Free time as an NFO?

[NavyOCS]

I was wondering what kind of work schedule a typical NFO encounters. As far as schedule is concerned is it like most 9-5 jobs with weekends off. Does it carry on additional stress outside of work?

 

[Sabre170]

Any NFOs want to answer this one?

 

[NFOwife]

It all depends on your ground job and where your squadron is in the turn around period for deployment. When you first check into your squadron you'll get an easy Admin job (most likely) where you'll be the Public Affairs Officer or help run the squadron's computers. As you get more senior you'll get more responsibility. You'll get the same jobs as the pilots and work the same amount, at least in carrier aviation.

When you first come home off of deployment, and for several months afterwards, many squadrons only work 4 day weeks. As far as work days: 7 am-ish to 4 pm is a full work day, but a chunk of your day is spent hanging out with the guys and fighting over where to go to lunch.

My squadron was always super good about giving you time off if situations came up. I could just tell my boss that I wanted to do something in particular with my wife or that I had a few errands to run and he would let me take an afternoon off to do it. The mentality when you are home is: spend as much time with your family as possible before deployment, even if deployment is far away.

 

[zab1001]

Most NFOs have plenty of free time...to ***** about having to fly.

ZING

I keed I keed.

BUT-
"NFO's are like seagulls, they won't fly until you throw a rock at them"
(from a random LTJG NFO, callsign "Skippy")

 

[wink]

That must be another P-3 airman defect, complaining about having to fly. No one in my squadron ever complained about having to fly unless it was between 0100 and 0500.

 

[zab1001]

whoah, don't lump all the aircrew in there. it's us pilots pushing for the flights that pisses off the fo's most. "ah...one HF broken...yeah but the other one still works....ah...one EDC down? we can still pressurize.... prop leak? nah that's 'condensation'..." the fo's are either up to their eyeballs with their brains on fire working back there or fighting comas trying to stay awake in the seat.

 

[wink]

Ya, I know, you P-3 guys never cancelled a mission unless the oven or head was out of service. Leaky props, ok, no comms, not a problem, bad generator, launch'em, lav flush motor inop, no pillows for the rack...CANX!