A couple questions if anyone can help...they're easy

[DivisionToWing]

1. If anyone has experience with the ASTB could you recomend the best prep/study guide for it.

2. I want to fly AH-1s so I can fly as close support for the grunts as possible. From what I gather from the pilots who come through my pos everyday is that you get to submit your preference for strike/helos/C-130s. Once I go helos is it basically a crap shoot from there?

Thanks, any info is appreciated.

 

[peanut3479]

Once you get towards the end of Primary flight training you "select" a pipeline, which means you put down your order of preference for jets, props, and helos, and based on your NSS (standardized) score and the needs of the Marine Corps you get assigned a pipeline. Typically those with higher NSS scores get jets, but in the end it's all a bit of a crap shoot becaue it's next to imposible to calculate your NSS score on your own at any given time.

As far as selecting a specific platform (aircraft), all I know is that that occurs right around the time you finish Advanced and get winged. I'm only in Primary and I'm not close to selecting yet, so I don't know EXACTLY how it goes, but that's the process in a nutshell as it's been explained to me many times over.

 

[schmied]

well I can only answer question 1. The ARCO military test book is the best. If you do a search on this forum you'll get the exact title of the book and puplication info. Another really useful page is also on here: http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8
the link above should work, otherwise type "ASTB gauge" in the search on this forum and you'll find it. Worked very well for me!

 

[phrogdriver]

After you finish helos, you put in your selections for aircraft and coast. There are 10 possible combinations of aircraft and coast, so you rank them in order of preference. The system has changed between strict rank (highest guy picks 1st, 2nd picks second) and quality spread, so who knows what it will be when you get there. Regardless of the system, the universal rule applies: the #1 guy gets what he wants, everyone else gets what they get.