Naval Aviator -> Special Forces

[jakehefelen]

Hey. I think similar threads may exist, but I have specific questions that I would like to have answered, so please bare with me.

One thing that is keeping me from enrolling in Army ROTC (my school has no NROTC) is the burning desire within me to be a naval aviator. Were I to attempt this, I would simply enlist in the Marine Corps after graduation, go to officer candidate school, etc.

There are two things I would like to do in the military: Be an infantry/special forces officer and to fly. I have heard of naval aviators in the Marine Corps taking a tour of duty to command MARSOC teams, but I guess my question is, how rare is this? How feasible is it to be a naval aviator in the Marine Corps, and traverse back and forth between flying assignments in the fleet and MARSOC/Marine infantry?

Also, when such transitions in the past have occurred, what sort of addition training/schools have said naval aviators received before commanding/joining MARSOC teams? (Airborne School, Ranger School, etc.)

 

[nittany03]

How feasible is it to be a naval aviator in the Marine Corps, and traverse back and forth between flying assignments in the fleet and MARSOC/Marine infantry?

Completely unfeasible. This isn't Hollywood. I know one former Recon Marine who went on to fly Hornets, but in doing so he left the Infantry stuff behind. You don't go back and forth, and switching from one to the other will put a severe crimp in your ability to make senior rank if you choose to make the military a career. The "system" does not like people moving out of their pigeonhole once they place you in one, and you are rolling the dice if you switch horses in midstream.

You or whoever gave you this gouge may have misheard someone talking about an aviator going on a FAC tour. As I mentioned above, this is very common the Marines and rare, though not unheard of, in the Navy. SEALs specifically have a very small number of handpicked aviators who are their FACs. But this isn't JAG; you don't appear in a courtroom or command an infantry company one day, and then fly off a carrier the next.

 

[jakehefelen]

I've heard of a Marine Corps helicopter pilot taking a tour to command a 14-man MARSOC team. He died in Afghanistan.

 

[torpedo0126]

One thing that is keeping me from enrolling in Army ROTC (my school has no NROTC) is the burning desire within me to be a naval aviator. Were I to attempt this, I would simply enlist in the Marine Corps after graduation, go to officer candidate school, etc.

I think you might be confused. If you intend to enlist, you will have to apply for one of the Marine Commissioning programs during/after boot camp. You may not get selected.

If you have a degree, unless you really want to be an enlisted Marine first, you probably should just put in a package to attend OCS. You can also do PLC where you will attend two six week OCS courses during summers between academic years.

Also, when such transitions in the past have occurred, what sort of addition training/schools have said naval aviators received before commanding/joining MARSOC teams? (Airborne School, Ranger School, etc.)

Unfortunately, only the Army gets to send basically every single soldier to Airborne School. For everyone else, unless you absolutely need to go to Airborne for your MOS, you won't get those pretty jump wings. Some individuals from the various service academies get slots, but they are also few and far apart.

In fact, walk into a Marine infantry platoon and you probably won't see a single Marine with jump wings. Find a group of Marine's who are admin, chances are, you WILL probably find some with jump wings. This is because jump school is often used as a reenlistment bonus.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I've heard of a Marine Corps helicopter pilot taking a tour to command a 14-man MARSOC team. He died in Afghanistan.

I don't know the guy - but being a Marine Helicopter pilot I can tell you this - he was a FAC for MARSOC. Period. End of Story.

Why am I so certain? Because pilots in the Marine Corps do not go to the grunts to do any "command" outside of maybe H&S company in a straight-leg infantry battalion.

I can also tell you that the guys I know in MARSOC that "command" are career infantry officers.

Think of it like this - would it make a whole lot of sense to take a career infantry officer, send him to a squadron for a year to be a section leader? No, it wouldn't - because you are expected to have some level of competence in your MOS when you show up. FAC tours are great, and if you volunteer for one - you will get it. However, you are not allowed to do a whole lot of them during your career. There are wickets that you must hit in order to get promoted and being in an Infantry Battalion, Regiment, or Division too long doesn't help you hit those wickets.

 

[whitesoxnation]

In Dick Couch's Warrior Elite there was a Marine Officer who resigned his commission to try and become a SEAL.

 

[xmid]

In Dick Couch's Warrior Elite there was a Marine Officer who resigned his commission to try and become a SEAL.

And didn't make it....

 

[HeyJoe]

I've heard of a Marine Corps helicopter pilot taking a tour to command a 14-man MARSOC team. He died in Afghanistan.

Why not try it this way? Where did you hear this story?

 

[phrogdriver]

Every so often this kind of question comes up.

You can't be the star quarterback, linebacker, and place kicker.

Some retard will list the one guy who had stars aligning for him and enlisted in infantry, got recon, and later became a pilot. That's called "the exception that proves the rule."

Figure out what you want to do with your life and pursue it, by all means. That doesn't mean, "When presented with a fork in the road, choose both." I'm tired of this "I wanna be Superman and Aquaman!" shit. The military doesn't exist to serve your Walter Mitty fantasies.

Being an "operator" takes years to learn the skill set required. So does being a pilot. Neither community likes wasting training time just to serve someone's ego. There is no MOS for "superdude."

...drunk post...apol in advance

 

[BrandonJ1780]

Jake, if you're stuck at a school with no NROTC and you decide you want to go the Fly Navy route, look into BDCP--all kinds of BDCP gouge on this site. Just a tip.
If you want to enlist, enlist. I did. But if you want the gold bar, the quickest way to said gold bar is to go O first--you run the risk of getting lost in enlisted-dom if you enlist with the goal of becoming an officer 'eventually.'

 

[ZekeBathory]

Some retard will list the one guy who had stars aligning for him and enlisted in infantry, got recon, and later became a pilot. That's called "the exception that proves the rule."

Figure out what you want to do with your life and pursue it, by all means. That doesn't mean, "When presented with a fork in the road, choose both." I'm tired of this "I wanna be Superman and Aquaman!" shit. The military doesn't exist to serve your Walter Mitty fantasies.

Y'know, John James Rambo was a Special Forces soldier AND an attack helo pilot.

 

[phrogdriver]

Y'know, John James Rambo was a Special Forces soldier AND an attack helo pilot.

Yeah, and f--- stick pulled the ICS switch and still got rockets to come off...f'in amazing!

 

[ZekeBathory]

Yeah, and f--- stick pulled the ICS switch and still got rockets to come off...f'in amazing!

When it comes right down to it, I just think none of us could ever be as good as Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Look at "Commando." You think you could blow up a building with a Claymore? Hell no.

Bow down, gentlemen. Bow down.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Yeah, and f--- stick pulled the ICS switch and still got rockets to come off...f'in amazing!

Well, you know, maybe the wiring was just all jacked up. :icon_wink

 

[HeyJoe]

When it comes right down to it, I just think none of us could ever be as good as Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Look at "Commando." You think you could blow up a building with a Claymore? Hell no.

Bow down, gentlemen. Bow down.

Zeke, you are woefully out of touch with the pecking order on AW. Chuck trumps 'em them all.