Prior E to Navy Aviation via OCS - Questions

[spook907]

My husband and I are both currently enlisted linguists in the DC area. I am commissioning in May and heading to USUHS for medical school. He is separating in July to work as a contractor. We are both currently using our GI Bill for our private pilot license (approved since through a degree program). He will be able to get PPL and instrument rating before his GI Bill runs out, but probably not commercial.

He has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and a 3.1 GPA. He wants to eventually work as a commercial pilot, but the pathway is super expensive and takes time, and we can’t go with the huge pay cut he’d take if he chose not to contract (after ppl and ifr) and work as a flight instructor or something similar to gain hours/experience. He'd like to work in the military as a pilot until retirement, if it's feasible for us to be co-located.

So basically - would he be at all competitive for a Navy pilot slot? Would it be better to forego the pilot training and use the remaining GI (15 months) for a master's degree with a better GPA?

He is not getting any disability upon separating and has no medical issues. He will retain his clearance as a contractor. Any advice or input would be much appreciated.

 

[CC2224Clone]

He should focus on doing well on the ASTB. Currently, the PA-106 for aviation states that candidates can be auto-selected with a 3.0+ GPA and 7/7/7 ASTB. We haven’t seen exactly how they will execute the auto-select process, but he does have a qualifying GPA.

You mentioned feasibility of being located together. I think that may be challenging, as he will have to go where pilot training dictates for his first few years, and you will be at USUHS+rotations for 4 years. After those 4 years, if you put off residency for a GMO tour then maybe y’all could be together for that tour. But then residency would come up again. Basically, I imagine it will be really hard.

 

[spook907]

He should focus on doing well on the ASTB. Currently, the PA-106 for aviation states that candidates can be auto-selected with a 3.0+ GPA and 7/7/7 ASTB. We haven’t seen exactly how they will execute the auto-select process, but he does have a qualifying GPA.

You mentioned feasibility of being located together. I think that may be challenging, as he will have to go where pilot training dictates for his first few years, and you will be at USUHS+rotations for 4 years. After those 4 years, if you put off residency for a GMO tour then maybe y’all could be together for that tour. But then residency would come up again. Basically, I imagine it will be really hard.

Thank you!
It seems like it’ll be a nightmare for us regardless - not a lot of Russian linguist job opportunities outside of a select few areas. I appreciate the input, we’ll have to think about it quite a bit. I’ll pass along the ASTB info as well.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

My husband and I are both currently enlisted linguists in the DC area. I am commissioning in May and heading to USUHS for medical school. He is separating in July to work as a contractor. We are both currently using our GI Bill for our private pilot license (approved since through a degree program). He will be able to get PPL and instrument rating before his GI Bill runs out, but probably not commercial.

He has a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and a 3.1 GPA. He wants to eventually work as a commercial pilot, but the pathway is super expensive and takes time, and we can’t go with the huge pay cut he’d take if he chose not to contract (after ppl and ifr) and work as a flight instructor or something similar to gain hours/experience. He'd like to work in the military as a pilot until retirement, if it's feasible for us to be co-located.

So basically - would he be at all competitive for a Navy pilot slot? Would it be better to forego the pilot training and use the remaining GI (15 months) for a master's degree with a better GPA?

He is not getting any disability upon separating and has no medical issues. He will retain his clearance as a contractor. Any advice or input would be much appreciated.

Welcome to the page. Suggest your husband get an AWs and take the time to search around, there’s lots of information at his disposal.

 

[spook907]

Welcome to the page. Suggest your husband get an AWs and take the time to search around, there’s lots of information at his disposal.

Thank you - absolutely will do

 

[CC2224Clone]

Thank you!
It seems like it’ll be a nightmare for us regardless - not a lot of Russian linguist job opportunities outside of a select few areas. I appreciate the input, we’ll have to think about it quite a bit. I’ll pass along the ASTB info as well.

Of course, good luck to y’all and congrats on getting into USUHS.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

So basically - would he be at all competitive for a Navy pilot slot?

You will know once he takes the ASTB.

 

[Uncle Fester]

There are a few threads on here about mil-mil colocation, and I'm sure you've had some exposure to it during your E time.

Basically, co-lo for officers, especially JOs in training tracks, can be a nightmare. If your Mr Man gets picked up for OCS, be prepared to resign yourself to being a long-distance couple for a while. Very broadly speaking, Millington will make good faith efforts to keep couples in the same geo region, but there's not much they can do while you're in training. You go where the Navy needs you to go, full stop. It sucks, but go in mentally prepared and it's do-able.

As for flight school vs grad school in the meantime...opinions will vary. Overall, IMO I think grad school would be a better investment of his time and GI Bill. Flight training may or may not pay dividends in the long run; medical issues can crop up out of nowhere, for example, and put an end to flying in uniform or out. It's also debatable whether prior flight time helps, hurts, or is neutral in military flight training. A grad degree very seldom hurts, though, no matter what you end up doing. Language skills, military experience, and grad school makes you very marketable in a lot of diverse fields.

 

[Griz882]

I imagine that if @spook907 were to earn a flight surgeon slot after medical school that would make co-location “easier” but not a sure thing. Best wishes to you both! BTW, where are you doing your ppl training in the DC area? I used to fly out of KVKX, inside the dreaded FRZ!

 

[Flash]

Basically, co-lo for officers, especially JOs in training tracks, can be a nightmare. If your Mr Man gets picked up for OCS, be prepared to resign yourself to being a long-distance couple for a while. Very broadly speaking, Millington will make good faith efforts to keep couples in the same geo region, but there's not much they can do while you're in training. You go where the Navy needs you to go, full stop. It sucks, but go in mentally prepared and it's do-able.

I imagine that if @spook907 were to earn a flight surgeon slot after medical school that would make co-location “easier” but not a sure thing. Best wishes to you both! BTW, where are you doing your ppl training in the DC area? I used to fly out of KVKX, inside the dreaded FRZ!

I am thinking it'll be a lot easier to co-locate as a URL and a doc, as long as one isn't in a more isolated location. The Navy always seems to need docs and dentists and their duty station choices seem to be a lot more open than regular officers. Could be a scenario like being stationed in Whidbey or Oceana and the doc being stationed at a hospital at Bremerton or Norfolk, which ain't ideal but could be a lot worse.

 

[Uncle Fester]

I am thinking it'll be a lot easier to co-locate as a URL and a doc, as long as one isn't in a more isolated location. The Navy always seems to need docs and dentists and their duty station choices seem to be a lot more open than regular officers. Could be a scenario like being stationed in Whidbey or Oceana and the doc being stationed at a hospital at Bremerton or Norfolk, which ain't ideal but could be a lot worse.

Oh sure. I was thinking more about while he’s in OCS and the pipeline and she’s going through the years of school, internship, residency, etc. I know very little about how the process for new MC docs works, admittedly, but I’d imagine they spend most of their time at WRNMMC, Portsmouth, or Balboa until they’re a “full up round.” Meanwhile he’s in P’cola, K-rock, Leeeemore, whatever.

 

[IRfly]

Is the pathway to commercial pilot “super expensive?” It’ll be a pay cut, but with your pay raise it might even out.

Why does he not want to work as an instructor for a few years to build hours, then jump to the regionals? It would indeed take time, but much less time than wings+8+whatever reindeer games the detailer can play with him. And the skill is pretty transferable in terms of location, so wouldn’t need to deal with long-term separation.

What am I missing?

 

[Griz882]

Is the pathway to commercial pilot “super expensive?” It’ll be a pay cut, but with your pay raise it might even out.

Why does he not want to work as an instructor for a few years to build hours, then jump to the regionals? It would indeed take time, but much less time than wings+8+whatever reindeer games the detailer can play with him. And the skill is pretty transferable in terms of location, so wouldn’t need to deal with long-term separation.

What am I missing?

Maybe he wants to serve? Maybe they want two incomes rather than one income and one massive debt maker? I have read that it costs about $70,000 to go from nestling to First Officer complaining about management. I’d venture that DC is probably among the hardest regions to be in for time building. Maybe he just wants those sexy wings of gold.

So, your question is a good one…”What are you missing?”

 

[ea6bflyr]

Have you done any research or applied for a fully sponsored airline flight training program? That’s a cheaper way to get your license and an airline flying job.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

So basically - would he be at all competitive for a Navy pilot slot? Would it be better to forego the pilot training and use the remaining GI (15 months) for a master's degree with a better GPA?

No one can answer this until he takes the ASTB, GPA doesn't matter as long as he is above a 3.0 as the ASTB is what will determine if he is competitive or not.

The USN doesn't care if he has flight experience or not, see my above comment on the ASTB.