Navy vs. Air Force pilot slot

[pilot141]

I had some smart-aleck stuff to start off with but decided to cut to the chase:

Seriously, do you really want to target the EASIEST slot?

How about the one that you want? Do some research on what aircraft and missions each service flies and do some soul-searching about what YOU want to do. I assure you that after a good hard look one service will emerge as your desired goal. More than likely one particular aircraft/mission will be the one you would kill to fly.

Your job then is to target that service with everything you have. Keep other options open, but focus on your your goal.

Jeez, I can't believe I'm having to say these things. Are military pilot slots really this non-competitive these days? Are there not enough self-starters out there?

OK, sorry, "Back in the day/Nam/war story" mode off.

 

[bogey383]

nah just a bunch of tickets when i was in high school kinda thing, just basically a couple of dickhead moves when i was younger, no dwi/dui.. will they put you into the aviation program, even with an atp. is that an advantage or can that work against you.

 

[Fearless Tower]

nah just a bunch of tickets when i was in high school kinda thing, just basically a couple of dickhead moves when i was younger, no dwi/dui.. will they put you into the aviation program, even with an atp. is that an advantage or can that work against you.

As long as we're not talking felony stuff, tickets shouldn't realy hurt you. The ATP could help or hurt you...it just depends. On one side, to the Navy, it means that you can probably fly a plane, which decreases the odds of you washing out for lack of aptitude. On the down side, it means that you have learned alot already and may have difficulty learning different ways of doing things....like disregarding the whole flare to land thing. Also, if you already have an ATP, you may want to verify that you are still eligible age wise. I don't remember what it is off the top of my head, but the age limit to start flight training is pretty strict.

One advantage that the Navy has right now is that if for some reason (aptitude or medical for example - you can be the best stick in the world, but let them detect the slightest heart murmur and you're done) you wash out of flight training, the Navy will kick you out without further obligation. In the old days, if you washed out, you were sent out to the fleet and had to find another occupation in order to complete your acitve duty obligation. Now, because of manning reductions, it's a different story.

 

[Fearless Tower]

I had some smart-aleck stuff to start off with but decided to cut to the chase:

Seriously, do you really want to target the EASIEST slot?

How about the one that you want? Do some research on what aircraft and missions each service flies and do some soul-searching about what YOU want to do. I assure you that after a good hard look one service will emerge as your desired goal. More than likely one particular aircraft/mission will be the one you would kill to fly.

Your job then is to target that service with everything you have. Keep other options open, but focus on your your goal.

Jeez, I can't believe I'm having to say these things. Are military pilot slots really this non-competitive these days? Are there not enough self-starters out there?

OK, sorry, "Back in the day/Nam/war story" mode off.

I can't speak from the AF point of view, but in the Navy you can be the greatest self starter in the world and not get the type of plane you want. Having one's heart set more on a particular type of aircraft than on the goal of being a military aviator can leave you pretty dang disappointed. In the Navy, personal preference is one last things considered if it is even considered at all. I can't tell you how many guys I know that went through pilot training with dreams of flying F-18's and F-14's and found themselves in the helo pipeline. I have another good friend who all he ever wanted to do was fly P-3s.....he was sent to the jet pipeline.

 

[pilotyip]

Needs of the service, it is the bottom line.

 

[Scrapdog]

Both the Navy and the Air Force are great to be in, if your 1st goal is to serve your country and 2nd is to fly jets. Your primary desire in entering the military - no matter what service - should be to serve your country to the fullest of your ability.

I'm an AF guy, and relatively young (captain type)...however I don't know anything better in the world than being a patriot and flying fast jets. I'm sure the Navy is also an outstanding place to be. I went to the Academy, UPT, flew F-15's on active duty, and am now flying F-16's in the ANG and the bonds I've made with fellow officers and flyers is probably the strongest in the world. I know that is only accomplished by being brothers in the military, no where can those same bonds be formed anywhere else. And that in itself is extremely rewarding as well.

For the ATP thing...I don't think anyone really cares. I had my SEL and MEL instrument rating before starting UPT and it helped some in T-37's, but once I was in T-38's, everyone was pretty much on the same playing field...there will be some extremely sharp guys you'll be flying and competing with in military pilot training.

I hope that helps you! -Scrapdog-

 

[bogey383]

yeah. i am only 23 so i don't think the age thing should be a problem. i was just curious, it doesn't matter to me fixed or sling wing.. it would just be a better place to go then the regionals. but i hear those recruiters promise you the world, how do you actually know that you have been awarded a pilot spot.

 

[Fearless Tower]

yeah. i am only 23 so i don't think the age thing should be a problem. i was just curious, it doesn't matter to me fixed or sling wing.. it would just be a better place to go then the regionals. but i hear those recruiters promise you the world, how do you actually know that you have been awarded a pilot spot.

Assuming you have college behind you, you are going to be looking at applying for OCS. If you haven't completed college, the age thing is probably going to bite you in the tail by the time you complete a degree. As far as OCS goes. you should know before you raise your right hand if you are going to be going aviation. Generally speaking, each community (aviation, surface, subs...etc) has a budget for taking in so many new bodies per year which is then allocated to the different commisioning sources (OCS, Academy, ROTC). So, if aviation is what you want, the officer recuriter first should be able to let you know if there are any openings for OCS at a particular time and then you'll have to go throught the physical, aptitude tests etc...etc to determine if you are qualified. Assuming that all works out, then you'll know before you are committed to serving day one in the Navy. Again, that's OCS. ROTC is a bit different since you incur an obligation as soon as you start taking Uncle Sam's money whether you have qualified for flight training or not.

As far as recruiters promising you the world, I have found that is more a matter of enlisted recuriters. Officer recruiters are a bit more straight forward and especially nowadays since the Navy has been reducing its officer manning levels a bit. It took a while (and the whole expense of IRAQ/Afghanistan) for the Navy to realize just how much money it was wasting on aviation dropouts.

 

[bogey383]

so having all your certs and ratings doesn't really help for aviation, like you still have to take all of the navy's apptitude test and such. yeah i am just looking into since i am graduating this december. like i said before the regionals don't look so appealing.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Do you squat to pee or stand?