Tacair / E2/C2 Career Progression

[squorch2]

While we're at it, can anyone here answer that question with respect to HSC community?

HSC, as is the usual, is in flux, but here goes....

FRS for 6-8 months
1st tour - 3 years
Shore tour - FRS, Weapons School, HTs, VTs, TPS, PEP, ROTC, "other"
Disassociated Tour, sometimes with an IA kicker
*somewhere in here make O-4*
FRS again
DH Tour, assuming you screen
2nd Shore Tour - as others have stated
*command/O5 screen somewhere in here*
FRS again
XO/CO Tour

That's the standard route. You can move between HSC(exp) and HSC(CVW) for your fleet tours. HSC(exp) DH screening has not been good as of late, but that'll change. Timing can be weird due to getting your masters before flight school, etc, so your first sea or shore tour may be cut short in order to get you back in the timing gates for O-4.

 

[cfam]

Can we sticky this? It seems like a good basic reference.

 

[FLYTPAY]

My career- (non standard)

FY
01 Commission
02-03 Flight School/RAG
04-07 HSL Fleet Tour
07-08 VT "Tour"
09 VAW RAG
*09-12 "Supa Jo" VAW Tour
*12-13 RAG or IA Tour
*13-15 DH Tour

* Means not happened yet, but best guess from Detailer. It's non-standard if you have not picked up on that.

FY
00 Commission
00-02 Flight School/RAG
02-05 VS Fleet Tour
05-07 VS Weapons School
SEP06-JAN07 IA
07-08 Flight School Again
*09-11 "Supa Jo" VFATour
*11-13 DH Tour
*13-15 ???

 

[tdimarco]

What do pilots do on IA / GSA?

 

[FLYTPAY]

What do pilots do on IA / GSA?

They do SEARCHES on Airwarriors when they are not doing the other varying stuff they may be assigned to do.

 

[tdimarco]

Perhaps they write search algorithms. IA doesn't search well, and GSA lists few results. Most of the online stuff says officers should check with your detailer.

 

[squorch2]

Do a search for "individual augmentee" - that should get you pointed in the right direction.

 

[squorch2]

I guess I should have elaborated more on disassociated options for HSC - you can go to a big deck to work with the aviation dept. (handler, etc.), shooter on a CVN, TACRON staff, PHIBRON staff, air boss on an LSD/LPD. Some people swing it so they get a super JO tour - it all pretty much comes down to timing.

Aside for new guys: It really can't be expressed enough how important - and how much out of your control - timing is. It influences your fitreps, tours that are available to you when you roll to a new place, etc. You can mitigate bad timing with superior performance or a sympathetic front office, but for the majority of guys/gals, timing is pretty big. Hence, don't worry about it - you can't control it anyway, so just do your best on your initial sea tour and go from there.

 

[Single Seat]

I don't WTF you guys (FLYTPAY & Uncle Fester) are talking about. SS is a seasoned Hornet driver who knows his community inside and out. It's impossible to think that he could be wrong and you correct.

Oh I'm sorry... did I step on your toes? I mean I'm sure you know the community better than I.

 

[HH-60H]

Oh I'm sorry... did I step on your toes? I mean I'm sure you know the community better than I.

You must not, since I know several hornet pilots who have done disassociated sea tours, and so does FLYTPAY and Uncle Fester. Perhaps you just don't know what a disassociated sea tour is.

 

[sundevil_av8r]

if you don't make a DH tour and become a terminal O-4, what are the chances you will make it to a 20 yr. retirement? will the Navy "ask" you to leave because you aren't making rank? or can you just pick the tours you want to do for the remainder of your 20? that may be a little overzealous but my main question is if you become a terminal O-4 but still want to retire, are you able to stay in the cockpit whether it be VTs or in your community?

 

[FLYTPAY]

You must not, since I know several hornet pilots who have done disassociated sea tours, and so does FLYTPAY and Uncle Fester. Perhaps you just don't know what a disassociated sea tour is.

SS is right.....in modern times, since the invention of the IA but not necessarily related to, there really is no time for VFA guys to do disassociated sea tours. Uncle Fester and myself cruised together and my knowing is someone from 2002 and 2004 cruises.....way back when Fleet Response Plan was right up there with Six Sigma in popularity The Nav has changed in the past 5 years.

 

[bunk22]

if you don't make a DH tour and become a terminal O-4, what are the chances you will make it to a 20 yr. retirement? will the Navy "ask" you to leave because you aren't making rank? or can you just pick the tours you want to do for the remainder of your 20? that may be a little overzealous but my main question is if you become a terminal O-4 but still want to retire, are you able to stay in the cockpit whether it be VTs or in your community?

I don't know the odds to this one. It probably depends on the needs of the Navy. The Navy has a continuation board yearly for guys like me who don't make O-5. I got continuation to 20 years and retirement. Next month I'm at 16 years active duty. I'm in a flying billet right now. I volunteered for a 9 month Iraq tour and I get follow-on 3 years shore duty orders to retirement, flying as well. Just have to find a job that allows for flying. The VT's or C-12's is probably the best way of doing that. For this terminal O-4, I will have been out of the cockpit for only my Iraq tour.

 

[pjxc415]

Can any Marine tacair guys chime in here? I'd be very interested to know what kind of career decisions you guys have made. Anyone done the Australia exchange? Sounds like a good time.

 

[Jim123]

SS is right.....in modern times, since the invention of the IA but not necessarily related to, there really is no time for VFA guys to do disassociated sea tours. Uncle Fester and myself cruised together and my knowing is someone from 2002 and 2004 cruises.....way back when Fleet Response Plan was right up there with Six Sigma in popularity The Nav has changed in the past 5 years.

I can think of some board precepts and NAVADMINs that have addressed these issues and more or less "officially" back up what you're saying. The short answer is doing an IA instead of a dissociated sea tour is basically neither better nor worse.

(Now I wonder how many young bucks out there google "precepts" and "NAVADMIN" on their Sunday afternoon... of course I'm the guy writing about it on the internet on my Sunday afternoon