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Making O-4 competitive or shoe in?

Tycho_Brohe

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Good gouge here. For VP bubbas during your JO tour, you really need a competitive EP, Mission Commander & Instructor qual to achieve any long-term success in the community. I have seen MANY who did extremely well AFTER their JO tour but did not screen for O4/O5 & Command because of their JO tour performace. That first tour counts a lot . . .

Where do we get more info on these quals? In DIVOLC our instructor mentioned the Aircraft Commander and Tactical Commander (for NFO's I guess) quals, but didn't really dwell on it.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Where do we get more info on these quals? In DIVOLC our instructor mentioned the Aircraft Commander and Tactical Commander (for NFO's I guess) quals, but didn't really dwell on it.
You'll get a sense of those in the RAG and in your fleet squadron. They're different for each community.
 

zippy

Freedom!
pilot
Contributor
As long as you get a competitive EP (even in a small group) sometime before the O-4 board, you should make it.
My fleet high water mark was a #1 MP due to timing (damn super JOs) with a 1/1 EP out the door and I received multiple #1 EP's during my shore tour as well as my dis-associated and made LCDR.

No EP as a Lieutenant, no LCDR for you. Oh yeah, you also need to obtain your platform quals as a JO, otherwise you have no chance. I've known a few that did not acheive their Mission Commander and thusly, did not make LCDR.
Good gouge here. For VP bubbas during your JO tour, you really need a competitive EP, Mission Commander & Instructor qual to achieve any long-term success in the community. I have seen MANY who did extremely well AFTER their JO tour but did not screen for O4/O5 & Command because of their JO tour performace. That first tour counts a lot . . .

Right now, no EP during your fleet tour seems to be a deal breaker. It's also iffy if you get an MP on your shore tour after getting an EP on the sea tour, from what I've seen of dudes who went through last year and this year's board. I think previous stats (from some board I saw in the past, but it could have been a DH feedback ppt) showed 25% chance of selection of you have 1 EP, 75% if you had two and 90+% if you had three going into the board. If your timing precludes two competitive EPs prior to your O-4 board these days, I'd seriously consider what else you'd like to do with your life outside of (Active Duty) Naval Aviation. That way you aren't wondering WTF you're going to do after the results come out and you don't make it and end up banking on one of those relatively rare AZ selections.

Allegedly, the detailer is forecasting a mass exodus for SG 05 -10 for DH, but 1) you still have to make it past the O-4 board and 2) detailers will tell you anything they need to in order to get their job done (retention and placement). I've started to see a bunch of O-4 selectees I know from the VP community drop their letter prior to pinning through so who knows what the future brings...
 

EODDave

The pastures are greener!
pilot
Super Moderator
Of four guys from my fleet squadron that left with MP's and then got a competitive EP on their shore tour, Zero made O-4. One guy is doing the reserve gig and just made O-4 in the reserves, two just got passed over their second time and one guy just missed his first look. Of the four, there were 2 pilots and 2 WSO's.
 

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Of four guys from my fleet squadron that left with MP's and then got a competitive EP on their shore tour, Zero made O-4. One guy is doing the reserve gig and just made O-4 in the reserves, two just got passed over their second time and one guy just missed his first look. Of the four, there were 2 pilots and 2 WSO's.
In a nutshell, this alone pretty well answers OP's title O-4 "shoo in" question, no?
BzB
 
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