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Lateral Transfer from SWO to Pilot

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footin35

Registered User
I am looking for information on how to transfer from the Surface Warfare Community to Aviation. Where should I look? Who should I be talking to? When are selection boards convened? What are the chances of success?


Thanks
 

Thisguy

Pain-in-the-dick
Fellow Ensign,

Check out these two instructions:

MILPERSMAN 1212-010 and
MILPERSMAN 1131-020 (good example of the package format)

The big thing you'll need is your Skipper's Endorsement. Boards are every 6 months or so. There's one in June, but the deadline is April 2. The next will probably be in November, with a deadline of early September, I'm shooting for applying to that.

There isn't anyone you really need to "talk" to besides your CO. If you're up for orders, it's a good idea to tell your detailer your plans.

you can also check out this site, and click on transfer redesignation to see past selectees.


http://www.persnet.navy.mil/pers8/PERS-80/PERS-801/pers-801.htm
 

Steve Wilkins

Teaching pigs to dance, one pig at a time.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Man, I wouldn't expect this kind of question from a SWO! Have you no pride? Asking aviators and potential aviators for advice? I don't think you are being mentored properly. Come over to the dark side my son. Your SWO daddy'll take good care of you.

So you want to fly airplanes instead of drive ships huh or get flame sprayed by your DH? Well, can't say I blame you. Before I go any further, are you SWO qual'd yet?
 

Steve Wilkins

Teaching pigs to dance, one pig at a time.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Thisguy said:
There isn't anyone you really need to "talk" to besides your CO. If you're up for orders, it's a good idea to tell your detailer your plans.
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Like hell he doesn't. He better tell his DH and XO about this or he's gonna get screwed come time when he submits the transfer package. As for the detailer, he can back fill him.
 

Steve Wilkins

Teaching pigs to dance, one pig at a time.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
One other comment my young SWO....if you aren't intimately familiar with www.persnet.navy.mil, I suggest you start going through that link by link. That and the MILPERSMAN!
 

Thisguy

Pain-in-the-dick
Steve Wilkins said:
Like hell he doesn't. He better tell his DH and XO about this or he's gonna get screwed come time when he submits the transfer package. As for the detailer, he can back fill him.


My bad. :tapedshut
 

footin35

Registered User
I am not yet SWO qualified. My plan is to earn my SWO pin, finish my first tour, and make a decision on career path at that point in time. I have thought about several possible career paths including SWO, engineering duty, and aviation. I am simply trying to get as much info as possible on each one. I don't want to miss any steps simply because I wasn't familiar with the process.

Thanks for the web addresses. I had searched BUPERS website several times but never found the right pages.
 
My roommate on the ship is a SWO transition. The obvious point is that there are three things that matter here: fitrep, fitrep and fitrep (I exaggerate--NAMI has a say and so does Millington). Having said that, go to BUPERS when its time to talk orders and talk to folks (if you can). Also (my roommate is sitting here now), your private pilot's license doesn't hurt either.

Good luck.
 

Steve Wilkins

Teaching pigs to dance, one pig at a time.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
If he begins talking to BUPER's when it's time to talk orders, he's too late. He needs to start talking to them before that.
 

Road Program

Hangin' on by the static wicks
None
I submitted a lat transfer package for pilot and got shot down during the physical...I have an astigmatism, but I got a waiver for NFO. Anyway, you DO NOT have to wait for the lat transfer/redesig board!!! I thought this was the case. After I called the aviation detailer who takes care of this at Millington (LT Lanier...901-874-3984), he filled me in on this little tidbit. For URL to URL, they go on a continuous/rolling basis. Get your pin and have your package ready to go. I'd recommend putting in some time as a qualified SWO before you go talk to the Old Man. Of course, make sure you talk to your DH and XO first. The CO writes your endorsement, but he's going to ask your DH what kind of guy you are.

When you talk to your DH (after you get your pin) tell him/her you like the Navy and want to stay in, but feel your talents and interests could best be used in aviation. What kind of ship are you on? It helped me that I was on an amphib first so I was surrounded by pilots all the time.

Your fitrep isn't quite as important as some make it out to be. Unless you consistently fall below average, you have nothing to worry about. Important things are your undergrad GPA and ASTB. In my case my first ASTB wasn't so great, so the aviation detailer advised me that I might want to take it again. I did, and I did a lot better. In a bitter twist of irony, I nailed the PFAR part and stayed the same on FOAR. Go figure...stupid left eye of mine.

If you still need help with the package, drop me an email or pm me (don't remember if my email is public) and I'll send you a sanitized copy of package...I'm too lazy to go to the bupers site right now and find those instructions. They are indeed there, though.
 

snatoswo

Registered User
This should get some interesting feedback...so here it goes.
I started off my career as a student naval aviator (sna) and after completing up to my last RI flight in Primary, I downed the check flight twice and was therefore attrited. Since the Navy is currently releasing nonqualified JO's in great numbers, I had to fight like hell and was told by BUPERS I had received the last SWO spot, after initailly being told I was going GenAv then eventually going to be released from the military. I am currently a designated SWO and expect to receive my pin in the next 3 months. I am planning on reapplying to Aviation once again. I know the common and quickest answer to give is that it cannot be done or the only path I can now tread would be that of NFO. However, if I had believed that after I attrited year ago and stopped making phone calls, e-mails, etc., I would now be out of the military and a civilian like many of my counterparts. I know it can be done and I know someitmes it takes being in the right place or who you know. I understand I will have to take different avenues, than the normal lateral transfer process may dictate, to again be a pilot. I am asking anyone out there if they'd have any direction or POC's that I can pursue. I definitely have unfinished business and won't let the hiccup I sustained a week before I was to select, write my final chapter in the aviation community. I am positive I have the support of my COC in pursing this. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
 

Road Program

Hangin' on by the static wicks
None
I'm pretty sure you're going to need a letter from CNATRA to get back in, but it's not impossible. Talk to the new student detailer in Millington to see how that works. My roommate is also a fallen angel, and when he called Millington they said that transfer back into aviation from SWO are just like any other lat transfer...i.e. they don't hold your past against you.

Best of luck!

p.s. It helps if you wear white socks at work every day.
 

UncleFester

Hummer NFO To Be Reckoned With
Sna - Swo - Snfo - Nfo

I had a somewhat similar experience... I punched out of the SNA program during primary in anticipation of being attrited. Just recognized it wasn't in the cards and decided I didn't want to go through a bunch more boards being called a dirtbag. I was a dirtbag, btw; didn't have the discipline or the airmanship chops. Anyway, I digress. Went SWO, as this was back in the day when that was more or less automatic, did a tour on a frigate out of San Diego. Wasn't too long before I realized that, while I like being in the Navy, there was no way in hell I wanted the pain of Sworrior life. So I started looking into coming back to the light.
Here was my experience:
1. Success depends mostly on how badly they need pilots or NFOs when you apply. Crappy, but true.
2. For fallen angels, you can't get back in as a pilot if you've DORed or attrited (at least by the regs - anything's waiverable), but you can apply to come back as an NFO. No formal waiver process, just acknowledge in your application that you are applying for readmission. The language is in the MILPERSMAN.
3. Millington won't even talk to you until you have your SWO pin. Getting it as fast as possible (I got mine in 13 months) shows you're a hard-charger.
4. CO endorsement is a big factor, but a good fitrep trumps a subsequent wishy-washy endorsement. The aviation detailers can see through a buzzkill captain. Fortunately, my captain was pretty good about it.
5. You don't necessarily have to talk to your dept head or XO about it. There's no requirement for their endorsement. It depends on your XO and dept head - my dept head was a great guy, so I talked to him about it a lot. XO was a bunghole, so I kinda skipped him.
6. Doing some civilian flight training is a good thing. I did a few flights through the North Island Aero Club. Shows you're serious and you know what the aviation environment is like, and in my case, that I'd gotten over my flying jitters. However, getting your license isn't necessary.
7. Have a back-up plan. I was penciled in for orders to a destroyer in Mayport. But DON'T wait until you're up for orders before dropping your package. If you take ship orders and your package is subsequently accepted, you're stuck with your new ship for at least a year.
8. Bug the hell out of Millington once you send in your package. Otherwise it'll get buried on some O-4's desk. There's no board - the head of aviation detailing just looks through your package and says yay or nay, and if he gives the thumbs-up, it's just a matter of how soon you can seperate from the ship and be on your way to Sunny Pensacola.
I got the nod in July, was off the ship in September (gonged over the side on Sept 10, 2001... I was on the road and didn't listen to the radio all the next day; didn't know anything had happened until I stopped for the night around midnight), started Primary in October.
It can be done... just gotta show you're serious about it...
 
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