FLIGHT PHYSICAL DURING TBS

[Taxman2A]

I just graduated OCS this past summer, and will be getting commissioned through the PLC program this may, and heading out to TBS after that (eventually).

I currently have a contract for a guaranteed NFO spot at TBS. Now this is all just scuttlebutt I heard from another candidate, who says he heard from his OCS company commander, so I was wondering if anyone here had any sort of verification, but I heard that a great percentage (30-40 percent) of TBS students with guaranteed aviation spots lose that assignment at TBS because of a flight physical you receive while there, which supposedly diagnoses certain LT.'s with different ailments that DQ them from flight school, most of which are problems the confused LT's had no prior knowledge of?

Any truth to this?

Semper Fi

 

[E5B]

If you have a current flight physical, then you do not have to have one here at TBS. So far, we haven't lost any flight contracts due to NPQ, we have, however, had some Lt's want to give up their flight contracts.

"You forgot your fortune cookie"

Dirty Harry

 

[Adrenaline Rush]

forgive me for being ignorant, but why do so many want to give up the chance of having wings for the chance of being a grunt?

I'd Rather Be A Lion For One Day, Than Be A Sheep For A Thousand Years

It Is Our Duty To Protect The Best Nation In The World

 

[farkle84]

i know a lot of guys at OCS who had the air contract but wanted ground contract afterwards because of some of the training and stuff you do at OCS. they like the grunt work and i liked it as well. but some people just have a change of heart or they dont have the confidence to go through a year and a half to two years of flight training.

 

[Taxman2A]

Adrenaline:
What originally attracted me to being a Marine was not the dream of being a pilot necessarily, but the thought of being an Infantryman. Since I have joined the Marine corps I have also had the opportunity to take a flight contract. The thought of being an aviator is also an attractive prospect, but the lure to enter a ground MOS is still there. I am currently weighing my options, and as I see both paths leading to an enjoyable career, I am not sure which route I will choose.

 

[Adrenaline Rush]

fair enough taxman, i can see your reasoning..I guess it depends on how you look at it..For me as a Aero Science major, the chance to be a Marine is so damn exciting, and then to top it off and be a Marine Aviator is like heaven, I'll be happy ground/air.. but there's just something about being in a 2 ton steel killing machine..

I'd Rather Be A Lion For One Day, Than Be A Sheep For A Thousand Years

It Is Our Duty To Protect The Best Nation In The World

 

[klostman]

I second that. I told my OSO to put me in a ground even if I didn't qualifty for air because just being a Marine and apart of something so special and unique is all I need to make my mind up. Even though I'm not a Marine and can't exactly say what its like, I can imagine thats its quite like nothing in this world.

 

[ltjhoward]

I'm a 7599 at TBS and I'm extremly excited to head down to Pensacola, however, any MOS the Corps has to offer me would be better than sittting behind a desk in the civilian world. As I understand it, your flight physical is good for 2 years before you start flying, so you might get one at TBS or you might not. I haven't heard of any bad news in that area though. Also, some guys got air contracts so they could get into OCS and their OSO told them they could drop them at TBS easy as pie. Well, it is a major hassle to switch back to ground. Bottom line, don't sign a contract unless you intend to follow through.
MAGTF

 

[HueyHornet75]

ltjhoward hits the nail on the head. taxman, please make sure you know what you want. if you're wishy washy about it during ocs, that's ok. if you're wishy washy at TBS, you have 4 months to make your decision. every chance they get, the grunt AIs (assistant instructors) are going to try and convince you to drop your contract. for some real motivated types, they have the option of going to IOC-the infantry officer's course, before reporting to Pensacola for API and flight training. IOC is basically another 10 week extension of TBS, that feels like OCS on crack. but you wind up with an 0302 and a 75XX MOS-pretty cool.
but, if you are into the high speed grunt stuff like artillery, combat engineering or grunts-you will have a very difficult time getting those MOS's if you DOR in flight school-and you might find yourself in an MOS you might not have desired too much. i have buddies that have DORd and they're in a hurt locker.
Bottom line: support the grunts from the sky, or be on the deck leading them...either way, it's all about those Marines, not you. Choose how you want to best give back to them.
semper fi

 

[trevor jones]

I am trying for a flight contract but miss four on the color vision test, you can only miss two. I am really pissed because i want to fly for the marines, the air force will still except me, but that the air force. I am also worried that if i can pull of the test they will give me another physical in or after TBS where they could find out that i am have a hard time passing the test and will DQ me.

 

[stevew]

what does the color vision test consist of?

-Steve

 

[trevor jones]

there are 2 different tests the navy and marines except the PIP which is a plate test where you find the numbers in the colored circles with all the dots, and the Falant latern test. Like i said before you can only miss 2 on the PIP, you can't miss any on the falant. The falant is supposed to be a more solid reliable test. Both are exceptable. I just found out about the falant and am not quite sure what is consists of but your damn sure i am going to give it a whirl after failing the PIP test. It is worth a shot, anything to be a Marine Aviator..

 

[Sins]

i took all the vision tests and passed. im happy about my 20/13 (but all that was recorded was 20/20)

if you're talking about what i'm thinking, i also took the falant. you stare at box that emits a colored light from about 6-8 ft away in a dark room. the light source is small - about the size of a "lite-brite" bulb or maybe 1/4 the surface area of a dime. the tech switches the color of the light - it sounds (and probably operates like) a slide projector. from what i remember, the light is either white, red, or green.

 

[orthaj]

There is a possibility you can go to IOC before primary, that sounds cool. I have an air contract and report to TBS in Nov. I would consider doing something like that but I do have to account for the fact that I am 27 now and will report to Pcola when I am 28. My knees and my back may not think that idea is to cool when I get to cross that bridge. I had no idea that was even an option. Can anyone out there or is tell me more about this. I would like to get some first hand info on this.

 

[wildflyin69]

I heard from Bunk 22 and a few other ones that you can bomb the PIP, (get more than 2 wrong) but as long as you ace the FALANT you're good to go. That sounds believable since the PIP is designed to pick up any trace of color-weakness. And since something like 1 out of every 3 males has some degree of color-weakness I think they would have a hard time finding pilots if the Falant wasn't the deciding test.