Just marines, takes 4 weeks to complete but there’s a pre-NIFE and post-NIFE section. The post-NIFE section is meant as primary prep with simulators, learning T-6 EPs, limits, etc, with the guys that are already primary complete and waiting to go onto intermediates or advanced.
This sounds like a beefed-up version of a somewhat informal program MATSG-22 in Corpus Christi had around the time I got there to go through VT-35. The idea was to learn broad strokes of systems, get boldface and limits down cold, and some checklist familiarization with the static sims. It was maybe 2 weeks of material at the most and not really something that could attrite you, although I'm sure the MOC OIC there could have made it happen if an SNA chose to have a bad attitude about it.
Damn, 2 for 2 with my last squadron. I miss the flying and the ready room (for the most part), but explains why I was so much less stressed when I left to do other things.
In my experience, this is spot on. There were squadrons I was in that had a reasonable man approach to working hours and crew rest. But yet there were others who had hardo's in leadership who insisted that crew rest didn't apply in a reasonable man fashion, like insisting you show up to a 9 AM AOM after landing at 3 in the previous morn.
It’s a pendulum. Every couple of years someone fucks up and they clamp down. When I was at API we all dicked off so hard people got in trouble for shooting endangered birds on private property at 10:30 am on a Tuesday or some shit
On deployment we had the offgoing ready do FOD walkdown, and ask long as you were getting your shit done and ahead on PQS we didn't care what you did with your time since the sked was all over the place. On homecycle it was a loose 8-3 for the same reasons.