Tell me why Nuke O's don't have to do a disassociated tour? How about SWOs? SEALS? EOD? Could you imagine a SEAL LT checking onto LHD-X in order to further his "professional development"?
I think aviation has been getting boned with the "path" to commanding ships...the party line being command at sea is the end of the rainbow. I don't see (and I could be wrong) how anything to do with a ship makes an O-5 a better squadron CO. Let's dismiss the idea of "professional operator" as someone who is an anomaly and make that the norm. If a guy wants to command a flat top one day, let him make that career choice for himself. I'd rather work for a CO that spent his whole career in a cockpit and has 5,000 hours than one who spent three tours moving jets around on a flight deck and editing power points at the five-sided circus tent.
-Aviators get "boned" with the path to commanding ships because there's a requirement for Aviation Ship COs (CV/LHA/D) to be aviators. I think most would agree that having aviators running the airport is certainly better than having SWOs run the airport. SEALs may not get involved in ship-dom, but I can assure you that they have their share of staff tours to...wait for it...develop them as an officer. Even with the cool guns and gnarly beards SEAL officers don't pull triggers and kick doors their entire careers. Those platoon leaders will eventually have to become Team COs and I'm sure their professional development path would seem startingly similar.
-You may not be able to see it now (I couldn't either as a young JO), but there's a A LOT of value from a disassociated/non-flying job whether it be on a ship or a staff. A squadron CO needs to be able to fly a powerpoint deck as well as his aircraft so he can work outside of the lifelines of his/her squadron. These jobs also expose you to other facets of the system and how to interact with them. If all you ever do is fly then you never learn how to interact with a staff and how to work other portions of the navy system such as legal, manning, funding, etc. There's a lot of value added in a disassocaited tour that gets you to see the world beyond the squadron and how a squadron fits in to that world. Also, there's a lot of mid sized organization leadership/management OJT on an disassocaited tour. If I had gone to be a DH I would not have felt nervous at the thought of leading/managing an HSC detachment or maintenance department because of my boat experience. I also think that my boat experience would have prepared me for success as a SAR Det OIC. That would have been a walk in the park as I was already well acquainted with the needs of the MEU.
That's true. Maybe someone could explain to me why we need a 1310/20 to "handle" the flight deck or press the launch button on the cat? I don't really know enough about all the TAO/ANAV etc. jobs, but why are aviators forced to fill those positions as well? At the very most, I understand a CAG staff position, but those guys generally get to keep flying.
I feel like since there are so many aviators, we are forced to fill these positions that could be filled by anybody...limiting our tactical proficiency in lieu of a "big picture" education.
-TAO/NAV jobs could easily be handled by SWOs like they are on LHA/Ds, but since CVNs are owned by CNAF, CNAF gets to fill those billets. Guess what kind of bodies CNAF has ready and easy access to?
-As PhrogLoop has said, you want 1310/20 guys in the Air dept billets (TAO and ANAV less so) because they "get it." They know how it feels to be in the cockpit and understand the needs of the customer. AB LDOs contribute a lot and are important pieces of the Air Department but they just don't understand the needs of the squadron like an aviator does.
-Another piece that my seem hard to believe, but you learn a lot about flight leadership in a job like Mini.
-bottom line is that Naval Aviators always have and always will have competing responsibilities between the two hats of Aviator and Naval Officer. Anyone can do one. It takes a lot of work/dedication/talent to be able to do both well.
