Incoming Ensign, with questions

[Edson]

Hello All,

I am currently a senior in the Purdue University NROTC unit. I will be graduating in DEC 05.

Our CO was recently called to a meeting in Pensacola where NROTC CO's were made aware of the problems in the Aviation Pipeline. The Midshipmen were then given a brief on the problems, to keep those of us with flying-dreams informed. Incase you are unaware, I will briefly summarize the information as I recieved it:

F-14's are being decom'd, F-14 pilots will be retrained for F-18's
S-3's are being decom'd
P-3's will soon be decom'd, with retraining for the replacement airframe

There are currently too many people trying to become pilots, especially with these decoms. ROTC units sent 240 new ensigns down to train as of this past DEC, and there is no place to really put them. they will be attrited by no less than 22% before they even begin any training.

Furthermore, for this class at the very least, API will require 42.5 pts instead of 28 pts to pass. (I do not know anything about what these points are for or from, but those were the numbers given to me).

I have always wanted to fly fighters, as probably half the youth of our Navy has. But it would appear that the chances of that just went from "slim" to "none". I am assuming the only way I will be able to find myself in a Fighter now is to be #1 at flight school. In which case, I would appreciate any words of wisdom. What can I do now to be more competitive when I arrive? Several LT's I've talked to (one a close friend) have said that taking a civilian private pilots licensing course may be beneficial. I intend to do that, as right now I have no more experience with an aircraft than the typical civilian.

What else can I do? What other things might be suggested? What are your personal views on how this will effect things?

 

[airgreg]

To answer your first question: most people agree that prior flight time generally helps. Getting your instrument rating would probably provide the most benefit. However, understand that you could drop $10,000 on civilian training and still not get jets. It's a gamble.

Even if you're #1 at flight school, you might not get jets. Selection varies from week to week and in completely unpredictable. Just do your best and let the chips fall. Selection depends on 3 things:
1) How well you do
2) Who you select with
3) (most importantly) THE NEEDS OF THE NAVY during that week
Guess which one you have control over.

I've seen the guys who show up at the squadron with a "Jets or bust" attitude. The vast majority of them either learn or are dissappointed. I would recommend to any new Ensign going to flight school that they go into it with a very open mind about airframes. In fact, I would focus on your last choice aircraft, and then realize how flying that aircraft would be way cooler than 99.9% of the jobs in the world.

Expect the worst, hope for the best.

 

[kray1395]

I believe the Navy wants to try and get this situation remedied as quickly as possible. That's one reason why a lot of the changes have seemed so drastic. According to your graduation date, you will be a FY 2006 graduate. There is a good chance that things may become near back to normal by the time you will be slated to report to FL. I believe you have probably already done all you can as far as service selection goes. If not, you need to focus on having the best package possible for that. That is your first step, so just worry about that right now.

Now, I am just going to put this out for what it's worth. I am a FY 03 grad, but was selected to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology for a year to get my master's degree. It's called IGEP, or Immediate Graduate Education Program. They offer it at Naval Postgraduate School also depending on what degree you choose. What this means is the Navy is less willing to just let you out of the Navy. The only reason I know this is one of our classmates, who went to NPS, was medically disqualed for aviation and instead of letting him out of the Navy, they will send him to a carrier with a general aviation billet. But had he been physically qualified, he most certainly wouldn't be one of those slated for immediate attrition before beginning any training. So, depending on your degree, keep your ears open for a program like IGEP. I believe having your master's, especially if the Navy pays for it, will make you more competitive.

That's about all of the things you could be thinking about right now. That and graduating of course. Don't do anything stupid like drinking and driving, etc. I've seen friends who had excellent academic performance, military performance, and a lot of respect within the unit piss it all away with a dumb DUI charge. Got to get commissioned first. Don't even start worrying at all about what kind of platform you want. If you're not willing to fly any platform, I would suggest finding another job.

 

[Grant]

Or you can go NFO. Supposedly the Navy is in need of NFO's. Being in the air, in any capacity, would be a blast. In my opinion, of course.

 

[Brett327]

Agree with much of what has been said. Bottom line is that the pilot manning surplus today will be a pilot shortage tomorrow. There is a constant accordion-like action in the stream of new aviators, so unless you're going right now, I would put it out of your mind. You have no way to predict or control what the state of things will be when you get there, so focus on what you DO have control over.

Brett

 

[zippy]

Like kray said focus on your last school year first. I'm not sure when service selection is for Dec grads, but if you haven't been selected for aviation yet do your best at school to make it so. (Academics, aptitude, good PNS recommendation, pt etc). Also, if you haven't taken the astb yet or aren't satisfied with your scores, try to get your hands on a private pilots book (Like Jepperson or Gleim) to help you with the general aviation knowledge part in addition to any extra math/verbal studying you do. Going through IFS, I realized there were some things in there that would have helped me do better when I took it.

Don't do anything stupid like drinking and driving, etc. I've seen friends who had excellent academic performance, military performance, and a lot of respect within the unit piss it all away with a dumb DUI charge. Got to get commissioned first. Don't even start worrying at all about what kind of platform you want. If you're not willing to fly any platform, I would suggest finding another job.

YES. Perhaps most importantly, KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN from now until commissioning, and that’s not limited to getting a DUI. A week after service selection requests went in; I wound up in the middle of a bad situation that involved the police and shiny bracelets. The courts dismissed all charges against me before service selection results came out (thankfully they recognized that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time trying to do the right thing), but the Navy did not hesitate to put me on LOA and suspend my scholarship + stipend and tell me I was going to be disenrolled (and owe them $120000 or a mandatory enlistment-which they get to chose up to a year after disenrollment) if the court thing didn't work out in my favor.
For quite a long time growing up and during ROTC, I was had the "Jets or Nothing" mentality Needless to say, when that storm passed, I was just glad I was getting commissioned... getting SNA was icing on the cake. During IFS, I realized that I'd be happy flying anything (even a cessna).

Point of that little story is say no to bad juju- think about how what you are doing could potentially affect your goal of becoming a naval aviator before you decide to do it, and ask yourself if the risks are really worth it.

As for all that other stuff out there you may have to deal with, Keep the faith and roll with the punches.

 

[A4sForever]

What other things might be suggested? What are your personal views on how this will effect things?

As the product of a major college NROTC program AND Naval Aviation, perhaps I can add something personal to the discussion:

Disclaimer ... ONE MAN'S OPINION:

Assignment to Naval Aviation slots depends on three things:
1. Your timing and Needs of the service.
2. Your standing in your graduating class.
3. Your timing and Needs of the service.

Oh, did I mention timing or needs of the service ???

A four year degree and timing....and that is about it. There is no "silver bullet" that will get you orders to flight school; unless your name is McCain, Nimitz, or Halsey.

When I got my assignment to jets in Pensacola we were losing pilots in SE Asia --- dead, POW, and MIA --- not to the airlines. And yet we still had the "Great Pool of '69" and a massive "RIF" in Meridian in early 1970. When I selected for jets --- two of us (2) got them out of over 30 in our VT-1 class at Saufley Field. Someone said cycles; it's crazy ... if major corporations did personnel management like UNCLE, they would be out of business in a few years .....

I have never believed that previous experience will assure one of flight school orders. It is all about "needs of the service" , timing, and your class standing --- am I being repetitive???

The only question the Navy asked when we were in the spotlight was: "How many warm Aviator bodies do we need"? Even academics were sometimes blown off and dullards got to flight school -- at least in the late 60's, early 70's. Most of the knuckleheads did not finish, of course. I guess they were the "2/3 of you will wash out" that we heard about the first day in Pensacola.

Heck, we were just thinking about flying and surviving. Oh yeah, and cars, and Pensacola beach, and girls, too.......

 

[A4sForever]

MEMORIES ... Memories ...

VT-1 / NAS Pensacola Patch, circa 1969

Try this link ... it contains a "stroll down memory lane" for me and some insight into the feelings (?!) of those who have come before you ... some of the picture links appear to be broken, but maybe it is just my 350 spyware/firewall/spam/e-mail/hate-mail blockers at work ........

A ROAD DOWN MEMORY LANE .....

Fair Winds ...