Congrats to LT. Swegle (aka Charles Edward never-ending question thread)

[Charles Edward]

My wait for E2C2 advanced is gonna be about 7 months, about equal to my time in a-pool

What do officers do daily when they are "waiting in the pool", please?

 

[Charles Edward]

I hope at some point they (Navy AND media) let her fade into the fleet and get to just be a normal JO, not a poster girl. You only get to do that once per life, and there's times it's stressful enough for anyone. I can't imagine having to be a nugget with Public Affairs constantly up my ass to boot.

Yeah...so, what happens if she turns out to be a lousy fleet pilot? I most certainly do not wish that on her or anyone else, but it is possible, correct? Would that not then be a public relations disaster for the navy?

 

[Python]

Thanks, Python.

So, from commissioning to the time you are Hornet pilot on a carrier it could be up to five years after pipeline training and FRS? Then, it is a three year tour on a carrier, correct?

That's not what I said. Reread it and my subsequent postal. 5 years is uncommon. 3-4 is most common (for jets).

You get assigned to your first fleet squadron after that. It will be assigned to a base. When you do work up exercises and deploy during that's tour, then you are on a ship.

Further details are easily searchable. Please use the search function.

 

[Charles Edward]

There is also a woman now who has become the first Special Forces soldier in the Army. I wonder how the male candidates who dropped out must feel that a female was able to complete the training.

So, can we expect the first female SEAL soon?

 

[Charles Edward]

That's not what I said. Reread it and my subsequent postal. 5 years is uncommon. 3-4 is most common (for jets).

You get assigned to your first fleet squadron after that. It will be assigned to a base. When you do work up exercises and deploy during that's tour, then you are on a ship.

Further details are easily searchable. Please use the search function.

Understood. Thank you, Python.

 

[IKE]

It's news if you're from the part of America where you and your friends and family don't traditionally dream about flying a jet with "U.S. Navy" painted on the side.

I'm good with it. Maybe not 100% good with it, but our country isn't 100% perfect either- never has been and never will. But overall I'm good with her story and the publicity.

Agreed. I'm good with it to the extent it encourages more non white-males and people who aren't wearing polos tucked into pink shorts and sockless loafers to pursue wings.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Thanks, Python.

So, from commissioning to the time you are Hornet pilot on a carrier it could be up to five years after pipeline training and FRS? Then, it is a three year tour on a carrier, correct?

As others have said, 5 years is on the extreme long end of that, but 2 years to wings and another year or so in the FRS is common. The first carrier qual in the F/A-18 (or fleet aircraft for that matter) occurs during the FRS, towards the end of the syllabus. First fleet tour is normally 3 years, plus or minus a couple months. You are not assigned to a carrier specifically though. The tour is with a squadron, which falls under a deployable carrier air wing. Both entities are normally based ashore at either Oceana, Lemoore, or Japan for VFA types (sometimes air wing is not co-located with squadron however). You live there and you are not working or flying from the boat unless you are deployed or doing pre-deployment "work ups". Hope that makes sense

 

[HSMPBR]

What do officers do daily when they are "waiting in the pool", please?

or

 

[wlawr005]

Yeah...so, what happens if she turns out to be a lousy fleet pilot? I most certainly do not wish that on her or anyone else, but it is possible, correct? Would that not then be a public relations disaster for the navy?

Haha, nailed it. The other side of that coin is that she's a perfectly capable fleet pilot who's normal progression is lauded while her non-minority brethren fight the same fight, which could also negatively single her out amongst her peers.

Our business is not one of public spectacle. The public during WWII championed fighter pilots and kept count along with them as they tore through the skies with bullets flying and metal tearing around them. Much different public back then. Different kind of pilots too.

 

[Charles Edward]

View attachment 26984
or
View attachment 26985

LOL...ok..besides that...what do they do during the day?

Speaking of alcohol, can one really fit into the navy if one does not drink?

 

[HSMPBR]

Agreed. I'm good with it to the extent it encourages more non white-males and people who aren't wearing polos tucked into pink shorts and sockless loafers to pursue wings.

I’m on team equity and love this for many factors (which, as I think about it, are mostly based on my [our] assumptions about her experiences based on her gender and declared race and how that could be a positive for the over-represented women of color in our enlisted ranks—she could be just as polo/pink short/boat shoe as the rest of Annapolis).

However, knowing my navy, I fear there’s a fair amount of showponyism here. Not fair to that aviator. Didn’t go well for that USAF Viper pilot when she didn’t turn out to actually be Miss Marvel. I hope she succeeds because we need officers and pilots at a time when a lot don’t want to join and even fewer want to stay.

 

[Charles Edward]

As others have said, 5 years is on the extreme long end of that, but 2 years to wings and another year or so in the FRS is common. The first carrier qual in the F/A-18 (or fleet aircraft for that matter) occurs during the FRS, towards the end of the syllabus. First fleet tour is normally 3 years, plus or minus a couple months. You are not assigned to a carrier specifically though. The tour is with a squadron, which falls under a deployable carrier air wing. Both entities are normally based ashore at either Oceana, Lemoore, or Japan for VFA types (sometimes air wing is not co-located with squadron however). You live there and you are not working or flying from the boat unless you are deployed or doing pre-deployment "work ups". Hope that makes sense

Thanks.

So, at one point does an aviator actually live on the ship? And, ship deployments are normally 6 months, correct?

 

[HSMPBR]

LOL...ok..besides that...what do they do during the day?

Speaking of alcohol, can one really fit into the navy if one does not drink?

That is the day, brother.

 

[DanMa1156]

LOL...ok..besides that...what do they do during the day?

Speaking of alcohol, can one really fit into the navy if one does not drink?

One of the most popular guys in my last 2 squadrons was a non-drinker. I am a light drinker and have never had a problem.

Edit: Your profile says you're a reservist. What branch are you in? You've asked a few questions that would be common knowledge I think most most people near the military.

 

[DanMa1156]

Thanks.

So, at one point does an aviator actually live on the ship? And, ship deployments are normally 6 months, correct?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH. At one point pre 9/11 they probably were. Nowadays, most carriers are planned for probably ~7.5 and I'd hazard a guess that most of them have been extended beyond that. Lincoln was gone nearly a full year last year. I was on a planned 10 month one a few years back. My guess is the average is 8 but seeing extensions to 9 or 10 months is not uncommon.