Hey, just a few general questions about life as a Navy Aviator. How are deployments done? I mean how much time is spent deployed if you are part of a carrier air wing? What about helo guys flying off small decks? How long are tours in a particular squadron/billet etc? Do you rotate from at sea to shore tours? After your first tour, how much control do you have on where you go next? Anybody with a few minutes and some insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
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General Navy Aviation Questions
- Thread starter hopkins
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I can somewhat answer your questions. As a Navy C-2 pilot, I have led a bit different life than most carrier naval aviators but that's a different story. Generally, after flight school and the FRS (Fleet Replacement Squadron), you will be assigned to a fleet squadron for your first sea duty assignment. Used to be 3 years but many, like me, were extended to 3 1/2 years. After that tour comes your first shore tour which should also be 3 years but mine was shortened to 2 1/2 years. I did not get my requested assignment because the Navy's needs came first so I was sent to the FRS for the E-2/C-2 community. This scenario holds true for most sea going and non sea going aviators.
Hopkins, Bunk was right on about the length of tours, most likely longer sea tour than shore tour. I did 2 sets of cruises and workups, so here's how it went for the unlucky members who didn't get to do the beach det on cruise. Each cruise cycle lasts 18 months, the first 12 are spent training at various land bases(4 week det to NAS Fallon, 2 week det to NAF El Centro), plus a variety of boat dets, back in 1998, you had a 3 week boat det(TSTA, not sure what it stood for) to get every airwing member night current and used to flying around the boat again, and 3 different 2-3 week boat dets, to work on droping bombs, finding subs, air to air stuff, and working with the rest of the battle group. Once all this is done, you get to go on your 6 month cruise. Once you get home, you stand down for about 6-8 months, then start it all over again. That's the way it used to be. Some buds of mine on the Stennis got back in May 2002, and right now they are back on cruise, on the Vinson, somewhere around Hawaii. During a boring point of cruise, I figured out that in a 41 months sea tour, I actually slept at my house a total of 10 months(but that included leave, not just dets). As far as going to shore duty, you have to be the #1 LT to get your first choice, sometimes the #2 guy doesn't get his first choice, most of the time he does, but not always. Hope that answered most of your questions, sorry for being so long winded.
You're right EODDave, most of the time at least. I know of a few COD dets now living in tent city's. On my first cruise in 99, we called ourselves VAW-30 since we were doing the day/night carrier thing and we spent all 6 months onboard the ship. VRC-30 did that for three years (97-00) before it once again got out of the night program. DET-5 in Japan still flies COD's at night so I'm one of the night qualified instructors at VAW-120. I tell you though, I enjoyed that first cruise so much more than my last. Sure, the $10,000 in per diem was nice but being a part of the airwing had its advantages.
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