Squadrons at Whiting?

[hendogg311]

Sure this gets asked alot but anybody have any gouge on VT-2,3, or 6. I just graduated API. Wondering what people have to say about the squadrons.

 

[Fly Navy]

I also was in VT-2 and I loved it. I know guys from VT-6 that loved it also. Only knew a few from VT-3, their experiences were so-so.

 

[Acoustix99]

Well, for primary, VT-6 was great, but it was still primary

 

[handjive]

You have absolutely no choice in the matter, but just for ****z & giggles...

I was in VT-6 and truly believe that it is the best primary sqadron you can be in. Great IPs, great StuCon folks, and schedule writers that actually give a damn. Oh yeah, there's no such thing as being scheduled for "standby" in 6 either.

VT-2 sounds like they do a pretty good job too. Most folks seem pretty happy there.

I have never heard a single positive thing about VT-3. Take what you will from that.

 

[Fly Navy]

Oh yeah, there's no such thing as being scheduled for "standby" in 6 either.

That's odd, my VT-6 friends back in Primary were always on standby for crap.

 

[Pags]

I've had no complaints about 3. Skeds likes to get a bit creative from time to time, but that's not a big deal, you just do things in a different order from the other VTs.

I didn't think I was gonna like the joint VT, but I've had nothing but positive experiences with the AF IPs.

 

[Chubby]

How does squadron assignment work? Do they just arbitrarily assign you to a squadron when you check in? Same question for primary location (Dream sheet? Do you have any say in where you go?) Thx

 

[hendogg311]

You can request where you go but nothing is guaranteed. Also each week a different squadron picks up a class, so it is based on when you finish API. But, I have few friends who didn't go to the squadron that was picking up that week. Or you can finish API and get delayed like me yeah!

 

[Pags]

At Whiting a new class begins every week and the rotate through the squadrons. I don't know how they do it at Corpus.

 

[nittany03]

I'd agree on VT-3. I've been lucky enough to avoid screwy scheduling for the most part, but know people who have been yanked out of PAs into RIs, gone two weeks in that, then scheduled for a PA warmup, then the weather goes to crap and back into RIs until you're in warmup territory again. (Actually, wasn't that you, Pags? ) Our current skipper is big on training continuity, so it's better now than when some of my friends went through. As I understand it, it used to be you could potentially be up for PAs, Forms, and RIs simultaneously if the scheduling gods really frowned on you.

The Air Force actually seems to add some interesting cross-pollination, particularly in the area of situational EPs, which are part of the AF standup system. They'll give you a situation and expect you to talk through getting the plane back down to the deck, which helps to understand those notes, warnings, and cautions and how to actually apply the procedure. Still thankful I don't have to go through that standup nonsense but the situational emergency itself is a good way to expand your knowledge.

 

[Squid]

At Whiting a new class begins every week and the rotate through the squadrons. I don't know how they do it at Corpus.

Same, except it goes for the only 2 'rons here.

 

[VarmintShooter]

VT-3 was a fine squadron. The only truly miserable part was getting scheduled (that's right, as in on the flight schedule) for standby. 7 hours of sitting in the squadron knowing that nobody was going to pick you up for that cruise form kind of blew. The AF guys were pretty cool and skeds wasn't too bad.

Still better than being a doo-doo bird (or whatever VT-2 thinks they are).

 

[nittany03]

Apparently things have improved since the bad old days, VarmintShooter. Now it's 5 hours max they can have you sitting around.

Worst part about standby is when it looks like you're going to go up, and you're all psyched, and all of the sudden you get cut loose. Or when you're bored out of your mind and ready to go home and an IP walks in and says, "get a board up, we brief in 15 minutes . . ." :banghead_

 

[TurnandBurn55]

The Air Force actually seems to add some interesting cross-pollination, particularly in the area of situational EPs, which are part of the AF standup system. They'll give you a situation and expect you to talk through getting the plane back down to the deck, which helps to understand those notes, warnings, and cautions and how to actually apply the procedure. Still thankful I don't have to go through that standup nonsense but the situational emergency itself is a good way to expand your knowledge.

Yeah, we have something similar, since the Chair Force has all their F-15 and B-1 WSOs go through Navy training (hilarious, but that's another story...)

We don't have to do all the standup nonsense, but we are expected to brief the EP of the day with a situation we create ourselves and then talk through the aviate-navigate-communicate-checklists... which is good training, IMO.

 

[Pags]

Yeah, that was me who was sent to the PA warmup right after the first block of RI sims. And then I was never scheduled for a solo. I'm still not sure where skeds was going with that one. Oh well, can't complain about a free PA ride.

And the situational EPs are a bit better than just wrote recitation of the EPs.

I'm still a bit confused as how Standups could be more stressful than EPs in the plane though...