AO stands for Aviation Ordnanceman, the Navy rating responsible for aircraft weapons and munitions. We design custom challenge coins for ordnance shops, squadron AO divisions, and weapons departments, with free artwork, unlimited revisions, and veteran-owned craftsmanship.
What Is a Navy Aviation Ordnanceman?
Aviation Ordnance is any expendable weaponry, such as bombs, missiles, rockets, and gun ammunition, used by military aircraft. Aviation Ordnancemen (AO) operate and handle aviation ordnance equipment and are responsible for the maintenance of guns, bombs, torpedoes, rockets, and missiles.
AOs perform their duties at sea on flight decks and ashore in hangars, on flight lines at air stations, or in shops under various environmental conditions. They work closely with others, do mostly physical work, and require little supervision.
Aviation Ordnance Limited Duty Officers serve as officer technical managers in the field of operations and maintenance of aviation ordnance and aircraft armament.
Within the rating, AOs work at three levels:
- O-level (organizational) Sailors are attached to squadrons ashore and afloat, performing loading and downloading operations on aircraft; when a squadron’s ordnance team deploys aboard a carrier, that element is commonly called a Det, short for detachment.
- I-level (intermediate) work centers on maintaining bomb racks, missile launchers, and aircraft armament components, along with storing, inventorying, issuing, and assembling ordnance.
- D-level (depot) handles equipment that needs a full overhaul, beyond what I-level maintenance can address.
AO Challenge Coin Design Ideas
AO coins draw from a distinctive set of motifs, built up over decades of rating culture:
- Flaming or winged skull – probably the most recognizable motif, often paired with the Jolly Roger or classic pin-up artwork.
- AO wings and the winged-bomb rating badge – natural centerpieces for a coin built around the rating itself.
- Weapons imagery – bombs, missiles, bomb racks, showing up constantly since it’s literally what the rating handles.
- Red – the AO’s signature color, tracing back to the red jerseys worn on the flight deck to mark ordnance handlers at a glance. A red shirt navy coin, whether red as a background, an accent, or the dominant tone, immediately reads as AO to anyone in the community.
- Squadron insignia and carrier or cruise details – ground a coin in a specific unit and deployment, rather than the rating in the abstract.
- Lettering – “Ordie,” the community’s own nickname for an AO, and IYAOYAS itself both show up regularly on AO coins, alongside squadron mottos and dates.
These are the same motifs the AO community already recognizes, the same tradition behind the custom Navy challenge coins we build across the fleet.
Whatever direction you’re leaning, from a straightforward squadron emblem to something built entirely around the flaming skull, we can help develop it into a finished design.
“Warheads on Foreheads” and AO Community Language
“Warheads on foreheads” is a phrase Aviation Ordnancemen have used to describe their own work since before World War II, according to the Navy’s own account of AOs serving aboard the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It’s shorthand for the rating’s actual job: making sure the fleet’s weapons are armed, loaded, and ready.
The phrase, along with terms like ‘Ordie’ and IYAOYAS, is part of how AOs talk about their own work, not outside language applied to it. A warheads on foreheads coin uses that same language instead of a generic job description.
What Does IYAOYAS Mean?
IYAOYAS stands for ‘If You Ain’t Ordnance, You Ain’t Shit,’ the long-standing motto of the AO community. It shows up throughout AO culture, including on coins like this one.
Learn what IYAOYAS means to Aviation Ordnancemen and where it comes from.
Who Orders Aviation Ordnance Coins?
Most AO rating coins come from small commissioning groups within a unit, each building a design around their own team rather than the rating generally.
AO “A” School and Ordnance University graduations mark a milestone worth a coin, the same way this Ordnance University coin was commissioned for graduating Aviation Ordnance Managers.
Retirements are another major occasion. After a full career spent handling ordnance, a coin is a way of marking that service, and a market of dedicated AO retirement display pieces exists for exactly this reason. Rating anniversaries are a similar, recurring occasion.
The tradition isn’t Navy-only, either. Marine Corps aviation ordnance units use “warheads on foreheads” and IYAOYAS the same way Navy AOs do, and we design Marine Corps challenge coins for units across that branch as well.
About This Ordnance University Coin
The U.S. Navy’s Ordnance University commissioned this coin for their Aviation Ordnance Managers, wanting a design that represented the spirit of the Navy’s Aviation Ordnancemen, with insignia and images of aircraft and weapons on both sides.
The front carries the Ordnance University’s own logo: a winged skull with a fiery top, embossed on a red field, with five ballistic missiles engraved above it representing the weapons AOs handle. “Power Through Knowledge” is lettered around the top of the coin, with “Ordnance University” lettered around the bottom.
The back carries reliefs of aircraft alongside a couple of U.S. Navy insignias.
Every element ties back to the rating itself: the skull and missiles for the weapons and the culture around them, the aircraft for what those weapons arm, and the motto for the institution that trains the Sailors who handle them.
Design Your Own AO Coin
Whether you’re outfitting an ordnance shop, a squadron AO division, or marking a School graduation or retirement, we can help you build a coin from a sketch, an idea, or reference images.
- Free professional artwork
- Unlimited design revisions
- Free shipping within the continental U.S.
- 50-coin minimum
Tell us about your coin, and request free coin artwork to get started.
If you’re also looking for matching custom belt buckles, we design those too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does AO stand for in the Navy?
AO stands for Aviation Ordnanceman, the Navy rating responsible for handling, maintaining, and loading aircraft weapons and ammunition.
What does an Aviation Ordnanceman do?
Aviation Ordnancemen operate and maintain aircraft weapons, including guns, bombs, torpedoes, rockets, and missiles, working on flight decks at sea and in hangars and shops ashore.
What is the difference between O-level, I-level, and D-level ordnancemen?
O-level (organizational) Sailors handle loading and downloading on aircraft at the squadron level. I-level (intermediate) maintains bomb racks, missile launchers, and armament components. D-level (depot) handles equipment needing a full overhaul.
Why do Aviation Ordnancemen wear red on the flight deck?
Red jerseys identify ordnance handlers on the flight deck, marking their role at a glance in a fast-moving environment. Red has become the AO’s signature color as a result.
What is an “Ordie”?
“Ordie” is the common informal nickname for an Aviation Ordnanceman, used within the rating.
What does IYAOYAS mean?
IYAOYAS stands for “If You Ain’t Ordnance, You Ain’t Shit,” the AO community’s motto. See our IYAOYAS coins page for the full story.
What goes on an aviation ordnance challenge coin?
Common elements include the flaming or winged skull, weapons imagery, squadron insignia, red coloring, and lettering like “Ordie” or IYAOYAS.
Do Marine Corps aviation ordnance units order coins?
Yes. Marine Corps ordnance units share the same “warheads on foreheads” tradition and commission coins the same way Navy AO units do.
Can we include our squadron insignia on an AO coin?
Yes. Squadron insignia, carrier details, and cruise dates are all common additions that tie a coin to a specific unit and deployment.
What is the minimum order for aviation ordnance coins?
Our standard minimum order is 50 coins.
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