My flight school roommate was the last Tomcat guy. He is the XO of a Rhino squadron now. Not a big deal.
Just because it worked out for him doesn’t mean it will for everyone else.
Unless things change dramatically, if you aren’t going to OIR or the boat you are not going to fly a lot in the Hornet.
Initial fleet tours were lengthened to 5 years because we aren’t capable of getting aircrew the qualifications the fleet needs in a normal three your first tour and retaining people once they do get quals. That should tell you a lot.
Transition/conversion was lengthened to five years as well, and that’s after the completion of training.
Someone said go where the flight hours and money are, and they are right. The flight hours aren’t in the Hornet or F-35 right now, but the F-35 will only get healthier. The money definitely isn’t in the Hornet.
If you have an opportunity to go to a joint platform that the USAF is the biggest operator of... that’s common sense. You will benefit from alot of the goods of the Air Force as they learn how to fight and upgrade the airplane.
For where you’re at you should be doing everything you can to go to the F-35.