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Readiness concerns

Z4nd3R

New Member
So I'm headed to TBS in August and I've been reading anything regarding USMC aviation and lately, it's really not looking too good. From what I've been reading, our guys just aren't getting enough time in the air. Read this one article about how 70% of the F-18 fleet isn't operational...and they're actually having to scavenge parts from old Hornets that have been put on display in air museums!

Any USMC aviators on here having similar concerns?
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
They all are. But... by the time you hit the fleet it could be completely different. Keep trucking along, get through TBS. Then at some point close to finishing primary find an IP somewhere in MATSG-21 or 22 that flew what you think you want to fly, buy them a beer at the O'Club, and ask them for the good the bad and the ugly on their experience. Then ask them if they would do anything different what would they do.
 

Hotdogs

I don’t care if I hurt your feelings
pilot
So I'm headed to TBS in August and I've been reading anything regarding USMC aviation and lately, it's really not looking too good. From what I've been reading, our guys just aren't getting enough time in the air. Read this one article about how 70% of the F-18 fleet isn't operational...and they're actually having to scavenge parts from old Hornets that have been put on display in air museums!

Any USMC aviators on here having similar concerns?

Flight hour programs aren't really the issue. It's the supply chain and money for parts that has become the issue. You combined that with multiple TMS upgrades, immature manufacturing processes, poor management, and an inability to recover from the draconian cuts from a couple years ago and you get today's current situation. Deploying units have the priority for everything and usually have the readiness levels and training needed to deploy. The stateside units are what's bugging people and the ability to be the nation's "Force in Readiness" to respond to crisis is whats really concerning senior leaders right now. As far as my concerns and most Marine Aviators, it comes down to calling things how they are: I will down the shit out of an aircraft if it isn't PMC or FMC with the requirements to do the mission and I will not bend rules during FCFs to appease maintainers who are working their asses to keep these aircraft flying. It's not their fault the flash to bang of supply, depot level phases, or manufacturing isn't where it needs to be. Certain communities are a little sheltered from this right now. Shitters and Hornets are hurting badly, Skids are not really where they need to be, KC-130s and Ospreys seem to be doing fine (except the deployment tempo), and Harriers I have no idea.

Should it concern you right now? Nope. You should be like JJDIDTIEBUCKLING or something right now.
 

kmac

Coffee Drinker
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
To echo Hotdogs a bit, senior leadership is well aware of the issue. Although I don't speak for the USMC, my counterparts at HQMC are definitely on top of this. We've been a bit more fortuante on the Navy side when it comes to flight hours for aircrews, but in all we're seeing some of the same issues.

Ready Basic Aircraft recovery has been a priority for both Air Boss and DCA. Will the fixes come quickly? Of course not. If I was just now coming into the Navy or Marine Corps, I would not have concerns related to this.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Ready Basic Aircraft recovery has been a priority for both Air Boss and DCA. Will the fixes come quickly? Of course not. If I was just now coming into the Navy or Marine Corps, I would not have concerns related to this.
Not to mock the OP for being honestly curious, but this is good gouge. Get to the flightline. Then, if for some reason, whatever part of CNATRA you end up in can't give you the sortie rate to learn effectively, it will become your problem. But if this were to hypothetically happen, your hypothetical CO and Commodore would already be shooting off star clusters up the chop chain saying "I can't make my X count and train my studs effectively." Your instructors' job is to hold the standard, but also teach you effectively enough to get you safely out the door to the Fleet. Kids get attrited from time to time, but that doesn't get instructors bonus points.
 

pourts

former Marine F/A-18 pilot & FAC, current MBA stud
pilot
The system is just so F-ing broken, its a bit demoralizing. It can sometimes take 4 days to get a part from MALS that is on the shelf driven across the base and delivered to the squadron. So, we cannabalize, because its faster... but cannabalizing means you do twice the work, and double the chance that you accidentally break something. We are in a sub-optimal situation because some a-holes at MALS won't bust their ass to deliver the part. Probably because they are short handed because they are running everyone through rape training, or flavor-of-the month training.

All of our IT systems are a complete joke, throughout the entire military. We probably waste millions of man hours a year having people type numbers into power point slides, when those numbers could be pulled automatically from the software with a few simple lines of code. But the military doesn't understand opportunity cost.
 

Hair Warrior

Well-Known Member
Contributor
We probably waste millions of man hours a year having people type numbers into power point slides, when those numbers could be pulled automatically from the software with a few simple lines of code.
Yep, and the DoD is buying that software slowly, semi-surely, and not-so-cheaply. My employer sells some of it to several PEO organizations.

It's no silver bullet, though. It can't ever replace critical thinking, experiential lessons, management acumen, or forward-looking strategy.
 
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