Marine Corps Career

[kacraven]

I'm a sophomore in college - hoping to fly helo's - specifically the -53. I talked to an OSO a couple weeks ago and the career path he laid out seemed a little too good to be true - thought I'd come here for some confirmation.
Basically he said if I wanted to just do 6 years and get out it would go something like this:
2 3-year flying tours, deploying approximately 7 months on, 11 months off
According to him - I could take a B-Billet whenever I wanted to? So, for example, if my wife was pregnant I could take a shore-based B-Billet for a year or so then go back to flying.
This sounds like a little bit too good of a deal - anybody want to clarify this?

 

[teabag53]

Your OSO has no idea what the deployment cycle might be by the time you would hit the fleet...neither do I or anybody else. Anybody that says they do is talking out thier ass. Also, be mindful that your service obligation-clock as a pilot starts when you get winged - not when you get commissioned.

You don't have a lot of say in exactly when you get a B-billet. You certainly won't get one before you're an Aircraft Commander in R/W (somebody else can talk to fixed wing) and even then it is based on the needs of the Marine Corps but your previous deployments and street cred DO factor in.

 

[Birdog8585]

Yup too good, which means that you probably understood him wrong an/or what teabag said.

Here's what's most likely:
OCS - 10 weeks
TBS - 6 months
IFS - 1-2 Months
Flight School 1.5 - 2 years
THEN your 6 or 8 year stint/obligation begins after you earn your wings
FRS - time/situation dependent (3-6mos?) METT-T

All of the above is training command except maybe the FRS (somebody chime in).

After you get to your squadron then yes, you will most likely be in a flying billet for about 3 or so years. Typically you'll do a ground tour after that for about the same amount of time depending on the billet. But just because your wife gets pregnant does not mean you go straight to flying a desk instead.

And as always, make sure you do you're homework and really want to be a Marine first. I'm getting the sense that you just want to fly. If that's the case, try the USAF it might be a bit more conducive to what you want.

Our mighty search engine turned up this --> http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143460&highlight=b-billet

 

[whitesoxnation]

I've been meaning to ask this question for a while, and the title "Marine Corps Career" seems appropriate. What are the opportunities for post graduate education? When/where do they occur? I've seen another thread but it was mostly Navy related.

 

[phrogpilot73]

What are the opportunities for post graduate education? When/where do they occur? I've seen another thread but it was mostly Navy related.

The Marine Corps will expect you to complete your PME as required for your grade in a timely manner (EWS/Command & Staff). Outside of that is either on your own using TA/GI Bill Top-Up or applying for and getting selected for NPS/Grad School. Resident Grade School, since it's not on the normal career path may hamper your chances of promotion.

If it was me - after you've settled into the squadron, start working on your Masters on your own. There are some very good distance education programs that base education offices will have the lowdown on. It'll sting for a bit, but you get the degree YOU want, and it will look like you're the "team player" the USMC is looking for.

 

[Birdog8585]

Leave on ROIDS...

...and then there is this new Navy option.

http://www.military.com/news/articl...r-intermission-plan-launched.html?ESRC=dod.nl

:crazy_125

 

[kacraven]

After you get to your squadron then yes, you will most likely be in a flying billet for about 3 or so years. Typically you'll do a ground tour after that for about the same amount of time depending on the billet. But just because your wife gets pregnant does not mean you go straight to flying a desk instead.

Ok so basically the first six years after wings are 3 years in the fleet then 3 years in some sort of ground billet? Is that what a B-billet is? Sorry if these questions seem sort of ignorant - just trying to get a clear picture of what I'm signing up for.

 

[Birdog8585]

Ok so basically the first six years after wings are 3 years in the fleet then 3 years in some sort of ground billet? Is that what a B-billet is? Sorry if these questions seem sort of ignorant - just trying to get a clear picture of what I'm signing up for.

Yes, b-billet could be a 'ground' tour. There are a number of different b-billets - FAC, OSO, Flight Instructor, OSA, FRS, MOI, TBS, OCS, etc.

FAC - Forward air controller
OSO - Officer Selection Officer (Officer Recruiter)
MOI - Marine Officer Instructor (NROTC Marine instructor)
FRS - Fleet Replacement Squadron (instructor)
OSA - Operational support aircraft (Fly the Generals)

 

[vick]

Generally your first b-billet though, while you're still pretty young, is more like a year - they want to get you back to the fleet to keep building MOS cred. Most common b-billets for that year are FAC tours and EWS (resident PME). There are longer b-billet tours that could happen, but there are fewer of them at that stage of your career.

So typical progression during your initial contract goes:
fleet squadron (~3 years)
b-billet (~1 year)
fleet squadron/RAG IP/CNATRA IP (~3 years)

Typically the suckier a b-billet you pony up to the more say you'll have in your second flying gig, but there are a lot of variables at play and most of them are beyond your control.

Lastly, if you want to be a Marine and you want to be a pilot don't let anyone dissuade you. I wanted both and I wasn't embarrased to admit it, the Corps needs folks that are dedicated to being both. Guys get too wrapped around the "Marine first" axle. You just have to ask yourself, if the pilot part falls out of the equation somewhere down the road would you still be motivated - if not this probably isn't the route for you.

A new adjutant checked into the battalion I did my FAC tour with. The CO takes one look at him and says, "So how was flight school?" That guy was not motivated and life got pretty tough for him. It was pretty clear that he was reduced to counting down the days until the ground contract he reverted to ran out.

 

[Swanee]

Generally your first b-billet though, while you're still pretty young, is more like a year - they want to get you back to the fleet to keep building MOS cred. Most common b-billets for that year are FAC tours and EWS (resident PME). There are longer b-billet tours that could happen, but there are fewer of them at that stage of your career.

So typical progression during your initial contract goes:
fleet squadron (~3 years)
b-billet (~1 year)
fleet squadron/RAG IP/CNATRA IP (~3 years)

Typically the suckier a b-billet you pony up to the more say you'll have in your second flying gig, but there are a lot of variables at play and most of them are beyond your control.

Lastly, if you want to be a Marine and you want to be a pilot don't let anyone dissuade you. I wanted both and I wasn't embarrased to admit it, the Corps needs folks that are dedicated to being both. Guys get too wrapped around the "Marine first" axle. You just have to ask yourself, if the pilot part falls out of the equation somewhere down the road would you still be motivated - if not this probably isn't the route for you.

A new adjutant checked into the battalion I did my FAC tour with. The CO takes one look at him and says, "So how was flight school?" That guy was not motivated and life got pretty tough for him. It was pretty clear that he was reduced to counting down the days until the ground contract he reverted to ran out.

I was told by my company XO at OCS (a C-130 guy) that FAC tours don't count as a B-Billet anymore because they are only 1 year tours, not 1.5-2 years as is required of a B-billet.

 

[vick]

Swanee, admittedly it's been a few years since I did my FAC tour, but something in what your XO told you doesn't add up. Things may have changed a little since then, but I don't know that there is a "requirement" for b-billet tour length. There were guys who did 9 month FAC tours, I did a 12 month tour, and still others who ended up doing 18 months. Nothing is set in stone, it really depends what line you are filling and how it shakes down. As far as the monitor is concerned, FAC tours present the biggest demand on Company grade O's followed by resident EWS (10 month long program) - so that's where most people go. Maybe what he was talking about had something to do with IA tours?

The whole point of your first out-of-the-cockpit tour is to build you into a MAGTF officer, expand your perspective beyond your MOS and put you somewhere where other MOSs will benefit from your perspective & knowledge. But they can't keep you out of your MOS too long, they need to get you back to the squadron to keep building your quals and fill seats for senior CGOs on MEUs.

 

[kacraven]

Thanks for all the info! Couple follow up questions -

Anybody know the current deployment cycle for -53's? Or -22's for that matter?

What if I get NPQ'd? How much choice do i get in my MOS assignment? I was checking the list of possible Marine officer MOS's - some look really cool/interesting - almost enough to make me go for a ground contract .. others not so much ...

 

[jamnww]

Thanks for all the info! Couple follow up questions -

Anybody know the current deployment cycle for -53's? Or -22's for that matter?

What if I get NPQ'd? How much choice do i get in my MOS assignment? I was checking the list of possible Marine officer MOS's - some look really cool/interesting - almost enough to make me go for a ground contract .. others not so much ...

As was stated earlier, even if you knew what the current cycle was like for a -53 Pilot it wouldn't help you down the road when you actually hit the fleet because it will be completely different.

That said, the cycle completely depends which coast you are on and what specific squadron you get, oh yeah and what quals you have.

 

[Uncle Fester]

If you're looking for predictability and stability at home, the Marines are the last place you want to go.

Navy aviators rotate between sea (deploying) and shore billets on a regular basis; i.e., you go to Sea for 36 months, then to Shore for 33 months, etc. Once you're in that billet, you stay there until your rotation date, maybe +/- a couple of months depending on deployment and when your next job needs you to show up. And you know where you're going next (as far as squadron/shore/school/staff), when you need to be there and how long you'll be there.

Judging by the Marines I work with here in P'cola, you're pretty much at the mercy of the Corps' whims and needs as to when you go to a new job and you're liable to get yanked off to do something else much earlier than you planned. The guys I work with seem to have no real idea where they'll be going next or when. It does give them a much more Zen, be-here-now approach than the Navy guys, but I'm not sure that's so much an advantage. They might know what they're up for, or what they need to do career-wise (e.g., "I haven't done a FAC tour yet, so I bet I'll be going at some point"), but that's it.

Marines, is that an accurate impression?

 

[kacraven]

Thanks for the info! Yeah I realize any career in the military is going to have a lot of unpredicatability in it .. I'm not too worried about it .. keeps things interesting .. I was just looking for a ballpark figure on the deployment cycles - because I honestly have no idea. Is it closer to 7 on, 5 off? 7 on 11 off? I realize it'll probably change a lot by the time I get there - just curious.

Also - if I do 'stab myself in the eye' at TBS, how much choice do I get in my MOS?