Was flying for the Navy/Marines worth it?

[hooflys]

Pags, that almost (I said, „almost“!) makes me want to go back to the boat. Anyway, I’ll delve. Medicine, aviation, really anything, people are what matter. Taking care of your people is what matters. In that regard, I would argue you may be able to see the immediacy of your efforts better as a doctor; however, thats after a long road in med school, and as folks have said, there’s still a chance for that after some time on the sticks. And man, flying is good medicine. However, if I were to do it all over again, I’d probably scoot my ass over to the CG and do everything I could to get to a helo. Blasphemy? Maybe. But the few weeks I spent working in their wheelhouse was some of most rewarding time in my flying career. But that’s me, I’m not as carnivorous as some of these bomb slinging badasses; I like to take shit to people that need it and the idea of pulling people out of bad situations. As a helo bro, it seems the CG offers that in spades. That said, the peak of my career, the moment of which I am most proud, wasn’t in the cockpit anyway, it was as a divo. And you’ll have the opportunity to positively impact your sailors in any community.

Anyway, if you haven’t read it, check out a book called „When Breathe Becomes Air“. The dude is insightful (and the story tragic), but as I read I realized that while I was jealous of the impact the author had on patient‘s lives, the academic nature of it isn’t for me (nor are the hours). Aviation may offer a nice compromise between altruism and awesome.

Bottom line, would I do it again? Bet your ass. If nothing else for the the friends I’ve made along the way.

Good luck.

 

[Caesium]

It is, but it's not for everyone. For every awesome experience there was a not so awesome experience (mostly). But overall it was my goal and what I set out to accomplish from the beginning.

Would you mind elaborating on the not so awesome stuff?

 

[Pags]

Pags, that almost (I said, „almost“!) makes me want to go back to the boat.

Agreed! I was surprised as how much of my reflections were boat related, but some of that might be because it was my last tour and the experiences are more recent. Also, for whatever reason the boat is a very unique experience that not many others in the military or civilian will experience. Still, no desire to go back to the boat!

 

[xj220]

Would you mind elaborating on the not so awesome stuff?

It's a lot of work. A LOT of work. You get used to long days and studying on the weekends. When you get back from a flight you usually have a report to write, plus academics and a test to study for and prep for another flight the next day. Another flight that you'll probably have to write another report on. It's very challenging but you learn some cool things and you get to have some amazing experiences.

 

[Slingblade]

Yes very rewarding. The quoted emails are just some I received over the years and are the reasons why.

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued hard work and support. Your contributions of Gee-Dunk sodas, etc have done great things for our morale down at patrol bases XXX and XXX. The Marines joke around at times and say they have been forgotten when we run low on chow and water, but you have greatly diminished those thoughts.
Your presence on the battlefield instills great confidence in the Marines and Sailors. They know as long as you are there, they will be okay. The steady beat of your rotors is a very motivating sound. By far the most motivated I have seen our Marines was XX XXX. We had three squads in contact and we had taken a casualty. A mixed section came on station and as usual the enemy went to ground. The enemies fear of you is palpable. The casevac bird landed about 300 meters long and at that point, the enemy fired upon them and the Marines loading the casualty. The section quickly assessed the situation and suit cased the attack. All that was left for me was to clear them "hot". A tremendous cheer erupted from the Marines as the rockets and guns found their mark The enemy fire was silenced. The casevac bird was able to depart and our squads maneuvered under the overwatch that you provided. We are just as frustrated as you by the restrictive Rules of Engagement and the tactics of our elusive enemy. And for the Marines to see the accuracy and devastation of your weapons first hand caused our morale to soar. So thanks again and know that your efforts and hard work are greatly appreciated by us down here. Keep giving them hell.
Semper Fidelis

Please, tell your entire squadron thank you from all of us at India 3/6! From the pilots to the maintainers if all hands on your end hadn’t been doing there job I have no doubt I would be calling for angel flights today. Instead I have some wounded but no one who wont be ready to engage again in a couple months. We have 7 fixed sites and took heavy contact at 5 of them today. Your Marines answered the call and were spot on in their support.

You and I both know the incredible rush the grunts feel when that helo comes in and opens up on an enemy position. Today you and your Marines were our saviors repeatedly answering our calls for support. From all of us here at Mustang 3/6 to all hands at Dealer/HMLA 369 thank you and I look forward to buying you all a beer should we run into each other under better circumstances. In the meantime WE are YOUR Biggest fans and appreciate all you and your Marines are doing.


Semper Fidelis,

India 3/6

Mustang 6 sends

Gunfighters,

Private Crossman from Lima Company 3/7 came by today to thank the Dealer crews who saved his machine gun team’s lives on 18 September (Election Day). He can tell the story much better than I, but he jumped on a bus looking for our squadron’s spaces just to say “thank you”. I invited him to come by tomorrow and to bring his team with him. I told him we would show them the aircraft and we wanted to take pictures with them. For all of the maintainers who made that support possible I really hope that you get the opportunity to talk to him and his team and If any of the crews are around who supported that unit that day I promise you that his handshake is worth the time out of your day. I told him that our crews on either shift would be happy to show them around.

So if you see a team of tired, warriors in trashed cammies, wandering around tomorrow … scoop them up and give them the royal treatment. They are truly VIPs. If I’m here I’ll make sure we get their photo but if it’s prior to my shift I’d like to ask the AM shift to capture the moment.

 

[sevenhelmet]

^Now THAT'S cool! One downside of the Boat is that we almost never get the chance to get that kind of face-to-face with the troops on the ground.

 

[MAKE VAPES]

The bads... Black Assed Night traps in marginally up jets. Stripped wires. Maintenance department that cares more about sorties than safety. Bouncing wheels off scuppers at night. Fitrep 500 induced back stabbing. Boats that can't get deck ops satisfactory on cruise, .5 late launches on your recovery, .7 late recoveries. Seeing a deck still stacked aft at 3 nm tip over and knowing they could have held the recovery another 4 minutes. Being beat breaking the deck due to simple bad timing.

It was all worth it. Knowing you'll have to do things you abhor, and some that downright scare the crap out of you builds character... they need to be done.

 

[Slingblade]

It was all worth it. Knowing you'll have to do things you abhor, and some that downright scare the crap out of you builds character... they need to be done.

Exactly. People always say oh that must have been a blast or that must be fun. Not the right word. I always say it's rewarding. Plenty of things that suck but it's all part of it. True with anything that's worth doing. If it was all easy and fun I think everyone would do it. Lot of it I didn't particularly enjoy in the moment but I look back on it quite fondly now.

 

[Pags]

Yes very rewarding. The quoted emails are just some I received over the years and are the reasons why.

Gunfighter Salute!

 

[jtmedli]

I'll chime in and say that, overall, it has been a good thing. There are definitely very good reasons that people leave whether it be to go to another service or a civilian job. It's not all sunshine and roses and there's A LOT more to it than the flying and the further you go along in this business, the less it's about the flying. As long as you keep that stuff in mind when you make that leap, then you'll be ok.

Goods:
-Flying across the country numerous times in various A/C
-JOPA only Doors-off TERF flight at 75' through some sweet terrain out west to teach the youngins how to land in the dirt.
-Working with great people who will work their fingers to the bone to get an A/C up by sunrise tomorrow
-Getting treated like a Rock Star at Fleet Week, NY

Bads:
-FITREP induced back-stabbing
-14+ hour days because I had to fly a grade card and then come back to some BS paperwork issue that can't get done because the computers don't work.
-Dealing with the military bureaucracy just to get simple things done.
-Pitch black nights at 150' in a raging thunderstorm on goggles when the AFCS/Alt Hold decides to shit the bed.

That said, having a winged aviator get picked up for med school and become a flight doc or whatever isn't unheard of. I know of 2 cases of it. I'm sure there's more so going to med school after flight school is a real possibility.

 

[DocT]

Would you mind elaborating on the not so awesome stuff?

Everybody touched on the work hours, standard military/bullshit etc. I'll say my worst days have come from the death of friends. If you stay long enough you'll know someone.

The highs are so high because the lows are so goddamn low.

 

[Gatordev]

-FITREP induced back-stabbing

Yuck. I just haven't seen this, but don't doubt it's out there. The one specific case I did see was easily quashed by JOPA (and as it turns out, but other contempories through "his" career). Within NAVAIR, I just have hard time imagining JOPA letting that stand. I lived through some painful times, but I guess I was lucky that at least that wasn't a reality.

 

[xj220]

Everybody touched on the work hours, standard military/bullshit etc. I'll say my worst days have come from the death of friends. If you stay long enough you'll know someone.

The highs are so high because the lows are so goddamn low.

Some communities more than others, but I have friends all over naval aviation. I know classmates from the Academy and others who have died in mishaps. And in other instances, if I didn't know them I have friends who were close to them. Don't kid yourself, it may seem glamorous at times but there's a price to pay and it's steep. I had a friend tell me directly that he was getting out and not flying anymore because he was tired of losing friends. Granted, he was a Navy -53E pilot but the message is the same. Here's a quote to keep in mind:

Two things are guaranteed in (Naval) Aviation: you walk to the aircraft knowing it's your last time or you walk to your aircraft not knowing it's the last time.

 

[Swanee]

At the end of your commitment for flying for the Navy/Marines, do you think it was worth it?

What were some of the other career paths you considered?

What was the peak experience of your career?

Right now I am a premed who has a good shot of getting into med school. But I think I would always regret it if I didn't go for a pilot slot and try to fly for the military.

It was worth it. I'd do it again, even with the same result.

Peak experiences? They all revolve around getting paid to fly with some of my best friends.:

1) First T-34C solo- first time signing an A sheet and being trusted with an airplane that the taxpayers own.
2) CCX to Key West with an IP who ended up becoming one of my best friends.
3) Flying my form solo (Ramrod flight) with a guy who I would later be in his wedding. We still laugh about it to this day.
4) Flying the clown jet on a crystal clear moonless night in South Texas on a night fam solo during a meteor shower. I was following another great friend, with an IP chasing us. We played trivia over Tac, then debriefed our scores over beers at the oclub.
5) Flying the clown jet with a guy who was instrumental in getting me to fly for the military. Another great friend.
6) Mid-stage bouncing with, again, my friends, debriefing with the LSOs over beer and shots. (We were invincible back then)
7) Boat.
8) Flying a single seat grey jet for the first time- I don't think I stopped smiling. The PC made fun of me.
9) Low levels, BFM,
10) Night boat.


Low point in my career? Getting the call that a good friend was killed in a mid air over the boat in the pacific. (See comment about being invincible)

But I am a better person for everything I've done and I wouldn't trade the memories or the friends for anything.

 

[BigJeffray]

The moments that keep me wanting to do this:

Landing the clown jet on a boat for the first time
Landing a grey jet on a boat for the first time
Landing a jet on a boat in the daytime
A well-executed (important caveat) Shit Hot Break
VR-1355
JOPA cross-countries
Pretty much every moment ever spent in the Fallon O-Club
Fist-pumping like a fool with your best friends in a random foreign country
Leading all-JO combat flights and getting to employ

I can't imagine doing anything else.