Going straight to a reserve unit after winging?

[xmid]

I had a conversation the other day with a friend that is going TAR or FTS or whatever they call it nowadays, and he told me that there was a time when they had too many SNA's and they were letting them go straight to the VRC's as active duty guys. This made me question whether this might be a posibility now. Do any of the IP types around here know if this is a possibility? Would it kill your career? I haven't really heard of anyone doing it so I'm guessing its a thing of the past, but you never know until you ask.

 

[Pags]

First, I'm pretty sure you mean VR. VRC is COD and I don't know if they have a reserve component (pretty sure not). I had a friend who did it and it was offered to me. I had no desire to do it and it put my buddy in a weird place. Our YG was overmanned, and the deal they offered was to go to a VR for 2 yrs and then serve the rest of your commitment on IRR. To me it seemed like a shit deal, since I'd get 2 yrs of flying a bus and then it'd be off to a real job. My buddy is a smart dude and made himself pretty valuable so he managed to make a/c commander and then got accepted to FTS for follow on tours with them. But he's kind of the exception to the rule. Not sure what happened to the other guys who did it, but yeah, the whole point of it was that it was a career killer.

 

[xmid]

Yea I meant VR, and thanks.

 

[Flash]

It was a one-time thing that probably won't happen again for a long time, if ever.

 

[xmid]

Good to know. Thanks Sir.

 

[gaijin6423]

McNamara, who hasn't posted here in a long time, due to various reasons, went to a VR squadron under that program. While there, he went on an IA, and eventually elected to get out. He's on to other things these days, in other uniforms.

 

[Pugs]

It was a one-time thing that probably won't happen again for a long time, if ever.

Until it happens again. I had two friends whom I went through 10/86 together in 87 that went to the fleet for two years then to the VA/VF Reserve squadrons and one that went straight to the VA Reserves. When times are hard BUPERS can get mighty inventive and times are going to get hard.

 

[Gatordev]

First, I'm pretty sure you mean VR. VRC is COD and I don't know if they have a reserve component (pretty sure not). I had a friend who did it and it was offered to me. I had no desire to do it and it put my buddy in a weird place. Our YG was overmanned, and the deal they offered was to go to a VR for 2 yrs and then serve the rest of your commitment on IRR. To me it seemed like a shit deal, since I'd get 2 yrs of flying a bus and then it'd be off to a real job. My buddy is a smart dude and made himself pretty valuable so he managed to make a/c commander and then got accepted to FTS for follow on tours with them. But he's kind of the exception to the rule. Not sure what happened to the other guys who did it, but yeah, the whole point of it was that it was a career killer.

I work with two guys who did this, probably the same YG/timeframe as you. They both did their time as FTS during their first fleet tour. Both decided they wanted to go to the outside world and are now reservists. They now continue to drill w/ the same unit they were FTS with. Both probably would have been picked up to continue FTS if they had wanted to. Well, at least one of them...

It worked out well for them, since they both wanted to move on (not deploy, grad school, etc), but it's still a weird place to be. It's weird to have a reservist come in who hasn't flown in a while and they're also relatively low-time pilots. Not a huge deal, but different than the standard 2k+ hour reserve pilot that most people deal with.

 

[zippy]

This made me question whether this might be a posibility now. Do any of the IP types around here know if this is a possibility? Would it kill your career? I haven't really heard of anyone doing it so I'm guessing its a thing of the past, but you never know until you ask.

From what I know of the program available to some of the '02 and '03YG studs- it was a couple years active duty (FTS) then switchover to TAR. Talking to some former IPs who were in the VR squadrons- some tried to get those guys hours and let them sign for the planes while others had them as permanent co-pilots.

As far as I'm aware, the program isn't around. Even if it was, knowing how much you went through to finally get commissioned- I don't think it'd be the program you want to do.

 

[Gatordev]

From what I know of the program available to some of the '02 and '03YG studs- it was a couple years active duty (FTS) then switchover to TAR. Talking to some former IPs who were in the VR squadrons- some tried to get those guys hours and let them sign for the planes while others had them as permanent co-pilots.

As far as I'm aware, the program isn't around. Even if it was, knowing how much you went through to finally get commissioned- I don't think it'd be the program you want to do.

Just a quick pro-dev correction... FTS is TAR. The program they were under was 4 years (or maybe it was 5, I can't remember) of FTS/TAR, then they had the option to continue under FTS or get out and affiliate w/ the Reserves. Some guys went to VR, some went to the reserve helo squadrons.

 

[nittany03]

Talking to some former IPs who were in the VR squadrons- some tried to get those guys hours and let them sign for the planes while others had them as permanent co-pilots.

I remember that being talked about as a risk; i.e. showing up as low man on the scrotum pole in a squadron full of O-4+. Then again, I ran into a reserve CDR at Willow Grove who had a couple of the JGs in his squadron, and he said they were taking care of those guys and putting them on the track to sign for the jets. I guess it's like everything else in the Navy; you gots your good squadrons and your crappy ones.

 

[Flash]

Until it happens again. I had two friends whom I went through 10/86 together in 87 that went to the fleet for two years then to the VA/VF Reserve squadrons and one that went straight to the VA Reserves. When times are hard BUPERS can get mighty inventive and times are going to get hard.

Close to 20 years between the exceptions to the rule, I think we are safe for a little while longer.

 

[Pags]

I work with two guys who did this, probably the same YG/timeframe as you. They both did their time as FTS during their first fleet tour. Both decided they wanted to go to the outside world and are now reservists. They now continue to drill w/ the same unit they were FTS with. Both probably would have been picked up to continue FTS if they had wanted to. Well, at least one of them...

It worked out well for them, since they both wanted to move on (not deploy, grad school, etc), but it's still a weird place to be. It's weird to have a reservist come in who hasn't flown in a while and they're also relatively low-time pilots. Not a huge deal, but different than the standard 2k+ hour reserve pilot that most people deal with.

I think my buddy thought he was gonna be the guy who got out, but when the time came, he was loving what he was doing.

Sending guys to the VR/HSC-85 makes a lot more sense then sending FNGs right to HCS-4/HSC-84. I hear they didn't know what to make of H2Ps with 200hrs.

Not too sure where you're at right now, but are they signing for a/c, or drilling 2Ps?

 

[MAKE VAPES]

2 of the 3 kids they sent to our VR squadron did ok, made TAC, whined a ton (without fleet experience, and O-5 Delta buddy buddies, they had no sense of reality) and got picked up for FTS ahead of fleet dudes wanting the same gig (wtfo, junior most qualified my ass...).

Career killer? Since the career path is written from the 9-10 year point on (from transfer/redesignation)... there is no career path to speak of for the "nuggets". If any of them would have bent a jet as a JG/very junior LT TAC, there would have been hell to pay (we would do some tactical scheduling for them, so in the end what was the point of them making TAC). I know P-3 dudes fly big planes and sign young, but there is a rigorous training regiment to get there... not so much in VR where they count on foundation of fleet experience to provide sound decision making prowess. They tried to add the rigor fwiw.

IMO, Since VR is there to serve the fleet, the fleet deserves fleet experienced pilots at the helm of their transports. Who do you want up front after your third go around for weather going into Lajes when weather is sketchy at Santa Maria? Someone who has faced the music behind the boat in a prowler/off the coast of china in a P-3/landing a SH-60 on a fig on a stormy night.... or a slightly below average transferee from T-44s with 600TT?

They should never have any vols from Primary for VR... folks there should want to put warheads on foreheads or help others do it. If not, what the hell did they join for?????????

They should cull the excess from training pipeline (needs of navy, sorry bout yo luck) and use the sunken cost put into the fleet aviators with leadership experience for FTS who have "paid their dues". That's just my experiential perspective.

 

[Gatordev]

I think my buddy thought he was gonna be the guy who got out, but when the time came, he was loving what he was doing.

Sending guys to the VR/HSC-85 makes a lot more sense then sending FNGs right to HCS-4/HSC-84. I hear they didn't know what to make of H2Ps with 200hrs.

Not too sure where you're at right now, but are they signing for a/c, or drilling 2Ps?

HSCS can speak for the other squadron(s), but yeah, the guys I was speaking about made HAC and cruised as HACs. They were full up pilots, just w/ less time than a typical first tour JO due to shorter deployments.