As survivor of the very first MATSG selection board, I can honestly tell you that the board SUCKS but it is a necessary evil. As a person who has "chaired" many Marine boards, let me first say that it is a privlege to look at a student and place him in a platform that will benefit the Corps. Unlike the Navy, who sends recommendations to the detailer and the detailer has the final say, not the IP's that know the SNA. I've seen MANY CO's recommendations over turned by the detailer. The USMC "Monitors" (Like the Navy detailers) send the board members the slots needed to be filled. We have the opportunity to interview and attempt to find a best fit for each pilot. The Harrier cutoff is a pain and it does seem that we strive for mediocrity but the intention is to strive for life preservation. What was happening was that all the top pilots were selecting hornets. At the time, the Marine Corps only had 1 squadron of Prowlers so only 1 slot came up annually(unlike when I selected and 5 of us got Prowlers. There is generally 2 slots for EA6's per month on average). All the lower ranked pilots got Scarriers. What was happening is that we were crashing Scarriers at a rate of 25 per 100,000 flight hours. For those who don't realize the sigifigance with that figure, let me explain. The individual rates of the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps is normally les then 2 per 100,000 flight hour. That figure is for ALL the aircraft in each service. My figure on the Harrier is for that aircraft ALONE. The Harrier accident rate has come down significantly since the initiation of the "Harrier Cut" but it is still high for a single aircraft. In fact, the Marine Corps does not include the Harrier in the service's annual mishap rate. That's the reason behind the cut. The board now determines the cut and those people below are generally going to get Hornets. Those above the cut, your interview is everything. If you have a bad attitude (you would be suprised at the attitudes that show up at a board determining your life for the next 5-15 years)you are not going to get what you want. Don't try to influence the board either UNLESS you have a critically ill child who needs special care, you are probably going to Miramar which has the best hospitals. That is the only case that I have seen that ever influenced a boards decision. By the way, we never looked at the NSS nor computed it. All grades were computed by Student Control and then the MATSG SGT was told to compile the data and tell us who was above the line and who wasn't.
As a last note, how you do in flight school is not always a good indication of how you will perform in the fleet. The stress of flight school can impede performance at times but it is somewhat difficult to tell the top performers from the marginal ones in the fleet. EVERYONE learns at a different pace. No One is "mediocre" when he achieves his Wings of Gold regardless of platform. It is one of the most difficult schools in the military.
Semper SoapBox, Frumby
Attack Pilot
Major USMC
