AW (Aviation Warfare Systems Operator) Questions

[fpdesignco]

Hello,

Im currently a Junior in High School and looking at my options into the service as well as my educational future. My goal at the end of the day is to earn a commision and enter into Aviation in a pilot slot. My current plan is to go enlisted and take advantage of some of the programs the military offers in regards to education to earn my bachelors degree. Now, I was looking through several career choices and AW (Aviation Warfare Systems Operator) really stood out to me as a great way to get to know the aircraft and be part of the flight crew. Does anyone here have any experince with this field and/or give me some insight into the training, job, what you do etc,

Thankyou,

 

[Bevo16]

I am an SH-60F/HH-60H pilot, and the aircrew division officer in my squadron, so I know quite a bit about the AW rate. AW is a very demanding and rewarding rate. My guys are the jacks of all trades, and they are masters of them all too. They handle everthing from SAR swimming, to operating sonar, to shooting the M-240 and GAU-16 (.50 Cal). There are a lot of duties in between. That is if you are lucky enough to go to an HS sqadron though. It is possible to go all the way though the AW pipeline and end up assigned to a ship. You could also end up in some other aircraft (60-B or P-3), where you would not get to do some of the cool things that my guys do. I am sure that those guys have their advantages too, maybe someone from those communities can offer their thoughts.

If you have any detail questions about AW, feel free to PM me.

If your goal is to get a degree and be a pilot, you should start looking into the ROTC program. I was enlisted for two years before I was selected for the NROTC program, and it was a great experience for me. One of the big reasons that I enlisted was because I did not know what I wanted to do, and the Navy would pay me to work and travel while I figured it out. If you already know what you want to do, you should consider skipping the middle step (going enlisted). The ROTC application process for high school students is much different than it is once you are already in the Navy, and there is a lot more slots available for HS students than there are through the STA-21 program.

You have really a really well thought out set of goals. Just take a look at the most direct path to get where you want to go.

 

[Gatordev]

If you want to enlist, then by all means, go for it and get what you want out of the experience. However, if you intend to enlist for the overall goal of getting some free education and getting a commission, I would suggest looking at some other programs first. For example, NROTC and/or the Academy will provide education at no cost and has the potential to get you into the cockpit faster.

As for AWs, there's basically two career paths: VP, flying in P-3s and doing Surface surveilance and Anti-submarine stuff, and helos, where you do the same thing, but also have to qualify as a SAR swimmer. In the past, non-SAR swimmer helo crewman were also maintainers, but they're pretty much going away and everyone will be grouped into the AW rate.

It's a demanding, tough rate, and while you're flying, it's great, but you're also an enlisted trooper, so there is all that "stuff" you have to put up with. Just for what it's worth.

 

[fpdesignco]

Unfourtantly ROTC Is not a option in my case due to the competion in my area and my grades. 2.75, due to my freshman and softmore years but I have turned it around, unfourtantly according to my recruiter the scores in my area for a scholarship are somewhere in the 3.7, and 4.0 range for scholarships. I pmed you requesting a little bit more information.

 

[Gatordev]

Bevo beat me to it, but same basic message. BTW, fpdesignco, I'm from the HSL community (-60B), where Bevo is from HS. Not really something that matters to you at this point, but just clarifying.

You could also end up in some other aircraft (60-B or P-3), where you would not get to do some of the cool things that my guys do.

Ahh, more HS propaganda... For the sake of fpdesignco and my own education, what is it you guys do that we don't? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, I'm just curious how different the job is.

Also, fp, could we get a little more info? Are you still able to go to college on your own, at least for a little while? You can still participate in NROTC, with the potential to pick up a scholarship while you're already in college. Your HS grades won't count then.

 

[fpdesignco]

So all AW Are SAR Qualifed now? What are the requirment for SAR Qualification

 

[Gatordev]

So all AW Are SAR Qualifed now? What are the requirment for SAR Qualification

No, the P-3 guys aren't necessarily SAR qualled, although they could have been at one time.

I edited my last post after you posted, so here's the question again:

Also, fp, could we get a little more info? Are you still able to go to college on your own, at least for a little while? You can still participate in NROTC, with the potential to pick up a scholarship while you're already in college. Your HS grades won't count then.

 

[fpdesignco]

Well,

Unfourantly Ive had both of my parents tell me that they wont be footing my bill for college, Loans are not a option seeing I have no credit, and I do what I want to do then work study aint going cover it, nor will a part time job

 

[Brett327]

It's a demanding, tough rate,

You're joking, right? That's the first time I've ever heard the AW's job described in such, uhh, "flattering" terms. I guess I had better stop calling them Aviation Women.

Brett

 

[Brett327]

You could also end up in some other aircraft (60-B or P-3), where you would not get to do some of the cool things that my guys do.

Yeah, such cool and exciting things such as starboard 'D'. Wheee!

Brett

 

[Thisguy]

Well,

Unfourantly Ive had both of my parents tell me that they wont be footing my bill for college, Loans are not a option seeing I have no credit, and I do what I want to do then work study aint going cover it, nor will a part time job

See if you can make a deal with your parents, like if they'll cover your first year or two. Just because you're not competitive for a 4-yr scholarship, doesn't mean you can't pick up a 2 or 3 year down the road. I know a lot of people who got good grades in high school, then sh!t the bed their freshman year of college. Hopefully you've learned from your mistakes and got it out of your system. If you kick ass your freshman year of college, it should over-shadow your high school transcript.

Fill out a FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) and at the least you'll be able to get a federal stafford studen loan. Pretty much anyone can get those regardless of credit or need, letting your parents know that you're willing to shoulder some the cost should let them know your serious.

 

[TheBubba]

fp,

Good luck on chasin your dreams.

Even if you've been told you're not competitive for a NROTC scholarship, start the app anyways. I was told (by my Blue & Gold Officer) that I wan't competitive for NROTC or USNA... I applied anyways and got both... so you never know.

Thisguy has it right... just cuz you don't have the money in hand doesn't mean none's there. You just gotta know where to look. The FASFA website is a good place to start. Also talk to your guidance counselor at school and google college scholarships... you'd be amazed at what you can find (and that not alot of people know about).

Moral of the story: Don't count yourself out yet. Start the app. The worst they can do is tell you "no"... and if they do, reapply next year.

Now, I'm not saying don't enlist. What I am sayinig is weigh your options and apply to NROTC and/or USNA if you want to be an officer and an aviator. Once you have some of your ducks lined up, make your decision then.

I was about to sign my enlistment papers way back in 2000. A couple of days before I had everything finalized to go to Parris Island, some other options opened up that I had placed higher on my "Ways To Get In A Cockpit" list, so I ended up not enlisting.

 

[Goober]

You're joking, right? That's the first time I've ever heard the AW's job described in such, uhh, "flattering" terms. I guess I had better stop calling them Aviation Women.

Brett

Brett, don't you have some BB's to be stacking, window-licker (knuckle-dragger, etc.)? Don't hate us 'cos we're beautiful...

I was an AW for 8 years (active and reserve), S-3As and Bs and P-3Cs before getting commissioned. Would I trade the experience for anything? No. Having been an enlisted guy (and and aircrewman at that) gives you a completely different perspective on life in Naval Aviation. Your troops will look at you differently, your opinions will generally carry more weight (well, sometimes anyway), and you're past the general "dorky JO" age.

However...my age peers are well ahead of me. I could be coming up for O-5 in the next year or two. But I'm not. I'm still a LT up for O-4. My pay is pretty good (better than the average bear) due to the prior service time, but I could be farther along in my career had I stayed in college and gotten commissioned to start with.

The Cold War days are over, and although AW is a great rate, they don't rapidly promote to CPO compared to some other rates. As with anything, timing is everything; but this has generally been the case for AW throughout my careeer.

Bottom line - AW is a quick route into flying, your job really is meaningful (regardless of what hatemongers like Brett would tell you ), and you'll go just about everywhere in the world performing real-world missions. That said, the question is whether you'd rather just fly or fly as an officer. I was fortunate when my active enlistment was up that I was unmarried, no kids, no financial obligations, etc., making for an easy return to school. Had any one of those been different, things might not have turned out this way. Best advice: plan now for what you really want in the end and do those things that might not seem as much "instant gratification" as the tougher route.

There are plenty of aircrewmen who make the switch, but there's many more who would like to (and are capable of doing the job) but are later unable for one reason or another. Questions?

 

[Bevo16]

Ahh, more HS propaganda... For the sake of fpdesignco and my own education, what is it you guys do that we don't? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, I'm just curious how different the job is.

Well, the overland strike mission and CSAR is the biggest difference. It's not just pulling the trigger on the GAU-16, but being an extra set of eyes when we are flying through the mountians, getting out of the helo and getting the survivor back in the bird, etc, etc. That is a whole mission and skill set that a 60-B aircrewman will never get to see. We had guys in my shop log 100+ combat hours on our last deployment, and they had 1500+ total hours of green ink.


We also use NVG's a lot more that the HSL community. We would never think of flying at night without NVG's. All of my Bravo buddies tell me that they don't use them that much and they don't even bring NVG's on lots of night flights. That is crazy talk in the HS world.

We also do SAR a lot differently. I am not an expert on the HSL SAR methods, but I do know that you don't always fly with 2 aircrewmen, and it takes 2 to be fully SAR capable.

I did a cross deck about a year ago and spent 2 days with one of the HSL dets in our Strike Group. I was really impressed with the aircrew guys there, but it is a totally different world. The bubba on the ship that you are constantly talking with through Hawk Link pretty much does the job of what we would have our extra aircrewman doing. Also, the equipment package that the guys are going to operate is very different. We don't have radar, MAD, or anywhere near the bouy processing that the Bravo has, but you guys don't have dipping sonar.

 

[zippy]

Unfourtantly ROTC Is not a option in my case due to the competion in my area and my grades. 2.75, due to my freshman and softmore years but I have turned it around, unfourtantly according to my recruiter the scores in my area for a scholarship are somewhere in the 3.7, and 4.0 range for scholarships. I pmed you requesting a little bit more information.

If I listened to everyone who said I wasn't good enough or wouldn't make it through something because of things like my gpa and test scores and didn't bother putting in for things, I certainly wouldn't be where I am today. People telling me I wasn't good enough just motivated me more to get what I wanted...

I would apply anyways if I was you. you still have two more semesters of grades to count.

Even if you don't apply to ROTC definately take the SATs anyways. Get a scholarship listing book at a bookstore and checkout http://www.fastweb.com. Theres a ton of stuff out there that you might qualify for depending on your scores, background, and needs.

You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by persuing your goal. Screw the people who say you can't do it, and try anyways.

Good luck.