43 NSS needed to get into Primary

It won't be so bad in the beginning groups, but things will get pretty bad by the end.

Yup, by making it an NSS minimum instead of simply a 90 or whatever required on the tests, it kind of creates a self-raising bar. If the first few classes meet the bar, the bar raises. If those classes meet the bar, it raises again. I shall henceforth refer to it as the reverse limbo.

Good luck, don't freak out, just study hard and hit the gym.

Maybe it's time to sign up for Vance so I won't be at the end of it. :-(


....or maybe not.

Won't be the last time that they will see this phenomenon in flight school

Maybe... especially if you can class up early enough before it gets bad. By the end of things in 2005, tail end charlie of the students not getting cut were getting sent to Vance anyways.

ENS pews, first I saw of that, Congrats man. Picaroon, lobster and I will be there soon. So with this rising NSS FY10 score continue for the 11 guys? I was BDCP YR 10, but I know I won't commission till FY 11. Either way A-pool guys bust it, I know I have a buddy classing up in a few weeks.

43 Or Bust

Just to be clear, it's doubtful that the actual NSS will change, just that the effort to achieve said NSS will increase over time as classes will try harder and harder to achieve it, thus driving up the average score, thus making it harder to achieve. I've attached a graph explaining.

They really should have made it 42, though.

Why not make a powerpoint presentation instead?

In effect for YG09 and YG10. Heads up for anyone coming from ROTC/Academy this spring, this could be your golden ticket out of the Navy if you so desire.

So how will that potentially effect guys that are going through or winging now? Better opportunities possibly for those that are in year groups that are undermanned?

You won't see the true effects of game-changers like a base NSS for many moons... there are too many higher order effects to accurately take into account. Plus since they just did this about 5 years ago, maybe they learned a trick or two on when to turn the spigot on and off.

Other fun ways to alleviate pipeline stress: select people straight for the VRs from primary. Have them serve a few years, then IRR. Pipeline stress alleviated! Just hope you didn't want much "A" time...

More and more, I am impressed with CNATRA as an organization. Think about it. Setting the bar at a 43 NSS rather than a 90 academic average ensures that the collective beehive of Ensigns spools up and gets their asses in gear. If you think about the overall tone of this thread, everyone is talking about doing their absolute best on every exam and PRT which is ideal anyway, right? I will readily admit that I didn't have to worry about competing to get into Primary, but back in my day as an Ensign in the T-37, only 2 of 4 Ensigns in my class made it to Intermediate. We were among the first studs to select Vance and went straight from Annapolis to Enid, totally bypassing API. So we got our asses kicked every step of the way (academics, stand up, the flight line) especially in comparison to our Air Force classmates who all flew T-3s in Colorado Springs. But we also didn't know any better. So we studied our asses off, drank like fish, and never looked back.

Planning and doing are two different things. The fact of the matter remains they are trying to cut a certain number of people over a given time. I assume it is easier to plan for that number by using NSS rather than raw test scores. The CO is right, if you're class smokes the tests and everyone makes it through, that just means your class bumped the NSS up (probably not much for 1 class) but up none the less. That means, more than the planned cuts per class later down the pipeline. BUT don't let that scare you. As long as you work as hard as you were planning on in the first place because we all know that was 100% right? You should be fine. Enjoy your time off in A-pool. Crack a book on the john if it makes you feel better, but don't burn yourself out before hand.

I'm just waiting for them to extend our orders from 3 to 4 year orders because of the past and ongoing primary backups. Thats fresh off the rumor train in SD.

You guys tease him all you want. $10 says CumminsPilot makes it through the program. Assuming he's not a COMPLETE idiot. And I have a feeling he's not.

On the plus side, once you're done getting pumped through API, you get to wait in C-Pool. Hopefully, that will be like A-Pool without all the damn stress and worrying over grades/studying/whatever. Like what A Pool used to be. You can just chill for Primary. But more than likely, some asshole will ruin it by the time I get there.

If this happens and one's YG isn't part of the deal, then just contact the head detailer VFR-direct... (saw that happen about five years ago, the infamous yet absurdly funny "Dear Captain" email).

@ all the young hard chargers out there who laughed and realized this is a terrible idea, you can consider your sarcasm meters to be calibrated within limits.


But seriously, reserve squadrons aren't always a good fit for nuggets since they are simply not accustomed to training up folks fresh out of the FRS. Not necessarily a bad fit either, but it depends a LOT on the squadron's mission.

Actually quite the contrary...the good deal is A-pool. Once you get down here to Primary or wherever you go, you should start studying right away. The guys who do well in Primary are the guys who get it quicker while the standards are lower. Everyone is getting higher grades towards the end when the standards are much higher.

As soon as you get here..EPs EPs EPs (know them verbatim)...get in the static trainers/sims as much as you can. We have had a back log for a while but things are starting to come thick and fast again. Most people are now scheduled for an event almost every day and unlike the civilian world, every flight here is essentially a checkride.

Yeah... that guy was in my squadron. He had a good amount of prior flight time and showed up to his first flight without any knowledge as to fam maneuvers - he just thought that he'd do the civilian equivalent.

Yeah, he wasn't going anywhere fast even before the email...

I think you misunderstood me. The wait after API is looking like 4+ months. And you aren't going to the TraWings, you're going to hold at NASC. Or that's the latest gouge.

Well either way, if you can snag a T-34 or T-6 pocket check list and glance over the EP's while on the pot every couple of days it will do you a lot of good.

^ That

Not really sure how much that'll help you before you take systems, maybe a little, but you're not gonna know what the hell half the things are in the EP's. To me the key to getting good at EP's was knowing where/why I was doing those things. I guess it's to each his own.

A friend of mine in told me that she had been studying EPs before starting primary (good on her!) She demonstrated her knowledge by reciting the emergency engine shutdown ep: Condition Lever...FUEL OFF. Emergency Fuel Shutoff Handle...PULL. To which I responded, "Do you know what a condition lever is?" NOPE! haha. I suppose every little bit helps anyway.

I had EPs and Notes, Warnings, Cautions memorized verbatim before classing up. Overboard? Probably. Did I really know what they meant or why I was doing them prior to systems? Not really.

But I can tell you that being able to state them verbatim on my first hop and from there on out paid dividends when the steps would just flow right off your tongue while you were simultaneously learning to fly.