Platform locations/Going westcoast

[MasterBates]

I talked to a couple fellow students in the RR today.. They were going "boo-hoo I might get E2s" (New TH syllabus guys).

I told them I FOUGHT to get into E2/C2. And its not a bad place to be.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I'd like to get helos San Diego (similar case with Bogey- San Diego native), but at the same time I know my desire might not be the same as the Navy's. Plus, being in the cockpit rather than being in a cubicle 9-5 is always beneficial!

 

[montellv]

Yeah, Lemoore's what, at least 2-3 hours from the nearest beach?

Lemoore is 2-3 hours from everything except a carjacking in Fresno...you still have to drive 45 minutes for that.

 

[SemperGumbi]

There has been a large surge of people wanting Prowler slots lately. We got a ton of Navy folks from Meridian. I was led to believe this was because it was requested from NMM guys, so the Kingsville guys didn't have the slots. Although a few months before I selected apparently there were some marines asking for Prowlers to avoid Harriers. Strange how the pendulam swings.

The month before I selected there was a guy who really wanted hornets. Got Prowlers. The month after there were 2 guys who wanted Prowlers (both Marines) and had been vocal about it for about 12 months. One got Prowlers. One got Mirimar.

It really goes both ways. Point being, the only way to assure you don't go Prowlers is to suck at the boat, methinks. But if I say that there will probably be some guys who knows someone who almost double-D'd at the boat and flys the tactical party bus.

Tyring to get Prowlers (like jets or any other platform) is a mix of luck, skill, and timing. Anyway....there's some Puuuuuuurrrrrrowler info.

 

[Ralph]

Is Lemoore that bad? Thats got to be the worst part about getting jets.

 

[Brett327]

There might be truth there...I'll defer to someone else there.

Finish primary with a 50 or higher NSS, put tailhook on your sheet and be fortunate enough to be selected for it. Perform well at Advanced, select (or be selected?) for jets (vice E2C2) then select Prowlers? Jet guys? My hearsay understanding is that if you make the jet cut, Prowlers are not a popular choice, but again...hearsay from a prop guy.

Prowlers may not be a popular choice, but they do get the top sticks out of advanced because they're more challenging to fly. Anyone in Primary now that selects Prowlers will end up in a G by the end of their first tour. As we start our transition early next year, we'll be going from 6 to 8-9 pilots per squadron, so the draw for the EA side of things will begin to grow pretty soon.

Brett

 

[mb1k]

Lemoore is 2-3 hours from everything except a carjacking in Fresno...you still have to drive 45 minutes for that.

I'm a native Californian. I saw my first and only real life knifing while driving with my parents through downtown Fresno. Three guys standing around a body on the ground taking turns stabbing the poor dude. Tell me that don't affect a kid!

That's pretty much the essence of Fresno right there.

 

[milky-f18]

If you want to be sure to go somewhere and stay there for as long as possible without moving, go hornets and ask for Lemoore. Of course, if you want to stay here, you'll be the one Pri-A and end up in Japan out of the RAG. But, 95% of guys that come to Lemoore and want to stay here do. It's not paradise, but it is still one of the few good places from which to fly.

 

[milky-f18]

Prowlers may not be a popular choice, but they do get the top sticks out of advanced because they're more challenging to fly.
Brett

Not to get in the weeds, but they do not send the 'top sticks' to prowlers. They usually send the guys that do ok and get top hook. There is actually a pretty big difference. The Prowler (i've heard) is harder to land on the boat. The rest of the mission you might argue differently.

 

[SemperGumbi]

Its huge, has no hud, and is a real jet (as opposed to a fan....un-bunch all your collective panties, hornet guys ).

I have never landed one at the boat, but I can't imagine that stuff helps much.

But I second the comments from Milky. I still have never seen a top-stick going anything but hornets of some type. Not always the seat they want, but none-the-less. Although, there was a rash of people wanting Prowlers recently. I imagine a lot of that has to do with actual date projections coming out for the Supe's fatter brother, the Growler. But it could also be that Seattle, low-levels and a lot of gas are all beautiful things. And after you embrace your ECMO brothers, they can be a really beautiful thing, too.

Rest of the mission comments? Yeah...a single seat dude doing all the stuff you single seat '18ers do? I dare say you are probably much more busy beavers.

Yeah, I said beaver. (Insert Beavis and Butthead comment ___________ here).

 

[a_m]

Is Lemoore that bad? Thats got to be the worst part about getting jets.

You get used to the smell of cows.

 

[BaconUSMC]

Timing wise, if you are starting primary, you might miss the Prowler bus altogether. From what I gather here in Kingsville, the first Growler spot has been designated for Spring 09. For the navy side, you will have fewer and fewer Prowler spots after that. If you are lucky, you can be the last Navy guy to go to the Prowler RAG sometime in 2010.

 

[VS FO]

While I don't envy bringing the prowler aboard I'm not so sure about "top sticks" going there either unless they requested it.

 

[hscs]

From what I have heard, the west coast will begin to be a bit more heavy than the east coast. HS-15 has a home port change from Jax to NASNI -- don't know what that means for the jet folks, but for the helo guys you will have an extra HS squadron and HSM squadron on the west coast.

 

[P-3's Suck]

Thought I'd weigh in here. Just completed a P-3 tour at Whidbey. First off, the P-3 culture frowns on anything "fun". It is the "shoe" aviation community. The planes are so bad, that they are throwing them in the trash can for fear of the wings falling off. If you are on home cycle(aka not in the god@amn desert), you will only fly once or twice a month due to lack of aircraft etc..., so you will have more time to do your primary and secondary jobs of being a dept head's bitch (all of them, not just your dept head). I am in the VT's now, and talking with my peers fresh off of sea duty, I realize that I was wrong in thinking that Naval Aviation peaked in the 80's and has now become a Politically Correct shadow of itself. Naval Aviation is fine, the P-3 community has AIDS. Run!!! Run as fast as you can to ANY other platform!!!!!