Some questions for Marine Aviators...

[Jafar]

Hello, Gentlemen

I am a candidate in the PLC program (aviation contract) and have a few questions for any Marine Officers that may have gone this route. First off, a little info about myself.
I am currently serving in the reserve as a Cpl. My OCS date is June 1st (10 week course) My tentative commissioning date is the end of Dec. of '03. (I will have one more semester of college after completeing OCS. ) I am a Political Science major.
Having been through Boot Camp, and interestingly enough, PLC Juniors, I'm not real worried about OCS. How long after commisioning does one usually wait for The Basic School? Then after that, is there a long wait in the pipeline at Pensecola?
The Corps offers a flight training assistance package that will pay for 20 hours of flight instruction prior to flight school. As of now, the only flight experiance I have is a couple of hours in a small twin engine plane the Marine Corps owns and flys around Officer Candidates in so they can get a small feel for flying. Well that and the unlimited amount of hours on computer flight sims. Yes, I'm a flight sim geek So how much will these 20 hours help me in primary? Is it really worth doing? I'll have to cram it all in in just a few months, as I won't be eligable for this untill I complete OCS and I will be graduating from college 4 months after that. Should I pay for the other 20 and just go for the private lisence? Obviously, plenty of people show up at Pensecola having only flown in the back of an airliner. How big of a difference does it make? I know they will teach me everything I need to know, but having the Marine Corps mentality, I want to be the best.
Exactly how long is primary? Sorry about the long post, I just have a lot of querries.

A quick but obligatory disclaimer: I am well aware of the mission of the Marine Corps and Marine Corps Leadership. If all I was interested in doing was flying I'd be pursuing a commission in the Wild Blue. I am a Marine first, will be a Marine Officer second, and an Aviator third. My long term goals lie with Leadership, so pursuing this commission made the most sense to me. If it seems I am only interested in asking questions about the aviation side, well that is what I am the least experianced in. I have served as a Marine for over 6 years now, so I have a pretty good notion of the Corps and what we are about. On that same note, If there is an apparent conflict of interest in an NCO and Officer Candidate asking adivce of random Commissioned Officers on some internet forum, I apologize. I'm not looking for buddies, I'm asking the advice of senior Marines who are in the place that I intend to be in a short time.

With that out of the way, one last question. I am going to Whidbey Island next week for my flight physical. Is there any potential pit falls I need to be aware of regarding this physical? I went through the same thing back in '97, but believe certain standards have changed.

Thanks for reading this extraordinarily long post. Sorry again about the length. And thank you for any answers or advice concerning my goals.

Semper Fi

 

[Michael Knight]

Ill just answer the one's I know/have opinions on:

Take the 20 hours the Corps will pay for - it's free. Absolutely DO NOT waste your money on another 20-30 hours. The extra 20-30 hours will not improve your performance at flight school. Doing it to get your private license is also a waste since you will be eligible to get a Commercial after flight school. I'd rather see you fly your flight simulator. Find the T-34 add-on if you can, not sure where you can find it but you'll probably find it floating around somewhere on the net.

Students that were active CFI's usually fare pretty well. Other than those FEW, prior time is not that big a deal. To do your best you just need to put in the extra time and study well. Best two students I've seen, bar none, were zero time students that worked hard and ALWAYS were over prepared for their briefs. Don't sweat flight school until you get here. Always remember to drink some beer and blow off some steam at the end of the week.

Primary will take you 4 to 5 months once you start flying. There is a month or two of ground school before that.

For now focus on OCS (as you may have heard - expect more physical then mental compared to boot camp). Then focus on TBS (wear goggles during land navigation). Soon enough you'll be on your way. If you want to print out these replies... great. It is good that you are looking ahead, just remember to take care of the tasks at hand and enjoy the journey. Easier said then done, I know.

S/F

 

[Jafar]

Thank you for the input.

I have 8 months to gear up for OCS, and I'm going to use it. I expect to be in phenomenal shape when I get there. When I went through the six week course back in '97 I was in decent, but not great shape, and I felt it.

One big debate that is going on in my head is in regards to my status in the reserve. If my unit gets activated for Iraq II I'm not sure if I should go or stay in school and pursue the commission. I am not obligated to go because I am technically in the IRR. I am just volounteer drilling with the unit. (My end of contract was June 02.) But on the other hand the idea of rolling across the Iraqi desert commanding a 70 ton death machine, popping the turrets off of t-72s sounds pretty d*mn good. There is no greater test of leadership than combat leadership. (By the way, I'm obviously an 1812; Tanker.) So in the long run it would help my career. I'm not getting any younger though, and the clock is ticking. Providing I don't get activated I'll be going to OCS having just turned 25. Then I have one semester of school left. But If I leave in the next couple of months I will miss out on nearly a years worth of school.

I'm not really thinking about this that much, as no decision has been made regarding weather my unit is even going anywhere. But it's in the back of my mind.

By the way, how do you like flying Herks? A friend of mine flew both Hornets and Herks and said he liked the Herk community more.

 

[Piggy]

Go Battleherk!

Jafar,
Just speaking from personal experience, go with the Battle Herk. I'm biased, of course, but it's just an awesome airframe and the flying we get to do is, both in mission type and location is phenomenal. The other thing that I love about it is the crew interaction. I've been on planes where the rank structure has gone from PVT to COL and every combination inbetween. One of our strengths is the O to E relationships. I feel we're pretty strong in that category.

Granted, that's down the road a ways. OCS, then TBS, of course. Once in flight school, the only thing that matters is being overprepared for the next hop and the only way to guarantee your choice of airframe is to be #1 in your class.

I'm sure you've got more recent gouge than me, but what's the max commissioning age now? In the event you do get called up, will it impact? And there's also the possibility that they'd keep you from being recalled in the interest of having a commissioned officer. Don't know that for sure, guess it's all a numbers game.

Just out of curiosity, who's your buddy that flew Hornets and Herks. I'm an IP at the FRS right now and I've seen a few transitions go through. They're all doing well out in the fleet, just curious if I've met him. It's a small world, as they say.

Good luck and maybe we'll see you in the Herk fleet in a few years.

S/F
Piggy

 

[Jafar]

Thanks,

Max commissioning age for aviators is 27. So I'll have two years from the time I complete OCS. Deploying could move me a lot closer to that deadline due to the amount of school I would miss, not to mention possibly losing my seat at OCS next summer.

I also heard recently that Air Force and Navy primary are being trained joint now, and that it is possible, although unlikely, that I could end up doing primary on an AF base flying T-37's or T-6's. Kind of interesting.

 

[furloboy]

Jafar--Don't put names on a forum like this. Now it's possible that your bud may catch "stuff" from his Hornet buds. He may, or may not, but there's a bunch of ugly ways things can go wrong when a name is posted on any forum.

BTW, if the opportunity presents itself, go fighters. I am indeed biased. Good luck.

 

[alfred]

Jafar,
I was in an activated reserve unit during the gulf war. I had an OCS date prior to the activation (as did a bunch of my buddies). Unfortunately many of us did not have a choice...In fact, a couple of guys were pulled out of college! They had to finish up their degrees after we got back. I would say use your chain of command and determine the options. Unfortunately, I would bet at this point, the folks at the top will be unable to tell you what lies in the future. Also, we had some folks not show up for the activation. So be careful not to have you career concerns misinterpreted ("I just joined to get money for college!" was one excuse I heard about.)
I was in a rifle company...we were activated but did not deploy to the gulf. Spent a bunch of time training out at Pendleton. After the 100 hours were up and it was painfully clear I was not going to get do my job in Southwest Asia, I was ready to get on with OCS. Tough decision, especially if you are not locked in at your unit.
Bottom line, do your job, use the chain of command and hopefully the people you work for will take care of you. (I got back from the activation in Sept and was diving in the quiggly in Dec.)
Good luck, and if you do get to fire up some rag head targets, shoot straight...just like the Delta Tee.

 

[Jafar]

Thanks,

That concerns me as well. Getting called up, going, and then sitting on my arse for six months never firing a single round. That happened to several reserve units in the Gulf War. "F" 2/23 went to Okinawa for six months. I realize its not my place to make those kinds of decisions, but it is my choice as to weather or not I'm going to go. This is a rather unique place to be. But when it really comes down to it, that is my unit and I go where they go.

Again, lots of speculation. We haven't even been placed on alert yet. Besides, Even if I went, I'd probably still be right on track to get a commision after I got back. My IRR time ends June of '03, so barring a stop-loss for tankers I could come home then and get back in school. A few rather radical individuals have said, "You need to go! This will be your last chance at seeing combat!" For some reason, I kind of doubt that.