Admittedly not spun up on how the Navy works on this but how exactly would flying orange and white be more beneficial in developing an Opso and or future CO than flying his tactical aircraft?
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Department Head Board
- Thread starter robav8r
- Start date
Admittedly not spun up on how the Navy works on this but how exactly would flying orange and white be more beneficial in developing an Opso and or future CO than flying his tactical aircraft?
It isn't. The job is just harder. Typically, a community sends it's best and brightest to the FRS, so those tend to be the "golden boy" jobs and the guys who are marked for success later (not so much in my community, but for most).
My FRS bretheren are working a lot less hours in a lot better conditions with much better students than me. For me, a 12 hour day in a flight suit soaked in sweat and 2-3 students who are (unintentionally) trying to kill me is the norm.
Luckily, I am in a community where a good number of our FRS pilots get out and fly for Southwest, so two out of four of my operational skippers were TRACOM pilots, and none of them were FRS instructors.
FlyingLow, I agree with you, but it just isn't the way that business is done. I think there is a lot to be gained from guys going to the TRACOM and getting an outside perspective from their community.
Perhaps not Skipper, but with retention numbers so high, the DH board is forced to go back as far as necessary to find "break outs." I have heard that YG 00 and beyond will have better manning levels and better DH selection rates as well. However, the lesson is to not "burn any bridges" at any point in your career.
Just a couple of points:
Your future is largely determined by the first half of your first tour: if you do not get selected for one of the "big" jobs as a JO (which will be decided by your first couple of years as a JG) then you won't break out as a LT when you leave. That will influence what first shore duty you get - you won't get an Aide job or an FRS slot if you aren't going to break out.
As for the FRS vs HT debate about which is better, you guys need to get it through your heads that your ability as a pilot just doesn't matter. As long as you aren't going to get FNAEBed your ability as a pilot will not affect your chance to make CO. At best, you can position yourself to do well on your first tour and get a good job by beating your peers to your quals and gaining your CO's confidence in the aircraft, but that is it. The FRS is a "better" job because you are being seen by all of the players in the community. The CAT II's you instruct will be your XO/CO on your DH tour, the Commodore will know you, etc.
Not saying it is right, but I am telling you how it is.
Your future is largely determined by the first half of your first tour: if you do not get selected for one of the "big" jobs as a JO (which will be decided by your first couple of years as a JG) then you won't break out as a LT when you leave. That will influence what first shore duty you get - you won't get an Aide job or an FRS slot if you aren't going to break out.
As for the FRS vs HT debate about which is better, you guys need to get it through your heads that your ability as a pilot just doesn't matter. As long as you aren't going to get FNAEBed your ability as a pilot will not affect your chance to make CO. At best, you can position yourself to do well on your first tour and get a good job by beating your peers to your quals and gaining your CO's confidence in the aircraft, but that is it. The FRS is a "better" job because you are being seen by all of the players in the community. The CAT II's you instruct will be your XO/CO on your DH tour, the Commodore will know you, etc.
Not saying it is right, but I am telling you how it is.
Interesting note though, at least for VP, several RAG instructors up for their first DH look, FOS'd. It seems that non-traditional first shore tours, followed by a pain tour are being looked at favorably (at least it was last month). We'll just have to see if this initiative will die like so many before it...
Like Rob has said before, do what you want and do it well.
