Anthony2000
PRO-REC Y SNA
Hey all,
Curious to see if any Fires Os or NGLOs are running around on this site?
Curious to see if any Fires Os or NGLOs are running around on this site?
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Any Fires Os or NGLOs in here?
- Thread starter Anthony2000
- Start date
I’m not sure what your fascination is with the subject. Just know that these jobs & qualifications are considered off track (read NOT CAREER ENHANCING) and career killers. If you are in aviation, and you get one of these jobs, you will be lucky to make O-4, and you probably won’t get a department head job in gray jets.
Anthony2000
PRO-REC Y SNA
Just curious on those who took that path, and had some unique opportunities within Naval Aviation. Noted
Probably the perennial "if Johnny Kim can do all these things, why can't I" poster that wanders in occasionally even before he became the ur-example. Not realizing he's a huge damned outlier and the exception which proves the rule.
No, you usually can't be a career aviator and then go run around jumping out of airplanes, rocking an HK416, and be an operator operating operationally. You have to pick one.
Anthony2000
PRO-REC Y SNA
Noted!
Fins Out
Well-Known Member
Written from a VFA 1310 perspective: a Fires O is not part of the traditional path, but I wouldn't call it a career killer if you have good high water FITREP paper in your JO and DH tours. Assuming both those are met, the logical places to work a tour like this will be your disassociated tour and/or your post-DH tour(which you'll need to knock your FITREP out of the park to even entertain this option while wanting to screen for command). If you're doing this post-DH with something like a short #1 EP ticket, it probably will be a career killer. At least on the VFA pilot side, one of your biggest challenges will be convincing the detailer to let you avoid a Super JO or CAG Staff flying tour (really good problems to have!). This is current environment and things could change; 10 years ago my detailer told me they were "out of the Super JO business". I can't really speak for the VFA 1320 side, or how this would impact career progression of the other communities.
If you do end up going this route, expectation management is going to be huge to your happiness. You'll get to do some pretty cool things, but you are still in a support role. The ratio of producing power point, making sure boxes are checked green, and staff work vs times jumping out of airplanes is vastly weighted to one side. If you have to ask which one, this is NOT the job for you.
If you do end up going this route, expectation management is going to be huge to your happiness. You'll get to do some pretty cool things, but you are still in a support role. The ratio of producing power point, making sure boxes are checked green, and staff work vs times jumping out of airplanes is vastly weighted to one side. If you have to ask which one, this is NOT the job for you.
Anthony2000
PRO-REC Y SNA
Thanks for the feedback! I’ve talked to a few FSOs one in DEVGRU he couldn’t go into much detail for obvious reasons but he did jump enough with them to get his jump wings. Another was in a “vanilla” team out in the Middle East. He had to go out in the field only a few times but most of his time out in the field was back home in Coronado doing work ups and making sure the JTACs in the team were up to speed before heading out for deployment.
I’ve met another guy who was screened to be an actual JTAC in a Task Force within DEVGRU, very interesting stories…
I do know exactly what you guys are talking about with it being a dead end only one ended up back in the cockpit! I do understand the risk, I was pursuing NSW for awhile had very high PFT scores maxed everything in optimal on the NSW SOAS pre screen PFT, at the end of the day my heart is with aviation! Just looking for some more people who done it!
I’ve met another guy who was screened to be an actual JTAC in a Task Force within DEVGRU, very interesting stories…
I do know exactly what you guys are talking about with it being a dead end only one ended up back in the cockpit! I do understand the risk, I was pursuing NSW for awhile had very high PFT scores maxed everything in optimal on the NSW SOAS pre screen PFT, at the end of the day my heart is with aviation! Just looking for some more people who done it!
Obligatory appearance by SGM Vining:
