Job: Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operator (21V)

JOIN THE U.S. ARMY!
To be a U.S. Army Soldier is to be a part of the strongest fighting force in the world. You'll spend your days training, working and serving together to protect America's freedoms. But you'll also have time after work for family, friends and personal interests. From recruitment to retirement, the U.S. Army provides a unique and diverse lifestyle for Soldiers.


The Army is always completing hundreds of construction projects and Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operators are integral to this process. Airfields, roads, dams and buildings can't be created without moving tons of earth and building materials. Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operators use bulldozers, cranes, graders and other heavy equipment to complete these kinds of projects. Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operators are responsible for supervising or operating all equipment used in concrete and asphalt production and paving. Some of your duties as a Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operator may include:

* Produce concrete with a concrete mobile mixer
* Assist in the building and operation of asphalt producing plant
* Operate asphalt distributors, aggregate spreaders and asphalt kettles
* Assist in the operation of asphalt paving and surfacing equipment
* Assist in the performance of combat engineer missions

Job training for a Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operator requires nine weeks of Basic Training, where you'll learn basic Soldiering skills, and six weeks of Advanced Individual Training and on-the-job instruction, including practice operating construction equipment. Part of this time is spent in the classroom and part in the field. Some of the skills you'll learn are:

* Operation of different types of concrete and asphalt equipment
* Maintenance and repair of equipment

Helpful attributes include:

* An interest in operating heavy construction equipment
* A preference for working outdoors

Advanced level Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operators provides guidance, supervises and trains other Soldiers within the same discipline. As an advanced level Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operator, you may also be involved in:

* Build and operate asphalt plants for the production of hot mix asphalt
* Set up and operate asphalt lay down equipment to meet desired asphalt specifications
* Set up and operate concrete mobile mixing equipment for the production of rabid set concrete

The skills you learn as a Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Operator will help prepare you for a civilian career with building contractors, state highway agencies, rock quarries, well drillers or construction firms.

There are a number of formal 3-year operating engineer apprenticeship programs, which you may qualify for as well. These programs, which are administered by the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., consist of at least three years or 6,000 hours of on-the-job training and 144 hours per year of classroom instruction.

* Construction Equipment Operator (21E)

Learn more about the relationship between military training and civilian certification requirements.