Culture in the Wing

[PMPT]

hi folks,

For those of you currently in or former Marine aviators, what is the culture of the Wing like with respect to the rest of the Corps? Do you maintain a very distinct identity as Marines and 'riflemen' first and foremost (we all know the mantra)? Or does it sometimes feel a bit more like a more militant version of the AF? Given the traditional emphasis of the Corps of supporting the grunts in all that is done, I'm curious as to how this affects the Wing's conception of itself, given that, unlike for instance combat engineers (who also serve to support the grunts), aviators and other folks working in the Wing are necessarily away from the field of battle and are not necessarily in boots and utes and body armor etc close to or even closing with and killing the enemy.

Thanks for your contribution.

 

[hlg6016]

Historically it's more laid back than the grunts, Big emphasis on technical knowledge. That being said your sole purpose at the end of the day is to support the grunts. Airwing culture is unique and in spite of the differences between the two sides there is a lot of pride in it.

 

[PMPT]

On the aviation front, do you guys (in attack aircraft, at least) focus solely on CAS? Or will VMAs and VMFAs also focus on air superiority in the battle space/supplement fleet defense? Suppression of enemy air defenses? Or are these basically jobs left largely to the Navy and Air Force?

 

[Hotdogs]

etc close to or even closing with and killing the enemy.

Some aircrew may take exception to that.

Different work environments. By and large squadron life is always busy and a unit will work 2 shifts for about 19 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. We tend to place a higher premium on safety due to the nature of aviation, higher risk to personnel, and cost of assets. We also tend to have a lot higher education requirements for MOS proficiency. You can't just show up on time with a high and tight, perfect sleeves, and just follow orders to be a good air wing Marine. It's a very technical part of the Marines and requires a lot of thinking and judgement.

The culture is pretty much the same as the rest of the Marine Corps (or atleast not as different as a lot of people make it out to be...) and we all deal with the same administrative BS as other Marines. We are in no way like USAF, aside from the fact that we fly aircraft, and generally have very strong opinions about how other services operate in terms of aviation. I am not an Infantry officer, nor do I pretend to be one, and where Marine aviation makes its money compared to other services is in the planning and design of operations with our Marine peers in other combat arms and combat service support areas. No other other service can bring all aspects of FW/RW/TR aviation and integrate it all the way down to the battalion and company level. As for what each platform focuses on, you should do some research on the wing and its units because it's too long to explain. All I will say is that we are rapidly turning our platforms into Swiss Army knives where we can all do a little bit of everything. Some of us better than others.

 

[DocT]

To echo what has already been said here: in the assault support community we are very aware that our sole purpose is to support the Marine on the ground. The ground scheme of maneuver is the starting point for all of our planning.

I've always taken a lot of pride in the 'blue collar' mentality of my squadron. If the ground guys ask us to do something the first answer is 'yes', then we'll figure out a way to safely execute.

I've heard first hand from ground guys in other services after exercises how much they've enjoyed working with Marine aviation because we place so much emphasis on supporting the ground SOM. It's why we exist.

 

[MIDNJAC]

From going through the Marine RAG, to supporting Marines on the ground in AFG on deployment, to various other environments since then, I have always appreciated working with our brothers in green. They originally taught me CAS, and it is like home going back to work with them. Same can not be said about some other services and/or entities……..

 

[PMPT]

Some aircrew may take exception to that.

I had the good fortune to hear a Marine aviator speak at NAS CC (he is, I think, the CO or XO of the first F35 squadron) who was saying that Marine aviators will be some of the few officers in the Corps actually operating weapons systems directly against the enemy (I guess the idea being that infantry LTs will be in deep trouble if they are ever in a position where they have to use their rifles). I recognize this fact well and did not mean to say that Marine aviation was not in the fight; merely that they are not literal boots on the ground advancing on foot towards the enemy.

 

[PMPT]

Interesting replies. Thanks folks.

 

[whitesoxnation]

On the aviation front, do you guys (in attack aircraft, at least) focus solely on CAS? Or will VMAs and VMFAs also focus on air superiority in the battle space/supplement fleet defense? Suppression of enemy air defenses? Or are these basically jobs left largely to the Navy and Air Force?

No, you don't focus solely on CAS. If you want to nerd out then google T&R manuals and CMMR. Basically, there are standards for the amount of aircrew in a unit that have to have currency for certain missions, ranging from AIs to DCAs to CAS and FAC(A). It's all in the T&R. For example, if you look at the Hornet T&R you'll see that VMFA(AW)s have FAC(A) requirements that a VMFA doesn't, so you'll generally fly more CAS in support of FAC(A) production than a VMFA might.