Squadron 101

[Logico]

Are there any good resources for someone who knows nothing about squadrons, the different types, their operational structure, their typical missions, thier capabilities, etc.?

From my "Squadron vs. Ships Company" thread I have gotten the message that the more I know about my squadron the sooner I will be able to be helpful to somebody as an Intel 0-1. But I am not someone who spent their childhood reading books about planes and dressing up in pilot gear.

Any help? It doesn't matter what the medium is:

web-sites
documents from web-sites
books
movies
training manuals
etc.

The only thing I have is the "All Hands" magazine that lists all of the U.S. Navy assets and a short description of what they do, what types of bombs they carry, etc.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Joe

 

[goplay234]

Dude, I gotta be honest, no matter how much you read about hornets, hawkeyes, P-3's, helos, whatever, you will do the majority of your learning once you set foot on deck at your squadron. I don't expect my intel spook to know exactly how my plane flies and stuff like that. I just want to know what's going to be out there that can shoot me or my assets down. If you bone up on that stuff, you will be good to go. The a/c and squadron dynamic will come in time. Most of the jobs of different planes and squadrons vary nowadays. For example, the hawkeye now does a lot more than just protect the battle group from incoming russkies. My advice for GENERAL info on a/c and missions is to go to Navy.mil and look up the specific a/c. There are general blurbs about a/c and their missions. It's not really that great but it works. If you want to know the inner nitnoid numbers on a/c, go to Jane's. It will have more info for ya. After that, I would try to find someone to talk to offline. Training manuals will be hard to get a hold of outside of a squadron. I hope this helps. Later.

 

[Brett327]

Are there any good resources for someone who knows nothing about squadrons, the different types, their operational structure, their typical missions, thier capabilities, etc.?

From my "Squadron vs. Ships Company" thread I have gotten the message that the more I know about my squadron the sooner I will be able to be helpful to somebody as an Intel 0-1. But I am not someone who spent their childhood reading books about planes and dressing up in pilot gear.

Any help? It doesn't matter what the medium is:

web-sites
documents from web-sites
books
movies
training manuals
etc.

The only thing I have is the "All Hands" magazine that lists all of the U.S. Navy assets and a short description of what they do, what types of bombs they carry, etc.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Joe

Agree with Goplay, but if you're looking for some of the intangible squadron dynamics, "Punk's War" by Ward Carroll provides a pretty good look into the inner workings of a squadron, although it comes from a somewhat cynical and jaded point of view, so keep that in mind. Not every CO is a maniacal A-hole who's just looking out for his career. That will get you started.

Brett

 

[HeyJoe]

Agree with Goplay, but if you're looking for some of the intangible squadron dynamics, "Punk's War" by Ward Carroll provides a pretty good look into the inner workings of a squadron, although it comes from a somewhat cynical and jaded point of view, so keep that in mind. Not every CO is a maniacal A-hole who's just looking out for his career. That will get you started.

Brett

Concur...BTW, Ward relieved me as editor of Approach and he was just getting started on Punk's War. I know the gents he modeled the squadron CO on and he's pretty on target. He actually toned it down in final version.

 

[CDumas821]

www.globalsecurity.org
Type in the search engine precisely what you are looking for (Air Wing command structure, 7th fleet operational chain of command, etc) this is a massive resource.