Curious. Are Coast Guard Aviators, as part of their career progression, eligible to do a tour as an IP at Whiting or Corpus teaching primary students? Or once you get to the Coast Guard side of the house, do you pretty much stay there? Thanks in advance.
There are Coast Guard IPs at the Primary VTs and HTs in Whiting as well as at the advanced VTs in Corpus.
^That. One of the Whiting VT CO jobs belongs to a Coast Guard Commander every other tour as well. There are also IP jobs at ATC Mobile teaching transition courses for most of the airframes we fly.
Yea, don't know how it is in the other services, but getting a Whiting or Corpus IP job is pretty easy. It's really not the best thing for progressing your career although I'm sure it's a great tour! Now getting an ATC Mobile instructor job is typically much more challenging and does help your career progression.
I'll be interested to see how your statement bears out over the next 5 years or so. Some of the more solid pilots have been select/direct to the VT/HTs...I'm not sure it's as bad a career move as it used to be....but time will tell.
I truly do hope it changes, Brunes, but because of how our OER system is set up and promotes aviators on how many collateral projects they do instead of how devoted they are to becoming great pilots, I just don't see it happening. It's just a sad truth that you don't get good OER's while you are at the VT/HTs and promotion/selection boards won't put much weight into the assignment until our organizational perspective on aviators changes.
I do agree with your view on the OER system. The front office down here is certainly trying to focus us more on flying and getting flying into our OERs...but that is just one AirSta. There are some senior folks who are on board with getting back to being professional aviators first but again...Until everyone is together with that...Could be a long uphill type of ordeal.
But, you get a butt-load of hours in the VT's and HT's, and you get to fly with some of the finest folks in the services...I would not trade this tour for anything.
Now getting an ATC Mobile instructor job is typically much more challenging and does help your career progression... That is a funny, funny statement...
Bump. I just had a few questions about Coast Guard Aviation. What about the Engineering side of aviation? Does the Station EO/Assistant EO get to fly as much as an OPS Boss? I'm hoping to get flight school out of the Academy, but I think it'd be a good experience to maybe do the Patrol Boat thing in Bahrain if I don't get picked up right out of school. Would you think that that's a bad move?
Engineering is like it's own union. Once you have a seat at the table- You are set for a decent career barring any mistakes. The EO can determine how much he wants to/can afford to fly. My last EO was a primary IP for the unit and flew the lion share of the test flights, plus standing a regular duty rotation. The new EO is not yet an IP, but flies a lot of test flights and stands duty. Our AEO is an IP for the unit and flies a fair bit. Larger and/or special purpose units (Atlantic CIty, Elizabeth City, ATC Mobile, HITRON, any Dual Airframe station) I see the potential that the EO/AEO flying less due to the increased work load and special missions requirements. The following is personal opinion and should not be construed as "good advice" or "the way"...I've got some great input from a lot of folks on it and I have my own opinions. Just putting it out there. As far as getting a XO tour- I would not recommend it. That's 4 years of developing one skill set @ 20kts...and then starting over learning new stuff at 120kts. It also puts you up against some time constraints for promotion. 2 years first tour, 2 years XO tour, 2 years (or so) flight school. So you show up at the Air Sta as a LT copilot. So then you need to qualify in the aircraft(~1.5-2 years), and hope to get a dept head job in that same time so your OERs are set to compete for LCDR. Not to say it's NOT doable...It's just more work and it can short you out of flying down the line (staff tours, grad school etc) and put you behind your classmates in terms of qualification (You'll see guys as second tour AC's while you are a CP).
So doing an Ops/XO tour in Bahrain would be a bad move for flight school because of timing. got it. Do you have to have an engineering degree to do the EO track? And could you still go to ATC or Pensacola and be an IP for a tour? That'd be neat. Really hoping to get flight school straight out of the Academy, but it's fine if I don't as long as I get there. I'm just not getting my hopes up for flight school since Admiral Papp seems pretty determined to get everyone in my class to a cutter. They've even started sending some of the ENS to 110's. What kind of cutter were you at before you went to flight school? I know it doesn't matter for flight school selection, but what cutters would you say to avoid?
Again-The boat jobs thing is my opinion. There are a couple guys at my air sat right now who are working thru the same growing pains I put up before. It is entirely possible to do...just not the ideal situation. You do not need an engineering degree to get into the AVENG track. It will be helpful- but does not require it...They teach you everything you need to know and then send you to grad school after that. I went to a 210' in St Pete, FL. A flight dec equipped cutter will give you some insight into 65 life. A cutter home-ported near an air sta will give you come opportunity to get "into" the life of a pilot. But the most important thing is to apply yourself and do your best to excel at everything you get tasked with to get good OERs to get picked up for Aviation (if you have to go to a boat...) There is no type of boat that will give you a better shot at flight school that I know of.
Well, I am going to disagree with Brunes here. Doing OPS/XO on a cutter is not a bad thing at all. Think of it this way, you go to the O-4 board as an aircraft commander with years of minor jobs and maybe getting a year as a department head in admin or supply. Or having the fact that you were an OPS boss or XO on a cutter, designation as a first pilot bypassing many of the more menial junior pilot jobs and even possibly getting a department head position going before the board? Having that shipboard leadership behind you is a good thing in most cases. I have a few friends who went that exact route and are currently air station COs. The promotion boards understand if you are not as far a long in your aviation career as your peers if there is a reason you were delayed. As for going engineer, you can apply no matter what your degree is in and you have just as good of a chance. BUT once you go engineering your path is pretty much determined until about the O5 level. You won't be going to ATC or Pensacola as an IP. One pilot did do that a few years ago, permanently banishing himself from the engineering program. I don't think it will be happening again any time soon. It was pretty ugly.
Air Station Kodiak rescues 11 KODIAK, Alaska - Kodiak-based Coast Guard and emergency medical personnel transfer a fishing vessel Kimberly survivor from a rescue helicopter to an ambulance Jan. 25, 2012. The Kimberly went aground in Portage Bay with four people aboard. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Charly Hengen. 120125-G-RS249-003-Kimberly Rescue
