Delayed Commissioning due to flight physical

[AFDad]

I'm a bit confused about why my daughter was told she could not be commissioned with her class due to a pending flight physical.

A little background. She was previously to be commissioned as a SWO - she had already been selected for her ship assignment. Then the NROTC put out a request for additional applicants for Naval Aviation from the class of 2011 - my daughter applied and was accepted, pending a flight physical. The problem is her NROTC unit could not schedule the physical until 2 June (she graduates in a few days). She has been told she will not be commissioned with her class because of this pending flight physical - however, if she had not applied for/accepted into the Aviation field she would have been commisioned. Furthermore, if something goes wrong in the flight physical she will then be commisioned and sent on to her previous assignment as a SWO.

What is difficult for me to understand is why she couldn't be commissioned with her class. To add insult to injury her NROTC midshipman ID card expires at the end of May, so she will need an escort to enter the Naval facility for her physical.

I fully understand there are differences (for example Submarine officers get commisioned and begin full pay, with a $15k bonus - while others, will go into the IRR with no pay awaiting asignment). But if all requirements had previously been met to be commissioned as a SWO, why can't she be commissioned - especially into just the IRR - as it would at least solve the ID issue to get onto a Naval facility own her own for her physical.

Sorry, but I am a bit dense on why the Navy commissioning process is handled like this.

 

[feddoc]

AFDad,

I am confused too and I've been around the Navy since 1974. I bet the delay has more to do with timing....the timing of the request from NROTC and when the local unit could schedule a physical. I suspect the reason why she cannot be commissioned with her class is because she is about to become a SNA and to be fully accepted in to the program, she must pass a flight physical. Flight physicals are very different from 'normal' physicals in a number of ways, all related to how the body reacts at altitude and under flight conditions.

Invite her to join AW. It is a pretty good resource for those about to join the fold and for those already winged.

I'm a bit confused about why my daughter was told she could not be commissioned with her class due to a pending flight physical.

A little background. She was previously to be commissioned as a SWO - she had already been selected for her ship assignment. Then the NROTC put out a request for additional applicants for Naval Aviation from the class of 2011 - my daughter applied and was accepted, pending a flight physical. The problem is her NROTC unit could not schedule the physical until 2 June (she graduates in a few days). She has been told she will not be commissioned with her class because of this pending flight physical - however, if she had not applied for/accepted into the Aviation field she would have been commisioned. Furthermore, if something goes wrong in the flight physical she will then be commisioned and sent on to her previous assignment as a SWO.

What is difficult for me to understand is why she couldn't be commissioned with her class. To add insult to injury her NROTC midshipman ID card expires at the end of May, so she will need an escort to enter the Naval facility for her physical.

I fully understand there are differences (for example Submarine officers get commisioned and begin full pay, with a $15k bonus - while others, will go into the IRR with no pay awaiting asignment). But if all requirements had previously been met to be commissioned as a SWO, why can't she be commissioned - especially into just the IRR - as it would at least solve the ID issue to get onto a Naval facility own her own for her physical.

Sorry, but I am a bit dense on why the Navy commissioning process is handled like this.

 

[wlawr005]

Another, maybe more specific reason, is that to commission you need a designator (assignment). As a Student Naval Aviator, she will be commissioning as a 1390. There isn't a pool of Ensigns just sitting around waiting for assignments, the commissions and assignments go hand in hand. When she opted to go pilot, she opted for a new designator, one which requires a more rigorous physical. It's good that she still has the option to go SWO if she is physically disqualified for flight training. Depending on the needs of the Navy, that is not always the case.

However, the holdup on her commissioning is not a punishment...just an administrative issue. Her commissioning date will have no effect on her career as a pilot.

 

[squorch2]

Something similar happened to me back in 2004, and I was commissioned 2.5 weeks later than my peers and by myself. Yeah, it sucks, but she won't think twice about it a few weeks down the road.

 

[MIDNJAC]

I got commissioned and DFAS didn't pay me for like 3 months right off the bat.....things could be worse....

 

[NavyNukeNFO]

wlawr005 is exactly right. She is qualified to be commissioned as a SWO right now with her class if she wanted to. However to be a SNA...she can not commission until she is qualified to commission as a SNA. HOWEVER...she gets a opportunity to go SNA and it comes with a couple week delay of commissioning. Hope her physical goes great and she gets SNA and then the time waiting will not be for nothing. Good luck!

 

[AFDad]

Thanks all - her graduation went great and she has the attitude expressed on this forum, that after she gets to Pensacola her late commissioning becomes a moot point.

Still, not being Navy keeps me from fully understanding the rationale. I will still believe that commissioning and subsequent career paths are separate entities. One is earned by completion of a commissioning source (service academy, ROTC, or OCS) and the other by completion of a specific training course (UPT, infantry, submarines).

The main thing is she accepts this as nothing more than a bump in the road to her ultimate goal to be a member of Naval Aviation. And from the respectful responses to my ignorance about Navy policy tells me she is right.

She is already aware of this forum and will probably give me hell for jumping in with my "dad issue" if she reads this.

Thanks to all again