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The "right" reason to become an NFO

J

Johnny_Danger

Registered User
I know everyone has their own reasons for doing things so there really isn't a right or wrong reason but I am hoping to rely on the experience of NFOs in this board with their opinions.

I am a civilian, non-prior, no family members ever served. So I don't know much about the military lifestyle. I'm already 28 years old so I've grown "comfortable" in living a civilian life and yet I have had a life long urge to serve.

I've loved airplanes since I've been a kid and the only exposure civilians get to airplanes are pilots. We only know what pilots do and we have no idea what NFO's do except from what we read. So when we think about the excitement of airplanes and the military, we think of pilots.

Having said all that, again, I want to serve in the military. I want to honorably wear the uniform of a US Navy officer. But at the same time I also want a career which I am interested in. I want to be launched off an aircraft carrier. I want the excitment of the aviation world.

Sounds like I want to be a pilot doesn't it? Well, if I can't get my age waiver for pilot, then I guess the ultimate question is:

Do the duties/lifestyle of an NFO and pilot crossover enough so that if I do not get pilot, that going NFO would still be similar?
 
P

puck_11

Growler LSO
pilot
Sounds like the right reasons to me. Talk to an officer recruiter and get a package in. Good Luck!!
 
J

Johnny_Danger

Registered User
Hi... thanks for the link. I've actually read that thread...

I guess the thing is that I love driving a sports car down a long windy road. I like to be in control and therefore I think I would like to be pilot.

But, how can I pass up the chance of sitting in the back of an F-18, or even any other airframe getting slung off a carrier, even if I'm NOT in control? Is that enough reason to want to go NFO? Or should I have a desire to handle radar systems and electronic warfare systems as well?
 
fc2spyguy

fc2spyguy

loving my warm and comfy 214 blanket
pilot
Contributor
Ok, my answer is probably going to be a little odd although I think it paralles with what you're asking yourself. When I joined the Navy I wanted to work on computers. I absolutely loved working on them as a kid and figured why the hell not right? So, my recruiter said I could work on electronics and computers as an FC with the added bonus of we get to blow sh!t up. I said sign me up. Well, the computers I worked on were nothing like what I expected, and certainly were nothing like anything I had ever seen before. However, the work was fun the people I worked with were the greatest and the experiences I had could not have happened anywhere else. The leadership in the Navy is some of the finest as well as the people working for you. I would be willing to be that the same is true for someone who is considering NFO. Like I said different situations, but I think the parallels are there. If not tell me to shut up and I'll carry on smartly :D
 
JD81

JD81

FUBIJAR
pilot
You've got the right reason's. I asked myself the same questions when I was putting my choices for selection. First was pilot, second was NFO. Who doesn't want to be a pilot? But just like you said, if all you want to do is fly, like I do, how could you not pass up the back seat of a super hornet? I've always wanted to serve before anything, but just like you I want a career I will fall in love with, which is flying. The moment I stepped into the NRD in Seattle and saw all the artifacts on the walls and desks, and talked with the officers there, it sealed my fate, I knew this is what I HAD to do.

Good Luck!!

Josh
 
fccpopeye

fccpopeye

Registered User
J_D:

I am sorry to tell you this but your age is going to keep you out of the aviation side. Max age at time of commissioning for both is 27. :(

FCCS
 
I

ip568

Registered User
None
It's a rush, no doubt about it. But very tiring. Besides flying a full schedule, you'll also be a branch/division officer, coffee mess officer the first six months in your squadron, morale officer, and whatever else you're assigned. The flying is very technical in the buttonology involved plus tactics, weapon, nav, ASW, etc. When you make mission commander, the entire flight is your responsibility. Another benefit: travel. VP/P-3s go EVERYWHERE, and you take your own airplane. Some days you'll spend at the squadron, writing enlisted evals or working on the op plan or working with your chief to fix a problem in your division. 12 hours later you'll be hanging over a moonlit sea at 20,000 feet, dropping a sono pattern and listening for a Russian or Chinese sub. Or you'll be on the beach in places you'd only read about.

You fly when and where you are needed. Between deployments you get a less strenuous 18/6. On deployment (in VP, anyway), you will hit the NATOPS spin cycle: on 18, off 18, for weeks or months at a time, with a rare day off. You lose track of the days.

The NFO designation was created in 1968 from what had been the Aviation Observer designation. It's beena long haul for the Navy to make the NFO equal to the NA. It wasn't until 1974 that NFOs could command. The first NFO VADM happened around 1985.

p-3c_small.jpg
 
Steve Wilkins

Steve Wilkins

Teaching pigs to dance, one pig at a time.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
ip568 said:
Besides flying a full schedule, you'll also be a branch/division officer, coffee mess officer the first six months in your squadron, morale officer, and whatever else you're assigned.
Click to expand...
Please tell me you're joking. Tell me you aren't serious that guys get assigned to BS jobs like this.

ip58 said:
It's beena long haul for the Navy to make the NFO equal to the NA.
Click to expand...
Equal? When did this happen? I thought the food chain went something like this....SWO, NA, NFO....kidding...kidding

What I meant was...SWO, NFO, NA...right?
 
FlyingBeagle

FlyingBeagle

Registered User
pilot
So BNs and all other non pilot aviation officers were observers? What caused the change, where did these AO's come from back then, and what do AOs do now?
 
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