Many AMO members have sailed with TECH (The Engineering Candidate Hawsepipe) Program apprentice engineers since its inception in 2014, a program supported and encouraged by the AMO Plans trustees as generating many future AMO senior engineering officers. The latest class, TECH 109, which started in February, is composed of Apprentice Engineers James Evans, Garrett Smith, Albert Cruz and Tanner Lipsky. They have been out and about representing AMO, STAR Center and the TECH Program in the maritime community in South Florida. During their initial shore-side phase, the TECH 109 apprentice engineers were involved in several volunteer and community service projects, including: refurbishing the U.S. Merchant Marine and Merchant Marine Veterans monument plaques in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the South Florida Waterway Clean Up and the MIASF Plywood Regatta. Each activity and event exposed them to various aspects of our maritime industry as they prepared for their first shipboard assignments.

- STAR Center Director, Member Training, Jerry Pannell