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Initially it was due to pain. The pain went away after about a month unless I worked out too hard or lifted too much weight. The other limitation is that you are limited to lifting no more than 35 pounds for a couple of months. The whole point is so that the surgical repair can heal and so...

I was a few weeks away from deploying when my hernia was discovered . My flight doc was concerned because a hernia can become very dangerous if your intestines become twisted or trapped and she didn't want to risk that happening to me in Afghanistan. The surgery was straightforward but the...

I also use the NGA aero app, mostly because I'm a cheap ass and don't feel like forking over $300 a year. Pros: Worldwide charts, approach plates and giant reports. Cons: Still not user friendly Does not sync with our onboard wifi (Stratus) like Foreflight does which means the moving map is...

But they wear black PT shorts and wear high speed boots. I thought that stuff officially made you an operator!

No idea but our reserve ANGLICO's are 3rd out of Long Beach, CA, 4th out of W Palm Beach, FL, and 6th which is split between Concord, CA and JBLM, WA. Might be worth calling them up.

So what the OP posted is one scenario. Then you have the scenario of getting to the fleet quickly and then getting orders to a 3 yr non flying tour i.e. OSO or Quantico staff as 2 examples. In both cases you end up back in the fleet most likely as a senior Captain or maybe even a Maj select...

I doubt the Marine Corps will kick you out when NFO's are gone and what you do afterwards kind of depends on how much time you have left until 20. The options typically are put in a transition package to pilot if you are junior enough. If you are too senior for the transition then a series of...

I can vouch for this. Flew AA back from UDP in Oki and free booze on the flight was a very pleasant surprise !

I haven't been able to get much info on this topic. Anyone have any experience in th AR? Is it anything like being a full time Air Guard guy where you essentially get to stay with one unit and keep on flying? Or is it just like AD Marine Corps and you still get new orders every 3 years?

Unless your annual occurs in the middle.

Here's the deal with that. There is a FAC order in existence that states that dudes on a FAC tour SHALL get follow on flying orders. That's the only guarantee. So it's a crapshoot as to whether or not you fly a grey aircraft or an orange one. With that being said, my experience was this...

So I just finished up my FAC tour and wanted to provide some fresh insight as to my experience. I will also say that all the prior FACS who responded previously were spot on and there were only minor differences to my experience as a whole. 1. Mine was with a battalion so it was 12 months...

South Korea and the ROK Marines were only doing daytime training. That's just one example. Literally every time I was in the field I could have slept 12 hrs.

My experience was more in line with what the OP suggested. I was in API within a year of commissioning. I just finished up a year long FAC tour with an infantry battalion so I can give you a good perspective of both. The air side does their job well. As a whole they are more chill and the...

For the ground MOS's, yes this is true. However, due to pilots commitments beginning post winging, generally career designation occurs at a time where the "2 year of obligated service" occurs well inside the remaining commitment post winging. For example, by the time I was career designated, I...

I haven't seen a FAC's perspective on UAV's yet so I'll chime in. Granted my experiences are only in training but it was with live air so close enough. Yes having a UAV on station adds to your airspace management a bit because if you have mortars and arty in play, that is yet another asset...

We have had a similar progression in my community. In the legacy Herks, an FE started life as a flight mech which means his life doubled as a junior aircrewman as well as Powerline Shop worker. Once he pinned on Sgt, he would begin his workups for fully qualled FE and would have had at least...

I'm a bit surprised by this because in my community, we rely on the enlisted aircrew for exactly this. Before flying, our crew chiefs will conduct a thorough (1-2 hr depending on experience) preflight of the aircraft, while our loadmasters will load/weigh cargo, come up with a load plan and...

Don't forget your glow belt!

As a fellow Herk driver (USMC), my experiences tend to be similar to the majority. We have a real unique perspective as well as benefit that our platform relies aircrew that are both officers and enlisted. Due to that, I've built very good relationships with numerous enlisted aircrew over the...

Surprisingly enough we had 4 brand new PLDR's back at Lejeune. We were supposed to have 4 JTAC LTD's in our deployed account but we have yet to see them. Semper Gumby!

Tell me about it. My Battalion doesn't even have a single laser at the moment

Correct me if I'm wrong, but from talking w/ all my Hornet buddies, it seems like the Hornet is in way worse shape compared to the AV-8's. Something about a squadron coming home from deployment and turning over most of its good jets to the next deploying squadron doesn't sound like it will work...

YGTBFSM

If you want to know what it's like to be a grunt, pick up a FAC tour after your first flying tour. Not only will you get a good look at what the infantry side of the house is like, but you DON'T have to go through IOC AND it actually looks good on your MBS, having a FITREP signed by an 0302...

Disagree. My brother applied 2 years out of college after working a steady job with a good final GPA in school and his package got turned down. Enlisted in the Army and spent 2 years as an MP. Got promoted quickly and finished at the top of his class in all his schools. Only then did he get...

The other token Osprey FAC from the East coast is currently in my battalion. According to him, the West coast has 2 others as well. They are multiplying!

This is true. However the path to the Guard is a completely different thread so search for it, the topic has been covered. The shitty part about getting T-38's is that you are no longer guaranteed to go fighers/bombers. When I was at Vance, in addition to going fighers/bombers, guys ended up...

Dude if I were you, I'd go travel and go on a nice long vacation. White sox hit the nail on the head. The FSC course is attended typically by senior captains who are Weapons Company Commanders or senior enlisted guys on his staff. It's challenging enough at their level. At your level it...

Welcome back Bee, here's to a speedy recovery!

I'll see if I can spot that one next time I'm at the club. We are going to be in Crow Valley initially then moving to NETC with libo in Subic.

The 3 of us FACs in our Battalion are planning on doing one for our deployment and coincidently will be in the Philippines next month. Anyone who has been there recently have any recommendations for where to go?

If it was a hernia, they would be able to tell immediately. The fact that you are still going through tests tells me you don't have one. I hope the best that whatever you have leads to minimal treatment and quick recovery.

Definitely get it check out. I found mine near the end of a deployment and had surgery a few months later. The reason you don't want to wait is that a hernia can become encapsulated. Meaning the abdominal muscles begin to tighten up around the hernia to the point that the fluid inside the...

Are you coming out from 3rd Marines? If so your FAC's that are here now are good dudes. Hit me up when you get on island, we can pass you all the gouge we've figured out thus far.

Agreed. I'm 5 months into mine and just started deployment. I'll have more to post when I get back since mine is a UDP deployment and I'll have tons of stories of controlling aircraft... I mean planning exercises.

Just took the ATP written at Craven Regional (KEWN). I used the Sheppard Air prep software as well and it's definately legit. Altogether I've been studying about 3 weeks since I usually suck at taking tests. I have kids and it was definately a bit of a challenge finding study time while...

It's pretty much been covered in this thread but I'll give you a more recent viewpoint. API will be no different. Primary will be no different. At the end of primary you select and if you select c-130's, you go to Corpus to VT-31. Once at Corpus you will check in to MATSG-22 and await a class...

Yeh I'll call bullshit on this. If you have ever been a DivO, you know how frugally the young E-dogs live. Whether they are one of the smart ones and actually have a budget, drive an older economic car and live off of McDonalds and ramen noodles, or the dumb ones that are way over their heads...

No shit!

Legal O definately has it's perks, like having your own office, but having just left a Herc squadron, the Marines keep the Legal O busy. It didn't matter who the Legal O was, he had a full plate. Plus you have to take a month off from flying to go to legal school so guys who check in after you...

Got it and understand that a lot of platforms will end up doing this , but it's not your primary mission. However due to your sensor capabilities i understand you can offer a lot to ground forces. I meant more along the lines of an MC-12 or U-28 type aircraft whose sole purpose in life is ISR.

If by Intel work as a pilot you mean ISR/MIR, (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance/ Multi Imagery Reconnaissance), then the Marine Corps does not do this. The Air Force Army and Navy have platforms for this mission, but as a pilot, your exposure to the intel side is limited. The aircrew...

I could go into detail of the WTI syllabus but it would only be Herc specific. Each T/M/S has their own specific syllabus and exactly what it wants to teach their PWTI's. Now the general goal is to make tactical experts for each squadron who will then pass on their knowledge to the rest of...

Just to help paint the picture some more, how much time did you serve on AD? Was it all as an officer? What was your MOS? How long have you been out for?

That makes sense. I don't mean to dissuade you from your decision by any means, just to shed light on the current state of the Marine Corps. Back in 06-07 when we were fighting both OIF and OEF the Corps plussed up to 202k in manpower. Well now that OIF is done and we are drawing down in OEF...

Just out of curiosity, since you are in A-pool, I'm assuming you haven't been in the Navy very long. Why didn't you just join the Marine Corps initially to begin with?

I would have recommended Forbes Field in Topeka, KS if you were allowed to stray up north but since you probably can't, try KVCT or KDWH. Last I was there but places gave you discounted food for buying fuel and both had great burgers. Plus DWH is neat because they have an actual water runway...

In theory that is what you need to do. However there need to be slots available. Usually the slots show up during TBS but they are extremely competitive. That was when I went through TBS and the Marine Corps was plussing up. At the moment we are drawing down from 202k to 174k and I have a...

Are those YouTube videos still up showing T-44 start up checks?