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USN 1300 GENAV Jobs

SynixMan

HKG Based Artificial Excrement Pilot
pilot
Contributor
This was the most helpful response. Getting into FLTMPS showed me what 1300 LTs are doing in the fleet. I was previously planning on redesignating, but I didn't have much information on the option of going 1300. I want to make my decision knowing all my options.

My understanding for a lot of those gigs is that they're 13xx type deals and timing dependent. Most folks end up 1300s through either loss of medical or soft-ending FNAEB. No real shame in either, but you're gonna be a low priority for the detailer and likely terminal LT (or LCDR if already selected). They can’t kick you out, but they also have no reason to make your life nice.

FWIW I know people who both redesignated and didn’t. Differing priorities, but they’re all above water, minus flight pay.

EDIT: saw the volterm tag, which I get and respect. Same above applies, best of luck.
 
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squorch2

he will die without safety brief
pilot
Judging from the tags, OP volterm'd his flight status (hence 1300)...

OP, @SynixMan has it right - while you're still working with PERS-43 (43Z, to be specific) they don't have a lot of incentive to use you as anything but a placeholder.

As such, research into other designators/civilian career paths is your most productive use of time.
 
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pelexecute

Active Member
pilot
None
It’s a bad deal for some, but just have to run with it. Happened to me as an ENS after the NAMI whammy; I turned down the chance to be an NFO and wasn’t picked up for Intel. Detailer sent me to a carrier as a CATCC watch officer and went through a two-week course for it in Pensacola. When I checked in to the boat, XO said he didn’t need me there, so he sent me to Strike Ops. Anyhoo, it seemed as though you could really make your own path as long as you could explain to the XO what your desires were. It seemed that all the 1300’s out of flight school were sent to carriers, mostly to be SloJo’s, because we were nothing more than extra bodies. But, it’s definitely not the end of the world. I made it back into flying, did a fleet tour and IP tour, then flew U-2’s in the Air Force. So, anything is possible.
 

pelexecute

Active Member
pilot
None
As such, research into other designators/civilian career paths is your most productive use of time.

This is the correct answer. Command won’t really care what you do as long as you put in some time as a helping out. For example, If you want Intel, ask to work there and get the head Intel guy to give you a recommendation. All the 1300’s I knew were working on re-designating or prepping for civilian life by doing grad school.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
tenor.gif
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I had 14 (total) onboard in a Bravo. But also not normal. And I also had a get-out-of-jail-free letter from some admiral (as did we all).
 

squorch2

he will die without safety brief
pilot
Whatever, I’ll tell the tale.

Ft. Pickett training det tasked with troop movement across the Appalachians to Elkins, WV.

Number of pax dictate 2 birds - one goes down in the chocks, det OIC says “take seats out of good bird and go” which ehhhh you could make a NATOPS argument if this wasn’t training...

Weather at Elkins calls for 700-1, with airmet sierra and zulu with mountain obscuration blanketing the area. HAC decides to press, thinking weather can’t be that bad, cause it’s clear and a million at the field...

No flight plan filed, no flight following - just VNAV and pilotage over the mountains to Elkins.

<insert shenanigans about maybe being over max GW on takeoff here>

post departure is uneventful, ceilings and vis come down per forecast as bird approaches mountains. They end up flying with a VFR section in the mountains at 400’ AGL (or less...) and 70 kias (or less...) to stay clear of clouds. Can’t reach ATC cause mountains.

HAC is hawking torque, super worried about icing, cause it’s below freezing and they’re in wispies. Makes decision to climb through clouds. (Blade de-ice is inop)

HAC at controls, increases power to climb. Goes IMC. Fixates on VSI, sees it decreasing, pulls more collective. Doesn’t notice increasing nose down attitude or increasing airspeed. Thinks they have icing, pulls more collective, sees trees in windscreen, yanks back on cyclic, and by the grace of god matches fuselage to terrain.

Bird comes to rest in several feet of snow. Everyone survives, but 2P is trapped in seat. Several pax & crew sustain soft tissue injuries (ligament tears, etc). No one is wearing cold weather gear. Survival radios don’t work, cell phones don’t work - turns out they crashed close to a secret squirrel mountain base.

WV ANG dispatches helos for SAR a few hours later and finds crash site - but icing forces them to depart after marking on top.

approx 24 hours after crash, rescue crews arrive on snowmobiles and extract everyone (cutting 2P out of bird)
 
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Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Whatever, I’ll tell the tale.

Ft. Pickett training det tasked with troop movement across the Appalachians to Elkins, WV.

Thanks for the story. Is the Ft Pickett's det a regular thing?

Survival radios don’t work, cell phones don’t work - turns out they crashed close to a secret squirrel mountain base.


It's not secret at all, they crashed in the National Radio Quiet Zone which restricts the radio frequency transmissions to help support the Green Bank Observatory that performs radio astronomy. The Sugar Grove Station also happens to be in zone as well. There is an even more restricted zone immediately around the observatory that restricts all electrical equipment that might interfere with the observatory. It would be interesting to see how close they were to the facility, Green Bank is only about 30 miles south of Elkins.
 

squorch2

he will die without safety brief
pilot
Of note: there's lots of cultural factors at play here, stuff you had to be there for to really understand.

When I used the scenario as a training tool, most folks just don't take off from Pickett - cause over pax, over GW, shitty wx, mountains, etc etc.

Not much of consequence happened to the folks who set in motion the cultural factors - as you may imagine, HAC did not fly again.
 

Jim123

DD-214 in hand and I'm gonna party like it's 1998
pilot
Of note: there's lots of cultural factors at play here, stuff you had to be there for to really understand.
One of the safety school points is class A mishaps come out of bad command climates, more often than not. I think part of that is the safety school kool aid but at the same time I didn't find the message or the delivery overly unbalanced. (For example, another safety school talking point is that good safety stats are usually a byproduct of mission accomplishment and a good command climate.) A lot of the case studies they use reinforce this point, and I wonder how much the case studies are cherry picked to support the idea or if a random selection of case studies support the idea just fine- I suspect it's somewhere in between, but overall I believe that dumb leadership is to blame for most of our crashed aircraft.
 
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