45B Career Guide
45B: Small Arms/Artillery Repairer
Career transition guide for Army Small Arms/Artillery Repairer (45B)
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Top civilian roles for 45B veterans, with average salary and market demand data.
Small Arms Repair Technician
Skills to develop:
Maintenance Technician
Skills to develop:
Quality Control Inspector
Skills to develop:
Heavy Equipment Mechanic
Skills to develop:
Wind Turbine Technician
Skills to develop:
Salary estimates from VWC career data
Hidden Strengths
Cognitive skills your 45B training built — and where they transfer.
System Modeling
As a 45B, you diagnosed malfunctions in complex weapon systems by understanding how each component interacts within the larger system. You used this knowledge to predict potential failures and maintain operational readiness.
This ability to understand and predict how systems work translates directly to analyzing business processes, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing improvements to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Procedural Compliance
Your role required strict adherence to maintenance manuals, safety protocols, and quality control procedures to ensure weapons systems functioned correctly and safely.
Your meticulous approach and commitment to following established procedures are valuable in regulated industries where compliance is critical, such as healthcare, finance, or aviation.
Degraded-Mode Operations
You were skilled at troubleshooting and repairing weapons systems under pressure, often with limited resources or in challenging environments, ensuring mission readiness even when things went wrong.
This ability to perform effectively under stress and find solutions with limited resources is highly sought after in crisis management, disaster recovery, and other high-pressure roles.
Team Synchronization
As a supervisor, you coordinated and directed teams of maintenance personnel to ensure efficient and effective repair operations, fostering a collaborative environment to achieve common goals.
Your experience in leading and synchronizing teams translates to project management and team leadership roles where coordinating efforts and ensuring smooth workflows are essential.
Non-Obvious Career Matches
Reliability Engineer
SOC 17-2199.08You've been maintaining complex weaponry to ensure it functions under extreme stress. Now, apply that expertise to improve the reliability and safety of engineered systems and products in civilian industries.
Quality Assurance Manager
SOC 11-3051.00Your meticulous adherence to procedures and quality control in weapons maintenance makes you perfect for ensuring products or services meet specific standards of quality and performance.
Technical Trainer
SOC 25-9044.00You've trained junior soldiers on weapons maintenance. Use that experience to develop and deliver technical training programs for employees or customers on complex systems and equipment.
Compliance Officer
SOC 13-1041.00Your background in strictly adhering to protocols and regulations while maintaining weapons systems makes you an ideal fit for ensuring companies follow legal requirements and internal policies.
Training & Education Equivalencies
Ordnance School, Fort Gregg-Adams
Topics Covered
- •Basic Soldiering Skills
- •Small Arms Maintenance (M4/M16 series, M249 SAW, M240B)
- •Artillery Weapons Systems (M119A3, M777A2)
- •Troubleshooting and Diagnostics
- •Technical Manuals and Publications
- •Use of Precision Measuring Tools
- •Welding and Fabrication
- •Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services (PMCS)
Certification Pathways
Partial Coverage
Study business management, manufacturing process reliability, and organizational leadership aspects of maintenance and reliability.
Requires hands-on experience and formal certification in specific welding processes (SMAW, GMAW, GTAW, etc.). Focus on process-specific techniques, codes, and standards.
Recommended Next Certifications
Technical Systems Translation
Military systems you've used and their civilian equivalents for your resume.
| Military System | Civilian Equivalent |
|---|---|
| M16/M4 Rifle Maintenance | AR-15 Rifle Maintenance/Gunsmithing |
| M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun Maintenance | .50 Caliber Machine Gun Maintenance/Gunsmithing |
| M203/M320 Grenade Launcher Maintenance | 40mm Grenade Launcher Maintenance |
| M777 Howitzer Maintenance | Large caliber artillery maintenance (museums, historical societies) |
| AN/PVS-4/7 Night Vision Device Maintenance | Night vision equipment repair |
| Technical Manuals/Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) | Online repair databases and schematics |
| Calibration and Test Measurement Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) | Precision measurement and calibration equipment |
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