Aviator or NFO question

[Paul Burke]

I have completed everything except for signing the last page of the application which I will be doing Monday afternoon once everything is squared away by the recruiter's office. On the ASTB, I scored 7's and 8's on everything except for the NFOBI which was a 3. My choices are #1 Avaitor, #2 NFO, #3 Supply

I have seen other posts here saying that if NFO is anywhere as a choice then that's what I'd get. Does anyone have the recent gouge about this?

 

[PeacoatMan]

Mr. Simpson,

I saw my recruiter Thursday. My application is being sent off next week -- all I want to do is fly, i.e. Pilot. As we talked about the process, he told me the application initially goes to your first choice. If they have open slots and you are qualified then they theoretically are going to take you. But really, who the hell knows exactly how that works out? All I know is I do not want to be an NFO ... I was born to drive that plane ... so I only put pilot. If there's any chance that you might be interested in NFO, then I would recommend putting it as your 2nd or 3rd choice; if you only want to be a pilot, then just put pilot. Maybe talk to your recruiter a little more about what to do.

By the way, I think your BIO score has to be a 4 to be considered for pilot. Let me know if it's different.

Also, when you worked on Prowlers, were you ever taken up in one? Did you like living in Whidbey?

Good luck,
Joey



Edited by - peacoatman on 12/01/2001 02:32:18

 

[Paul Burke]

Hi ya Peacoat,

My recruiter told me the same thing but I have read too many posts around here that say otherwise. I want to know what the facts are and how the system works. I know firsthand how miserable it can be when you are stuck in a job that you don't really want. I want nothing more than to be a pilot as well. That is one of the reasons why I enlisted to begin with.

I got a 7 for the pilot BI. It is the NFO BI that I got a 3.

Whidbey Island is a really good place to be stationed. If you like drizzly rain and cold weather it's even better. The base itself is very well kept and the services are top notch. Stephen's Pass isn't too far away, neither is Seattle and Vancouver. Oak Harbor is definitely a sleepy little town, or at least it was 5 years ago.

The only way anyone can fly in the back seat of an aircraft is if they go through the qualification process for it. I have no clue what it entails exactly. None of us really had any business trying it. I only saw one enlisted person fly in the back seat and that was a photographer's mate from the USS Nimitz. I will definitely be putting prowlers down as one of my choices. It is a really good aircraft.

 

[Michaela]

Bart,

Using what little experience I've had so far with the Navy, I'd also recommend reconsidering your choices. When I applied, I was told that if I put down NFO, chances are I'd get NFO no matter if it was choice #1 or #3. So I only chose pilot. Since I have my pilot slot now for 05 Jan, I guess that was the right thing to do! If it hadn't worked out that way, I was told I could reapply and add NFO or whatever and send it through a second time. It might not hurt to send your package through "pilot only" the first time.

If you declare pilot only, does the NFO BI even matter? If so, you can always take the test again after a month.

Just my 2 cents.

Michaela

OCS in Jan!

 

[Paul Burke]

Thanks for the reply.

I went ahead and sent it with Pilot, NFO, and Supply respectively. My recruiters are highly convinced that Pilot is what I'll get. I think primarily because I served as a plane captain and airframer in an EA-6B squadron. My Pilot BI is a 7 whereas my NFO BI is a 3. So if I'm not mistaken, Pilot is the only one I qualify for anyways. As of this morning, there were only 27 Pilot slots available for all next year so I really don't want to burn any more time than I have to in order to get a slot. I'd wait til 2003 if I had to but I'd rather ship out as soon as I graduate. My packet is being shipped off first thing tomorrow morning. I don't know how anyone else was but I'm chomping at the bit to get this job!

 

[webmaster]

Bart, best of luck in the upcoming selection!

 

[Paul Burke]

Thanks John

I was reading through old posts on here last night and then it struck me. What if I get offered a job as a supply officer instead of Pilot? I stayed up all night running the scenarios in my head and none of them looked good. And then, God grants me my wish. My recruiter calls me and tells me that there was one form that I hadn't signed that they caught on the final look through. I got it signed and also told them to scratch 2 and 3 and see what happens with pilot. Recruiters mean well but experience usually doesn't change it's mind. Thanks for everyone past and present who posted their experiences about this on here.