Stupid questions about Naval Aviation (Pt 2)

[vinco]

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URL="http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/member.php?u=4220"]Pags[/URL]:For the HSC (expeditionary) lifestyle the goal is to long cruise twice in a three year squadron tour. Once as a 2P and once as a HAC. There are plenty of other "away from home but not 'deployed'" things to do before/in between/after your long cruises as well that may be anything from a week to 1mo+.

I think HSL is similar to HSC(exp).

HS/HSC(CVW) is subject to the same thing as the tailhook guys for the most part because they're part of the air wing.

HM guys seem to go a lot of different places for varying amounts of time. HAC.

Thanks to both of you to responding so quickly. However, I do not know what HM stands for or HAC..? Also, a recruiter mentioned to me that Helo guys would be more active rather than fighter jets. Is there any truth to this?

 

[Pags]

[

Thanks to both of you to responding so quickly. However, I do not know what HM stands for or HAC..? Also, a recruiter mentioned to me that Helo guys would be more active rather than fighter jets. Is there any truth to this?

HM=Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron. They fly the MH-53E and sweep for mines.

HAC=Helicopter Aircraft Commander. The Skipper's given you the keys to the car and you gotta bring it and your crew back safe and get the job done.

I don't know how active the jet guys are. A safe rule of thumb for a sea tour, regardless of community, is expect to spend half of your three years away from home.

 

[vinco]

Thanks for the explanations I really appreciate it. I have gotten more answers here in a day than 6 months trying to contact my recruiter. So, when you say you should expect to spend half of your time at sea, then in the long run say for 20 years you would expect 10 of those to be at sea? Also, are there options available down the road, say after 10 years or so, if someone wanted to stay in the Navy, but wanted to try and stay state-side more often? Is a change of career paths available or not really?

 

[wlawr005]

Thanks for the explanations I really appreciate it. I have gotten more answers here in a day than 6 months trying to contact my recruiter. So, when you say you should expect to spend half of your time at sea, then in the long run say for 20 years you would expect 10 of those to be at sea? Also, are there options available down the road, say after 10 years or so, if someone wanted to stay in the Navy, but wanted to try and stay state-side more often? Is a change of career paths available or not really?

Dude...you're gonna be gone a lot. Some people are gone more than others. Timing, qualifications, and a lot of other things determine how, when, and where you will deploy. To put it another way, qualified guys go to sea because that's where our job is. Qualified guys also get promoted faster because they are the go-to-guys in the squadron. If you're in the military, and wanna make it a career, expect to be gone a lot. There is no average, no gaming, or anything else that can predict YOUR career.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Thanks for the explanations I really appreciate it. I have gotten more answers here in a day than 6 months trying to contact my recruiter. So, when you say you should expect to spend half of your time at sea, then in the long run say for 20 years you would expect 10 of those to be at sea? Also, are there options available down the road, say after 10 years or so, if someone wanted to stay in the Navy, but wanted to try and stay state-side more often? Is a change of career paths available or not really?

Not sure what community you are planning on entering, but for pilot types, jet VT (training) squadrons seem to be the place where a lot of folks end out their careers if they don't plan on staying in on active duty.....lots of LCDR's around here that get to be at home with their families most nights. Many of them transfer over to reserves after their tours are up and remain in the squadron as drilling reservists. Most of our reserve IP's are senior LCDR's or CDR's who fly on the outside as Delta, Fedex, UPS or American Airlines pilots. A good number of them commute from Atlanta, Memphis, etc for a week or so out of the month to fly with us, and then go back home afterwards. Maybe not exactly what you were trying to get at (if you wanted to stay on active duty), but yes there are ways to continue your military career stateside if you care to do that later on.

 

[Pags]

Thanks for the explanations I really appreciate it. I have gotten more answers here in a day than 6 months trying to contact my recruiter. So, when you say you should expect to spend half of your time at sea, then in the long run say for 20 years you would expect 10 of those to be at sea? Also, are there options available down the road, say after 10 years or so, if someone wanted to stay in the Navy, but wanted to try and stay state-side more often? Is a change of career paths available or not really?

Sailors belong on ships. Ships belong at sea.

You can expect to spend about half a sea tour somewhere other than your homeport. Maybe at sea. Maybe Fallon. Maybe somewhere else.

For your shore tour there are some options that have you home most nights. There are other options that have you on the road a bit more.

 

[HeyJoe]

So, when you say you should expect to spend half of your time at sea, then in the long run say for 20 years you would expect 10 of those to be at sea?

No. You typically rotate from sea duty (gone maybe half the time) to shore duty where you're not gone and back to sea and then again to shore duty. Your mileage may vary so you can't predict how things will work out for you.

 

[Uncle Fester]

But even then, not all shore duties are created equal. Some require longer days than a Fleet squadron, others the skipper wanders around at 1400 asking guys, what're you still doing here?

Bottom line us, your mileage will vary. Sea duty, you're gone from home a lot. How much and where depends on community and what your squadron happens to be doing. After your first two tours, nothing much is set in stone. Some guys are getting out and/or rolling to the Reserves, others are still climbing the ladder. There is no 'homebody' career track, if that's what you're getting at. If you want to move up, you're expected to take tough jobs; if you're not moving up, you won't be hanging around.

 

[markkyle66]

Does the use of afterburners affect your vision or impair your ability to operate at night? Sorry for being ignorant of how that works. I got curious after seeing a Super hornet light up over Ben Hill Griffen stadium week while waiting for a bus. The girl next to me asked me if it was the space shuttle, but she was hot so she gets a pass...

 

[HeyJoe]

Does the use of afterburners affect your vision or impair your ability to operate at night? Sorry for being ignorant of how that works. I got curious after seeing a Super hornet light up over Ben Hill Griffen stadium week while waiting for a bus. The girl next to me asked me if it was the space shuttle, but she was hot so she gets a pass...

From the cockpit, you're not seeing that big set of blowtorches behind you the way you see them as an observer. Reminded me of soft purple neon lights. Of course, on googles, just about any light source will blossum.

 

[yak52driver]

I was out FORM flying today, we usually 'go' to a new tac freq unless the freq is busy, the it's a 'push'. I was wondering, is that the common practice for Naval Aviators or is 'push' more commonly used for freq changes? Thanks.

 

[Pags]

I was out FORM flying today, we usually 'go' to a new tac freq unless the freq is busy, the it's a 'push'. I was wondering, is that the common practice for Naval Aviators or is 'push' more commonly used for freq changes? Thanks.

Are you just asking what the terminology is for changing freqs for a flight?

I generally push or switch. I only "go" when going to secure comms.

 

[yak52driver]

Are you just asking what the terminology is for changing freqs for a flight?

I generally push or switch. I only "go" when going to secure comms.

I'm just curious what terminology you normally use. We normally use "go" which requires the rest of the flight to acknowledge before the freq change, but if there's a lot of chatter on the freq (eg. 123.0) we might 'push' so there's no check-in before the switch, just after.

 

[A4sForever]

I can't believe what I'm readin' ... I MUST be gettin' it wrong.

When switching freqs in a formation, you actually say the word: "PUSH" ???? :icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:

You mean, today there's actually a procedural hierarchy re: which to use ... ???

I.e., whether to use 'push' or 'switch' or 'go' ... ??? :icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:

STOP !!! YOU'RE KILLIN' ME ... !!!! :icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:

 

[Uncle Fester]

Not that I ever heard. It was player's choice which word to use. Much more often "go" than the others (e.g., "Wombat flight, go Button 5"), but I never heard that there was an ALSA standard or anything.