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Pme

LivinMyDream

Member
pilot
At a brief today we (winged JO's) were told that we needed to complete our Primary Professional Military Education "in order to advance"--all 77 hours worth! The courses are located on NKO and the titles are "Block 1" through "Block 7" in E-Learning.

I assume "in order to advance" means to advance to 0-4, and that the JPME (the huge course with tons of books) is for advancement to 0-5--please correct me if I'm wrong.

Bottom line, though, is that if you're a stashed Ensign not doing anything, it might be a good idea to do some of this stuff before you get busy later on down the pipeline.

Cheers!
 

milky-f18

loud-mouthed, know-it-all
Who told you that? I heard that was coming, but I never heard that it officially changed. Right now, people are just being required to do it before they do JPME 1. But, as far as I had previously known, it had not been officially tied to a promotion board until O-5 since JPME-1 is required for O-5 in the VFA community.

It takes a long time, by the way. Well, that is assuming you actually read all of the material before you take the tests. On the other hand, if you just keep taking the tests until you pass them, it takes probably about 40-60 hours depending on how much of the info you already know. I would imagine that if you read all of the information before taking the tests, it would take 2-3 times as long. It took me a good part of a week in all of my free time to finish it.

Lastly, it is a waste of time. The info is almost USELESS, IMHO.
 

bunk22

Super *********
pilot
Super Moderator
I started the JPME program and got 75% through the second section. The first section had 3 tests, the second had a paper, a few tests then the final was a project. I grew tired of it, couldn't stand doing it and with my deployment and PCS move, ran out of time anyway. Two of my buds, one Marine and one AF both finished their JPME and both didn't make O-5, on through both looks. Other reasons for that I'm sure but they many checks in the box, including that JPME. I really had no desire and thus, I revel in my mediocrity. I'm an O-4 until the Navy boots me or lets me retire at 20.
 

milky-f18

loud-mouthed, know-it-all
I started the JPME program and got 75% through the second section. The first section had 3 tests, the second had a paper, a few tests then the final was a project. I grew tired of it, couldn't stand doing it and with my deployment and PCS move, ran out of time anyway. Two of my buds, one Marine and one AF both finished their JPME and both didn't make O-5, on through both looks. Other reasons for that I'm sure but they many checks in the box, including that JPME. I really had no desire and thus, I revel in my mediocrity. I'm an O-4 until the Navy boots me or lets me retire at 20.

I believe you would be referring to JPME-1. The original post was about Primary PME which is now a prereq for JPME-1. I definitely do not plan on doing JPME-1 until I know I am up for O-5 or am sent to a War College. I'm not even sure if I'm staying in past my MSR, so I'm not wasting months of work on something like that.
 

bunk22

Super *********
pilot
Super Moderator
I believe you would be referring to JPME-1. The original post was about Primary PME which is now a prereq for JPME-1. I definitely do not plan on doing JPME-1 until I know I am up for O-5 or am sent to a War College. I'm not even sure if I'm staying in past my MSR, so I'm not wasting months of work on something like that.

I knew very well what the post was about junior. I decided to take it in my direction. Sucks for those who simply don't dig the JPME stuff or good for those who do.
 

LivinMyDream

Member
pilot
Who told you that? I heard that was coming, but I never heard that it officially changed. Right now, people are just being required to do it before they do JPME 1. But, as far as I had previously known, it had not been officially tied to a promotion board until O-5 since JPME-1 is required for O-5 in the VFA community.

This is per the VP Detailer, LCDR "Pancho" Villa.
 

milky-f18

loud-mouthed, know-it-all
Just one more thing you have to do to break out. What one generation does to make O-6 or O-5, the next generation has to do to make O-4. Then on and on... We all have to be competitive, right?
 

PropStop

Kool-Aid free since 2001.
pilot
Contributor
I really had no desire and thus, I revel in my mediocrity.

HA! This makes me laugh! +1.

I've seen the brass ring and i'm going to avoid it like the friggen plague. The DH tour looks like three years of utter pain.
 

Harrier Dude

Living the dream
I believe you would be referring to JPME-1. The original post was about Primary PME which is now a prereq for JPME-1. I definitely do not plan on doing JPME-1 until I know I am up for O-5 or am sent to a War College. I'm not even sure if I'm staying in past my MSR, so I'm not wasting months of work on something like that.

This is a dangerous plan. At that point in your career you'll be a department head working your ass off. The last thing that you'll want to do is spend what little free time that you have scrambling to get your PME done before the board.

Look, PME is what it is. It sucks. It's a pain in the ass. None of that matters. The "Powers That Be" have decided that you have to do it to get promoted. It won't make you get promoted, but the lack of it will stop you at some point. If you don't want to get promoted, fine. I'm certainly not going to judge somebody for that. But do you know that right now? Maybe you do, and maybe you don't. Things change.

Debating the merits of PME, although theraputic in the venting process, is futile. It isn't going away. You're just shouting at the rain.

Remember two quotes. One is absolutely true, and the other equally false about PME.

"It's only a lot of reading.....if you do it."

and

"The great thing about waiting until the last minute is, it only takes a minute".

You decide which is which.
 

eddie

Working Plan B
Contributor
"It's only a lot of reading.....if you do it."

and

"The great thing about waiting until the last minute is, it only takes a minute".

You decide which is which.

I feel like in life, only one of those statments is EVER true at one time, for a given activity.
 

bunk22

Super *********
pilot
Super Moderator
HA! This makes me laugh! +1.

I've seen the brass ring and i'm going to avoid it like the friggen plague. The DH tour looks like three years of utter pain.

I had a DH tour and it was pain, no doubt. The front office was a pain but we had a weak front office, no leadership at all and they mostly stayed out of your business....if they didn't like you. They would tell ya sweet nothings then ream ya at the FITREP debrief. That wasn't the bad part though, it was dealing with the the airwing, CAG OPS, CAG/DCAG, Strike, ship ops, etc. That was constant pain on a daily basis during my 1 1/2 deployments.

But hey, for those who want to go on to O-4 or O-5, make a career if you will, you have to do what you have to do. Finishing your PME, then JPME-1 at some point, a hard tour (read shooter perhaps), etc, should get you what you want....as long as the FITREPs fall into place. The days of staying in the cockpit for an entire career is long gone. Of course if the bunk can manipulate flying order for his last 2 of 3 three years in the Navy, I will have come close.
 

FLYTPAY

Pro-Rec Fighter Pilot
pilot
None
I assume "in order to advance" means to advance to 0-4, and that the JPME (the huge course with tons of books) is for advancement to 0-5--please correct me if I'm wrong.
In the P-3 community, having experience in chute-fighting, Brazilian jiu-jitzu, and being wiley in a knife-fight are essential to advancement :D........now to addressing the question. If you can get away with not doing the pre-req for JPME Phase 1, try to skate, the pre-reqs are useless. I would definitely recommend completing JPME Phase 1 before you are in a DH tour as HarrierDude said....I highly recommend the Fleet Seminar Program held in the cities below. If you are going to be in one of these places for a year July to July, it would be beneficial to get in. Here is the website to explore.

http://www.nwc.navy.mil/admissions/fsp.aspx
California, Port HuenemeMaryland, Fort MeadeCalifornia, San DiegoMaryland, Patuxent RiverDistrict of Columbia, WashingtonRhode Island, NewportFlorida, JacksonvilleTennessee, MillingtonFlorida, MayportTexas, Dallas-Fort WorthFlorida, PensacolaVirginia, DahlgrenHawaii, Pearl HarborVirginia, NorfolkIllinois, Great LakesWashington, BangorLouisiana, New OrleansWashington, EverettMaryland, AnnapolisWashington, Whidbey Island


Timmah, I would recommend getting this crap done in your fleet tour if you can. You will be way ahead if you stay in. This program can be completed in 2 years. One 7 hour class and then double up to take the two 7 hour classes remaining. This gives you 21 hours and you need 9 more elective hours to get you Master from the NWC. If you get out, whallah, you have a Masters from the NWC. If you stay in, you have it, and bought yourself a year that would have been spent in Newport, RI. (saving the Navy $ on 2 PCSs and allowing you to do another billet). Any questions, PM me.
 

milky-f18

loud-mouthed, know-it-all
If you are positive you want to stay in, you should do it as soon as you can. If you don't know if you're staying in, I personally think it's a waste of the limited time you could spend with your family until you are sure... I don't disagree with anything you guys are saying. I'm just saying that it sucks and I'm putting it off until I know that I need to do it.
 

bunk22

Super *********
pilot
Super Moderator
If you are positive you want to stay in, you should do it as soon as you can. If you don't know if you're staying in, I personally think it's a waste of the limited time you could spend with your family until you are sure... I don't disagree with anything you guys are saying. I'm just saying that it sucks and I'm putting it off until I know that I need to do it.

Agreed but there is a flip side to that coin. Lets say one is sure he or she is going to punch and then circumstances dictate they stay or the desire changes, etc. If you don't set yourself up then be ready to pay the consequences. Not necessarily bad but it could mean not selecting O-4 or O-5 in my case. I chose family over hard tour, could have finished my JPME but did not, etc, etc. I won't make O-5 (those are part of the reasons, not the entire reason). I just say if unsure, set yourself up just in case. If there's no doubt, none what so ever that you are punching, then yeah, waste of time I think. I'm just trying to offer a little advice from someone (me) who has made some mistakes....well, a lot of mistakes :eek:
 

FlyinSpy

Mongo only pawn, in game of life...
Contributor
All the negative comments I've heard about the Navy JMPE more strongly reinforce my perspective that if you're in the aviation business, ACSC (Air Command & Staff College) is the way to go. The amount of reading material they *send* you is large; the amount you actually *have* to read, not so much. I would submit that if you've done time flying in OIF or OEF, have spent any time as SDO MIRCing the CAOC, or have done a RED FLAG, then you too will do fine with minimal effort. In fact, 3 of the tests I actually took without breaking the shrink-wrap off the books, and they turned out to be the 3 tests I got the highest scores on. (This may have something to do with me being a super-genius, though - your mileage may vary...) :icon_tong

Their distance learning program is set up very nicely (http://wwwacsc.maxwell.af.mil/distance-learning.asp), and the ass-pain was minimal. The biggest hassle is finding a testing site, but they have lots of testing sites globally. For half the tests, they even sent a test person out to where I work - not for me, but for the heavy USAF presence; you just phoned or emailed in advance which test you needed. Otherwise I just went to the testing center at the Pentagon. There are also some minimal on-line requirements, but these went very quickly as well.

If you do ACSC, and are on a "min effort trajectory", I would also recommend this site: http://allpme.com/. The AF guys live and die by this stuff, and with their summaries you *definitely* don't have to break open the reading.
 
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