This Rate Training Manual and Nonresident Career Course (RTM/NRCC) form a self-study package that will enable aviation support equipment personnel to help themselves fulfill the requirements for advancement. Designed for individual study and not formal classroom instruction, the RTM provides subject matter that relates directly to the occupational standards of the Aviation Support (AS) Equipment Technician. The NRCC provides a way of satisfying the requirements for completing the RTM. Assignments in the NRCC include learning objectives and supporting items designed to lead the student through the RTM. Volume 1 is the basic manual for the AS rating. It provides the beginner with fundamental ground support equipment shop organization and shop procedures. It includes the rate structure, with a short history of the AS rate, supply publications, Naval Aviation Maintenance Program, and ground support equipment, tools, test equipment, materials, and hardware also are discussed; and the appendix contains a list of acronyms and definitions of terms used in the course. (The Aviation Support Equipment Series, of which this document is the first volume, replaces chapters of the three service ratings, Aviation Support Equipment Technician's E (Electrical), M (Mechanical), and H (Hydraulic). (KC)