Aviation boatswain's mate (abbreviated as AB) is a United States Navy occupational rating. Employment and sub specialties Aviation boatswain's mates operate, maintain, and perform organizational maintenance on catapults, arresting gear, barricades, and associated flightdeck launching and recovery equipment; operate and service aircraft ground-handling equipment and machinery; operate and service aircraft crash, firefighting, and rescue equipment; handle aircraft afloat and ashore; operate, maintain, and repair aviation fueling, defueling, lubricating oil, and inert gas systems; perform crash rescue, crash removal, and damage control duties. Aviation boatswain's mate, equipment Aviation boatswain's mates, equipment (ABEs) operate and perform maintenance on steam catapults, barricades, arresting gear, and associated equipment ashore and afloat; operate catapult hydraulic systems, retraction engines, water brakes, jet blast deflectors, deckedge and integrated catapult control stations (ICCS), and jet blast deflector control panels; arresting gear engines, sheave dampers, deckedge control station, and associated equipment; perform aircraft handling duties related to the operation of aircraft launching and recovery equipment. Most of the work in this rating is performed outdoors on the flight deck of aircraft carriers, in all climatic conditions, in fast-paced and often potentially hazardous environments. Although most of the operations are only visible on the flight deck, the equipment responsible for the functioning of launch and recovery operations is 95% below decks. ABEs work closely with others in aviation ratings but often only interact with other ABEs. Aviation boatswain's mate, fuels Aviation boatswain's mates, fuels (ABFs) play a major part in launching and recovering naval aircraft quickly and safely from land or ships. This includes aircraft fuelling and fuel systems. Later in their careers ABFs can earn the advanced AB rating that requires supervision of all these individual specialties. The duties performed by ABFs include: Operating, maintaining and performing organizational maintenance on aviation fueling and lubricating oil systems on CVNs, CVs, landing helicopter docks (LHDs), LHAs, and LPDs Observing and enforcing handling safety precautions and maintaining fuel quality surveillance and control in aviation fuel systems; Supervising the operation and servicing of fuel farms and equipment associated with the fueling and de-fueling of aircraft ashore and afloat Training, directing and supervising fire fighting crews, fire rescue teams, and damage control parties in assigned fuel and lubricating oil spaces. This rating's work is performed outdoors, atop aircraft carrier decks, in all climatic conditions, and in fast-paced hazardous environments. ABFs or "grapes" are generally and under due to clearance restrictions and work closely in