The program executive officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs spoke with students during a visit to the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) Detachment at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida, Aug. 24.

Rear Adm. Cindy "CJ" Jaynes, who maintains oversight responsibility for 10 program offices and seven acquisition category major acquisition programs, visited the detachment as part of familiarization tour.

Jaynes spoke with 25 students in the Naval Aviation Maintenance Program (NAMP) Indoctrination course, stressing the importance of maintaining professionalism despite adversity, as well as continuing to improve as an officer in the United States Navy.

"Never stop learning," she said. "Education will help you out along the way. Don't be afraid to keep learning. It's not the job, but it's what you do with the job."

The NAMP Indoctrination Course is the entry level maintenance course that teaches the basics principles of the aviation maintenance community.

CNATT Detachment Whiting Field Officer-in-Charge Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Bittle said the visit afforded the aviation maintenance officer students a unique opportunity to speak and ask questions with a community leader.

"It is an honor to have a senior leader take time to re-emphasize the importance of what we teach here," he added. "Hearing it from the top shows students that the naval aviation enterprise is not only concerned about the big picture, but also what is going on in the trenches."

CNATT, one of 13 learning centers under the Naval Education and Training Command, provides single site management for Navy and Marine Corps aviation technical training. With a staff of more than 3,000, CNATT is responsible for the training of more than 110,000 students annually.

CNATT provides formal technical training in the maintenance of aircraft, aircraft systems and associated equipment, and is also the primary advisor to Commander, Naval Air Systems Command for the design and acquisition of aviation maintenance training systems.

CNATT is the technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise, an organization designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost, and is the largest training center under Naval Education and Training Command.

For more news from Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, visit www.navy.mil/ .