and onboard veteran maintainers?

A few changes to your process turn this pool into hires. None of them lower your standard. They just stop you from losing good people on technicalities.

The veterans who do well are the ones who feel the work is real and the path is clear. An MRO offers both. You have skilled work, a credential ladder, and a quality system they already respect. For more on screening across industries, see our broader guide on how to hire veterans for manufacturing roles.

What is the payoff for your shop?

The veteran labor market is healthy, which means good maintainers move fast. The all-veteran unemployment rate was 3.5% in 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Skilled aviation techs do not sit on the market long. The shops that win them are the ones with a process built to find and move on military talent.

The federal side backs this up. The Department of Labor runs resources to help employers hire veterans, from outreach to retention. Pair that with a candidate pool that has already done the translation work, and you have a sourcing channel most of your competitors are ignoring.

If you want a faster way to reach avionics, propulsion, and structures techs whose backgrounds are already mapped to MRO work, reach out to access BMR's veteran talent pool. The translation is done. The candidates are ready. The only thing left is the offer.