I had a SNFO ask me advice (by PM) about doing the transition yesterday. Here is my response for anyone else wanting to know:
All I can say is it is a long road ahead, and you have to want it very badly. And, even that isn't enough to guarantee anything. I would never advocate anyone following in my [personal] footsteps, but my story is long and painful. [NFO-to-pilot was cancelled during my tenure due to the Stacy Bates F-14 accident in 1996 - we were not allowed to fly jets - even longer story after that for me]
I have had four on-wings as a training command instructor pilot that were NFO-to-pilot transitions and they all fared pretty well.
How to get it: Do as well as you can in every endeavor. Work hard where you are now, no matter where that might be. Although your student NFO career doesn't really weigh in to the possibility of getting to transition later, a reputation as a hard-charger always helps no matter what you are pursuing.
Hit the ground running in your fleet tour, always tackle the hard jobs (and even the less glamorous jobs) without bitching about them. (I was the 1st Lt Division Officer as my second job in the squadron - almost 2 years into my tour, basically as the head janitor.) Be a team player and hard charger.
Don't whine that you really should have been a pilot. Don't backstab your fellow JOs. Don't try to game the system. Whatever you are shooting for: if it is meant to be, it will happen. Don't sacrifice your morals or beliefs to try to get ahead.
I know this is all just standard advice to follow, no matter what you are trying to do, but I can't stress enough that it is all about hard work. There aren't really any other secrets.
The process for applying is pretty much available in the message traffic. I'm sure you can find it all on-line at the BUPERS web-site. I would suggest keeping yourself flying on the side at a Navy flying club (Whidbey Island has the best one in the Navy) or out in town. But, I do not suggest letting that hobby cause your career and family life to suffer.
If you do get the transition, flight school for a second time is still painful, but fun. Don't go into it with a chip on your shoulder. Study it their way, fly it their way. Don't treat the instructors like you are their equal as a LT (they are the enemy).
Swallow your pride and just behave like an ENS again when it comes to criticism. Don't expect special treatment as an O-3. Don't bitch if you get stuck with duty or some other crappy deal (cross country you didn't want to go on, on-wing you don't like, whatever).
Keep your eye on the prize of getting the single anchor wings, and not on the fact that it stinks getting treated like a student again.It's a long row to hoe, but it can be worth it.
If you look around on Navy websites, you might find a CAPT named Norbert Szarleta. That is the ultimate NFO-to-pilot success story - Prowler ECMO, turned Hornet pilot, CO, now an Air Wing Commander.
Keep working hard and keep praying. If it is in God's plan for you to be a pilot, it will happen.
All I can say is it is a long road ahead, and you have to want it very badly. And, even that isn't enough to guarantee anything. I would never advocate anyone following in my [personal] footsteps, but my story is long and painful. [NFO-to-pilot was cancelled during my tenure due to the Stacy Bates F-14 accident in 1996 - we were not allowed to fly jets - even longer story after that for me]
I have had four on-wings as a training command instructor pilot that were NFO-to-pilot transitions and they all fared pretty well.
How to get it: Do as well as you can in every endeavor. Work hard where you are now, no matter where that might be. Although your student NFO career doesn't really weigh in to the possibility of getting to transition later, a reputation as a hard-charger always helps no matter what you are pursuing.
Hit the ground running in your fleet tour, always tackle the hard jobs (and even the less glamorous jobs) without bitching about them. (I was the 1st Lt Division Officer as my second job in the squadron - almost 2 years into my tour, basically as the head janitor.) Be a team player and hard charger.
Don't whine that you really should have been a pilot. Don't backstab your fellow JOs. Don't try to game the system. Whatever you are shooting for: if it is meant to be, it will happen. Don't sacrifice your morals or beliefs to try to get ahead.
I know this is all just standard advice to follow, no matter what you are trying to do, but I can't stress enough that it is all about hard work. There aren't really any other secrets.
The process for applying is pretty much available in the message traffic. I'm sure you can find it all on-line at the BUPERS web-site. I would suggest keeping yourself flying on the side at a Navy flying club (Whidbey Island has the best one in the Navy) or out in town. But, I do not suggest letting that hobby cause your career and family life to suffer.
If you do get the transition, flight school for a second time is still painful, but fun. Don't go into it with a chip on your shoulder. Study it their way, fly it their way. Don't treat the instructors like you are their equal as a LT (they are the enemy).
Swallow your pride and just behave like an ENS again when it comes to criticism. Don't expect special treatment as an O-3. Don't bitch if you get stuck with duty or some other crappy deal (cross country you didn't want to go on, on-wing you don't like, whatever).
Keep your eye on the prize of getting the single anchor wings, and not on the fact that it stinks getting treated like a student again.It's a long row to hoe, but it can be worth it.
If you look around on Navy websites, you might find a CAPT named Norbert Szarleta. That is the ultimate NFO-to-pilot success story - Prowler ECMO, turned Hornet pilot, CO, now an Air Wing Commander.
Keep working hard and keep praying. If it is in God's plan for you to be a pilot, it will happen.