Hull maintenance technician (HT), as a Navy rating, began in 1972 but the job of today's HT has been around since the first ship. Current students gathered at the home of HT "A" school, Surface Warfare Officers School Unit (SWOSU) Great Lakes, to honor the rating's birthday, Feb. 26.

During the celebration, Sailors and staff of the HT schoolhouse listened as current HTs spoke about their careers while former HTs discussed how the skills Sailors learn as an HT can make the transition to life after the military easier.

"Be prepared to work," said Master Chief Hull Maintenance Technician (SW) Kenneth Wagner, Training Support Center (TSC) Great Lakes, as he addressed the current HT "A" school students about his nearly 30 year Navy career as a hull maintenance technician. "We work on everything from the bow to the stern, from the lower end of the ship to the mast."

Hull maintenance technicians first began as carpenter's mates in 1797 and have evolved through various iterations of name and duties before earning its current separate designation in 1972. At that time, HT merged with damage controlman (DC). In 1984, the separate designation was fully achieved when DC became a separate rating.

"We've been so many things, but one thing you can always remember, if something needs to be fixed on the ship, they call an HT," Wagner said.

Training sites for HTs from Pennsylvania and California merged and were welcomed to their current home at Naval Station Great Lakes in 1995. HTs are responsible for the metal work necessary to keep shipboard structures and surfaces in working order. These duties range from plumbing, small boat repair work, operating and maintaining ballast control systems and managing the quality assurance program -- also known as Non-Destructive Testing.

Retired Chief Hull Technician Ken Thomas, who is now a vice president of quality for a private company, spoke about how the lessons he learned while working the wide range of duties of an HT that helped set him up for a successful career after his Navy career finished.

"It's all about accountability," Thomas said. "Be that person that your shop supervisor can count on. Be on time. Do the job correctly. Be the one that they can rely on."

For more news from Training Support Center, Great Lakes, visit www.navy.mil/.