The United States Navy Boatswain's Mate rating was officially established in 1794. Boatswain's Mate and Gunner's Mate are the oldest, continually serving ratings in the United States Navy, and each has a rich history and celebrate honored traditions.
The Navy's computerized personnel system associates the rating name with an alphanumeric Navy Enlisted Manning Code (EMC). For BM, the EMC is B400.
BM's are the leaders and backbone of every ship's crew. A Boatswain's Mate maintains the exterior surfaces of ships, deck handling machinery and equipment, handle cargo and operate small boats during a number of evolutions including Anti-Terrorism Operations and Maritime Interdiction boardings of suspect ships.
The BM rating requires a 60 month (5 year) service obligation. Boatswain's Mate class "A" school is six weeks long, and it is located in Great Lakes, Illinois.
Boatswain's Mates train, direct, and supervise personnel in ship's maintenance duties in all activities relating to marlinespikes, decks, boat seamanship, painting, upkeep of ship's external-structure, rigging, deck equipment, and life boats.
BMs take charge of working parties, and act as petty officer-in-charge of picket boats, self-propelled barges, tugs, and other yard and district crafts. They serve in, or take charge of gun crews and damage control parties. Boatswain's Mates operate and maintain equipment used in loading and unloading cargo, ammunition, fuel, and general stores.
Higher ranking Boatswain's Mates provide training and supervise others in caring for and handling deck equipment and small boats.
Career Sea - Shore Rotation Chart
Rating's Sea (SEA) Shore (SH) Rotation (months)
Rating
SEA1
SEA2
SEA3
SEA4
SEA/SH
BM
56
60
48
48
36/36
SH1
SH2
SH3
SH4
36
36
36
36
Sea tours and shore tours for Sailors that have completed four sea tours will be 36 months at sea followed by 36 ashore until retirement.
Sailors in the Boatswain's Mate rating can expect to spend more than half their career on sea duty assignment. Sea tour lengths for the BM rating will not involuntarily exceed 60 months for Sailors with less than 20 years of service (YOS) and 48 months for Sailors with more than 20 YOS. Shore tour lengths between sea tours will be set to 36 months long. Manning conditions at sea may require the need to request sea tour extension or shore tour curtailments to ensure all sea duty billets are filled.
Qualifications, Interests, and Working Environment
BM's must be able to get along well with others and to speak clearly and distinctly. Other qualities include resourcefulness, a good memory, curiosity, physical strength, manual dexterity, the ability to work as a team member and to perform repetitive tasks.
Normal color perception is required. Members of this rate are not required to be citizens of the United States.
Boatswain's mates perform most of their duties outdoors, working closely with others, and the majority of work is of a physical nature. BM's ASVAB Test requirement.
About 4,800 men and women currently work in the Boatswain's Mate rating. Opportunities are excellent for qualified candidates.
Personnel in the Boatswain's Mate rating are paid allowances (BAH, BAS, etc. if eligible) and billet pay (sea pay, etc. if eligible), and enlisted basic pay based on years of military service and paygrade.
Credit Recommendations
The American Council on Education recommends that semester hour credits be awarded in the vocational certificate and lower-division Bachelor's degree categories for courses take in this rating on seamanship.
Training for Boatswain's Mate is accomplished through 14 weeks of intensive training at BM “A” School located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, VA. Students will be exposed to many facets of the Boatswain's Mate rating; including marlinespike seamanship, navigation, and practical exercises underway.
Few rates have stood the test of time, but Boatswain's Mate is one of them. You're the go-to Sailor aboard every ship, with skills that can't be developed anywhere else. From ship repair, to security detail, to driving an aircraft carrier, your job is as versatile as you make it.
This enlistment program option enables men and women to eventually qualify for one of several Navy ratings (skill specialties) through on-the-job Seaman Apprenticeship training. The program also offers apprenticeship training in a rating that may not be available at the time of enlistment.
, which is listed as the military job that travels the most, takes the top spot. Serving in this capacity means that you'll be helping maintain aircraft so that they are safe and efficient for operating at high levels.
These scores are relative to the national average of young adults who took the test in your grade level. With ASVAB Standard scores, most students score between 30 and 70. This means that a standard score of 50 is an average ASVAB score, and a score of 60 would be an above-average score.
The required scores for various jobs in the Army vary. For instance, a Criminal Investigations Special Agent must earn a 107 for the Skilled Technical (ST) line score and a 110 for the General Technical (GT) line score. A firefighter, however, needs to score an 88 in the General Maintenance (GM) line score.
Standard Scores are on a scale of 0-100. On this scale, 50 is the mean, or average, and every 10 points from the mean represents one standard deviation. This means that a Standard Score of 60 would be above average. Most test takers score between 30 and 70.
Duties: BMs can be found in nearly every duty station available throughout the United States and various locations overseas. They serve on every Coast Guard cutter, from harbor tugs to the newest National Security Cutter. Additionally, in many assignments BMs will act as federal law enforcement officers.
Boatswain Mate "A" School (5 weeks) in Great Lakes, IL, for training in basic general safety, watch standing, deck seamanship, underway replenishment and preventive maintenance. Following “A” School, there may be additional opportunities for training before receiving your first assignment, such as amphibious training.
The earliest form of U.S. Navy enlisted ratings may be traced to the petty officers assigned as assistants to the shipboard warrant officers. The oldest such ratings, still in use today, are boatswain's mate, quartermaster, and gunner's mate.
The estimated total pay for a Boatswains Mate is $60,865 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $56,174 per year. These numbers represent the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users.
Boatswain's Mates serve primarily on ships and can expect to travel the world over. Your responsibilities are performed mostly outdoors and you can expect work of a physical nature. You will not spend your entire career at sea, you may work in a variety of different environments when you're stationed on shore.
When my ship was doing counter-narcotics ops in between westpac's the boatswains mates were running the small boats for interceptions and they were trained and armed. Most of the guns we use in the navy are either anti-personnel 50cal turrets, phalanx CWIS anti-aircraft, or 5in or larger ships guns.
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