Navy Side Flying "B-Billets"

[Ventus]

Prior Marine METOC guy, currently in Navy Helo Advanced trying to figure out which community I want to go into (60S/60R/53's). Currently 9 years TIS.

While I was at Cherry Point I had a great mentor who was a prior CH-46 Pedro driver and eventually got what he referred to as a "B-Billet" flying UC-12's. I think he was active duty but now he's a reservist flying for Delta.

Can someone please explain to me if the Navy has the equivalent of B-billets and at what point during your career you're able to apply for them? I understand that normally something like this isnt available to you until after your first fleet tour.

I've been able to figure out a little bit about the Navy side but I wanted to pose the question here as well. From my understanding, B-Billets are are these weird non-standard assignments that not many people have. Usually attached to public affairs or logistics? It seems like most of those assignements in the Navy are Reservist only? I don't know if Station SAR are considered this or if helo guys are even allowed to switch to fly fixed wing assignments after fleet tours. Like I said, my mentor flew 46's and went to UC-12's but I dont know if that's just a USMC thing or not.

I've heard about the "golden path" from some of my instructors and how if you want to make it to 20 you need to make sure you hit certain wickets, but I already have 9 years in and by the time I wing I'll be close to 10. So by my MSR, I'll have about 18yrs TIS.

Really far in the future for me stuff and obviously my focus is to finish advanced, get winged, and learn my community, but from experience there are definitely things I wish I would have asked earlier in my career that I didn't so I'm trying to get the most info that I can.

Thanks in advance!

-EDIT-

Also kind of deep in the weeds but does anyone know anything about the 1802 flying billet? The Manual for billet and Officer designator codes says "Special Duty Officer billet Code 2 - Operational Flying, requiring Meteorology specialty of a Geophysicist who is a designated Pilot or Naval Flight Officer"

Sounds like a good fit for me but also super niche and nerdy so I understand if not many have heard of it. My best guess is that it's a billet code specificaly for pilots assigned to VXS-1 Scientific Squadron, but I could be wrong.

 

[nittany03]

Also kind of deep in the weeds but does anyone know anything about the 1802 flying billet? The Manual for billet and Officer designator codes says "Special Duty Officer billet Code 2 - Operational Flying, requiring Meteorology specialty of a Geophysicist who is a designated Pilot or Naval Flight Officer"

Sounds like a good fit for me but also super niche and nerdy so I understand if not many have heard of it. My best guess is that it's a billet code specificaly for pilots assigned to VXS-1 Scientific Squadron, but I could be wrong.

It wouldn't surprise me if something that extremely niche is just a long-gone billet where they just never deleted the billet code from the manual. I mean, there's other odd ducks out there like the dual-designator pilot/flight docs, but it's not the norm and may end up being a "right place, right time" type of thing. Ultimately, the whole time you're on active duty, you're just a widget with certain characteristics that BUPERS uses to put you in the proper pigeonhole. Good deals are ancillary occurrences to plugging widgets where they're needed. In the reserves, you have a bit more freedom to put in for what you want to do, but they're still called "orders" for a reason.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Those B-Billet jobs are usually for off-track people. Don’t discount doing 30 to make Commanding Officer with your prior service.

My advice: finish the FRS, hit your fleet squadron and earn your quals. If you get a breakout EP FITREP, then you are expected to fly for your shore tour (FRS, VT, etc), then on to your disassociated sea tour (DESRON, CAG staff, shooter).

If you don’t get a breakout, then you can do anything you want for shore tour including those b-billet jobs.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Disclaimer: My input comes as a non-13XX.

@ea6bflyr said it best, you’re not even winged or in the fleet and already looking at off-track billets. While it’s good to learn about the career pipeline and required milestones to promote and screen, your one and only job right now is to earn your wings.

Not calling you out… but you already trying to map out retiring at 20 or whenever eligible is a large part why officer communities have limited TIS requirements for eligibility. Bringing in someone over 8 years prior enlisted is a huge flight risk career-wise and can hurt control grade levels (O-4, O-5) where they are needed.

Your mentality might be set for 20 and go home but who knows what might change between now and say your first division officer tour (I think you’ve been posting similar things on here). Enjoy the ride now and not so much trying to map things out that might change.

 

[MGoBrew11]

There is also TAR (formerly FTS) that has some interesting non-golden path flying for when you’re around your MSR. But as said above, for now just focus on the path ahead. You’ll figure out what you want when you’re in the fleet and on your first shore tour. Until then, just enjoy the ride.

Oh, and go HSM. No brainer.

 

[insanebikerboy]

It’s been a long time since I was finishing my first sea tour and was looking at follow ons. I did look through the NPC website and it appears similar to when I did it.

To answer your question, it’s all gonna depend on timing. Outside of weapons school/rag/primary, some jobs I’ve heard of, C-12s in Japan or Gitmo. SAR in Whidbey, Key West, exchange tours with the Air Force or overseas, etc. They are available at various times but not every time, and those aren’t the only jobs out there. There are some random non-flying jobs to but I imagine you are asking about flying jobs.

When you get closer to negotiating for orders the Detailer should have a list of open jobs. Most guys that do those jobs either don’t get as good a FITREP or they volunteer, but they are definitely off path.

Typically, those off path jobs are only available during the first shore tour timeframe. I have heard of a few guys getting a ‘B-billet’ flying job in lieu of the disassociated sea tour but I have to imagine those are rare in today’s Navy. There are flying jobs for senior guys that aren’t in a squadron but those are even more rare and usually are associated with other jobs like flying attaché, etc. The catch-22 with the off path jobs is you can get it and do some fun flying but it could possibly be your last flying job.

If you get a #1 EP high water it might be difficult to get one of those other jobs because the Detailer will want you to go to the RAG/etc. It is a game, you don’t want to tell your Skipper too early and get shunned at FITREP time.

 

[HSMPBR]

Dude they have a first-shore-tour JO job flying C-12s in Kauai.

Go fly those during your obligated time, and then as you make O-4 anyway* you can choose to go fill the DH vacuum* for dwindling* bonus money or go TAR.

*Based on current situation. May be different in 7-8 years for you.

 

[Brett327]

Dude they have a first-shore-tour JO job flying C-12s in Kauai.
View attachment 37938
Go fly those during your obligated time, and then as you make O-4 anyway* you can choose to go fill the DH vacuum* for dwindling* bonus money or go TAR.

*Based on current situation. May be different in 7-8 years for you.

* We fly RC-26 on Kauai, which is a Metroliner with an ISAR radar. ? Marginally cooler than a C-12, but your point stands.

 

[SynixMan]

Translating the nomenclature, the navy calls "B-Billets" shore orders. Towards the end of your first fleet tour you'll go into the process of selecting orders for that tour. It's a selection process based on your FITREPS/Quals/timing. Think CNATRA IP, FRS IP, Weapons School, NAWDC, VX-1, etc.

My understanding is random shit like C-12s, C-26s, Station SAR, etc is into a secondary nomination round. Also, trying for those "second tier jobs" takes you out of the running for the first tier, so it's a risk. Most folks do their best and try to stay on the golden path just to keep options open, maybe purposely select VTs for fixed wing hours. Not trying to be pessemistic, but the oddball jobs in that second round are really small numbers, so I wouldn't get your hopes up. Like "C-12s Bahrain" is a unit of 8ish pilots, shared between Helos/VP/VAQ/VRC/VAW, on three year orders, some of which are post-DH LCDRs who stayed on the path. Unfortunately off the wall, good deal flying jobs are just fewer and far between than they were decades ago.

 

[FLGUY]

Disclaimer: My input comes as a non-13XX.

@ea6bflyr said it best, you’re not even winged or in the fleet and already looking at off-track billets. While it’s good to learn about the career pipeline and required milestones to promote and screen, your one and only job right now is to earn your wings.

Not calling you out… but you already trying to map out retiring at 20 or whenever eligible is a large part why officer communities have limited TIS requirements for eligibility. Bringing in someone over 8 years prior enlisted is a huge flight risk career-wise and can hurt control grade levels (O-4, O-5) where they are needed.

Your mentality might be set for 20 and go home but who knows what might change between now and say your first division officer tour (I think you’ve been posting similar things on here). Enjoy the ride now and not so much trying to map things out that might change.

Does PERS really view that much time as a prior enlisted as a “flight risk”? I can’t really see the difference between someone with significant years prior time -retiring- after their MSR vs someone who doesn’t have prior time -separating- at MSR.

I’ve known multiple priors who were overjoyed at the fact that they could retire without needing to make O-4, as it takes a huge amount of stress off their ability to retire. Whether that be as an O-3 or an O-4. Seems like they’ve done their time and earned their pension.

 

[Brett327]

Does PERS really view that much time as a prior enlisted as a “flight risk”? I can’t really see the difference between someone with significant years prior time -retiring- after their MSR vs someone who doesn’t have prior time -separating- at MSR.

I’ve known multiple priors who were overjoyed at the fact that they could retire without needing to make O-4, as it takes a huge amount of stress off their ability to retire. Whether that be as an O-3 or an O-4. Seems like they’ve done their time and earned their pension.

Pers can flail their arms, but there’s really no way to account for prior time at a promotion board one way or another, so it’s a moot point, as it should be. My anecdotal experience is that most due course priors stick around past 20. In my case, I’ll hit 33 years in June. ?

 

[FLGUY]

Pers can flail their arms, but there’s really no way to account for prior time at a promotion board one way or another, so it’s a moot point, as it should be. My anecdotal experience is that most due course priors stick around past 20. In my case, I’ll hit 33 years in June. ?

Nice. I always encouraged my sailors who were interested in commissioning to do so. They can just keep playing the Navy game until it stops being fun, and then -boom- retire.

 

[IKE]

Nice. I always encouraged my sailors who were interested in commissioning to do so. They can just keep playing the Navy game until it stops being fun, and then -boom- retire.

This exactly my strategy.

One small note. Promotion and selection boards can see your prior time. It appears as a # of months and highest rate/grade on your officer summary record (OSR). But as Brett said, I don't think it's ever briefed or mentioned in a board (I've recorded for three boards), and I do believe we have enough prior-E officers running around that another board member would would call BS.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Call BS on what? They've earned the extra years that aren't pertinent to a promotion board, to have options outside the norm of non-prior commissioned officers. Seems like a tea leave I would never presume to be able to read, were I to be a board member. I also took off from JFK about 15 hours ago, landed the plane in SFO 9 hrs ago (it was a greaser, mind you), deadheaded to SEA, and then drove home for two hours and have been awake about 20 hrs total (that damn green tea from the terminal won't stop working), so that might not be a sensical statement

 

[HSMPBR]

Call BS on what? They've earned the extra years that aren't pertinent to a promotion board, to have options outside the norm of non-prior commissioned officers. Seems like a tea leave I would never presume to be able to read, were I to be a board member. I also took off from JFK about 15 hours ago, landed the plane in SFO 9 hrs ago (it was a greaser, mind you), deadheaded to SEA, and then drove home for two hours and have been awake about 20 hrs total (that damn green tea from the terminal won't stop working), so that might not be a sensical statement

Do y’all make your green tea by shredding and steeping several $100 bills?