I'm considering taking a job at Autec. Would you recommend it or should I stay away? For those who have been there, how are the living conditions? Other than killer mosquitos and sun burn, what should I be concerned about? Other than snorkel, what do you do for fun?

Thanks for your opinions and suggestions!

Lots of people who have visited there or worked there, may ask for those who work there, would you consider yourself to have access to all operations going on there? and what year was AUTEC established on Andros?

I ask as, I really don't believe that if something was going on there, that all 'surface' staff would be privy to this information. As someone pointed out, TOTO is where alot of the underwater 'tests' take place, this area is incredibly big, just over a mile deep (If i remember?). I always thought that it was used as a 'base camp' for exploring something insitue, something you couldn't just move to a secure facility.

Andros was abuzz a few years ago of discoveries of underwater harbour (this was round 1969, although there were newer discoveries around 1992), aswell as roads and walls, this wasn't too deep, about 20ft max I think, but it always made me wonder what else was around there, around 12,000 years ago, TOTO may very well have been a fertile valley, before the rise in sea levels.

AUTEC was built in 1966. I worked there from 75-76. I worked in HVAC and did the work on the main base and down the test range which consists
of 5 test sites. The last four sites are only accessible by boat or chopper. I got to fly down range to do repairs when needed. Kinda nice for a single guy. Lots of water, fish and lobster to enjoy. Sometimes the systems would go down in the middle of the night during a test and we'd have to show up at the main test building and get things cooling again. Navies from all over the free world would come to test their ships and play wargames with dummy torperdoes, etc. Nothing mysterious about it. All civilian contractor run with a small USN group on base. Now, that was 33 years ago. I did have a security clearance as everyone did. It is a NAVY base! I had the same when I worked for another Defense contractor. Never underestimate the need people seem to have for believing that weird things are kept from them by the government. It's all about the conspiracy, isn't it.........

I've been stationed at AUTEC as base communications and base security officer and later worked there in the weapons dept as a civilian. Folks, there are no u/w sub bases or alien bodies. It's just what the name says it is: an undersea test and evaluation center. Of course it's classified!! They do R & D on Navy systems. Do you really think they would advertise it if they figured out how to spot subs with radar? Don't think so!!

I've heard of this place before. I saw something about it on tv. I can't remember what they were saying they were testing there, but I think it was something about new torpedos is a large part of their 'official' testing regimen. Very quick torpedos, in fact.

Btw, super70: That is a kick-a avatar!

Just heard about this base today on the History Channel. It was mentioned on a show about the Bermuda Triangle. Any more info than what's already in the thread?

Well I watched a show about this place too, the only thing I found to be of interest / odd is that there are cables going from there directly down in the ocean, so deep that you can't even see where they go. But then I think it's just a typical military testing site, there is always high security at these places for obvious reasons.

Originally posted by Zemouk
Well I watched a show about this place too, the only thing I found to be of interest / odd is that there are cables going from there directly down in the ocean, so deep that you can't even see where they go. But then I think it's just a typical military testing site, there is always high security at these places for obvious reasons.

Those cables go out to the ranges. They let them simulate submerged targets for ASW training.

I'm laughing at some of the posts on here on AUTEC, people please stop with the bS stories ok? I worked on the island for 5 years and I can tell you that a lot of the stuff you talk of does not go on there like kinda area 51 stuff.

It's just a testing range for the Navy because of the deep water it offers out there and they mostly conduct joint exercises with the British navy, I was a a weapons techinician which basically my job was working on the mk 48 practice inert torpedos, they never used live ordnance.

The job was boring as hell like most jobs on the island, AUTEC has a very high turnover rate because the place is so isolated thers really nothing to do there except fish and scuba and even that gets old after a while and even though the pay is tax free its still very low pay and a lot of people end uo leaving due to that.

Also the living conditions aren't that good you are basically put up in a hotle room and you have to live there the entire time and you eat in a cafeteria, most of us flew back to Florida to West Palm Beach on the weekends to esacpe that dead place.

Trust me theres nothing exciting to report about that boring dead place, all this hype you see and hear about it being some top secret place is a bunch of bull, sure theres stuff there that requires people to have a secret or above clearance but theres nothing black ops going on, its just usual Navy crap as a always.

I always thought this place was the Naval Area 51

Where is that?


Oh and the Navy's "Area 51" is China Lake without a doubt.