What's goin on. I was a Sgt, working on Parris Island and am now 4 months away from getting winged to fly Hornets, Harriers, or Prowlers.
It really pisses me off
to here that your career planner was helpless. That is just what I went through when I tried for career advancement. I guess I was hoping the CP's have gotten more proficient at their job since I last needed them.
Anyway, you need to get your hands on the Marine Corps Order(MCO) for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning and Education Program(MECEP), or the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training(BOOST) program. I got this info from my S3 office. It may also be in your S1 Admin office. Just ask around and get your hands on this info. Once you get these publications, it will outline everything you need to do to submit a professional looking package to Head Quarters Marine Corps.
I went through BOOST because I had no prior college behind me and had never taken the SAT. BOOST is a college prep couse two school semesters long of physics, calculus, english, etc. at a naval base in Newport, RI. If you can make it through BOOST then you will be sent on to MECEP.
Mecep is the best deal of all commissioning programs because you're kept on active duty and your MOS is student, simply to get a degree. My job for 4 yrs as a sgt was student and I loved the freedom of being able to invest 100% of my time into my studies, which resulted in a 3.8 GPA Electrical engineer, while the average student had to study and juggle a job.
My advice for you is not to wait until you finish your contract. You are a prime candidate for the MECEP program right now, because, unlike me at the time, you already have college courses under you belt, you have already proven you can handle the academics and you will need much less than 4yrs to get your degree.
Once in college, take the ASTB. It's the aviators S.A.T. and the only gurantee the Corps offers. If you pass the test, you will be labeled with a guranteed aviation slot before going to TBS while all your peers will have to compete for one of 23 MOS's. With a gurantee you can rest assured you will be a pilot(I enjoyed that peace of mind).
After you leave TBS, you go to Pensacola, FL and go through Introductory Flight Syllabus(IFS), in which you acquire 25hrs of flight time at a local flight school with sillyvillians. This is an inexpesive way for the gov't to determine whether you have the aptitude to begin military flight training. They feel if you can't make it with civilians then you will not move on to military training and you next stop will be Supply Officer. Also, some people at this point realize they hate flying or are prone to airsickness.
Next you go through API, which is a 6 week academic and water survival weed out process.
Then Primary can be at Whiting Field near Pensacola, FL or Corpus Cristi, TX where you fly the T-34. Your 6 month performance here determines wether you fly helos or jets. If your naval standard score (nss) is <49 you go helos, 50< you go jets.
Helos, you stay at Whiting field in Milton, FL for another 6 months, get winged and find out what platform the Corps needs you to fly. A lot of people get their first choice of helo, but as you know it all comes down to the needs of the Corps.
Jets: I flew the T-2 Buckeye first and then the T-45 Goshawk. The T-2 is gone now so studs are going straight to the T-45 and that training lasts around 10 months give or take a few weeks. If you're an all around great pilot you fly the Harrier, If your good at landing on the carrier you fly the Prowler, and if you're struggling to stay in the program they give you the Hornet, which is the jet everyone wants to fly. Then again it all comes down to the needs of the Corps.
As you can see, there is no way of guranteeing an airframe. It all comes down to your performance and the needs of the Corps. However, there is one way I have guranteed every step of the way. That is through prayer and my faith in Christ.
Hope this info helps, and God Bless,
ODO
