time line for wedding

[AKM56LB]

hey heyjoe, who should i go to then to get any info i need about SNA or questions that may arise in the near future?

 

[HeyJoe]

hey heyjoe, who should i go to then to get any info i need about SNA or questions that may arise in the near future?

You've already found it. Wish we had AW "in the day". You only had hearsay back then and just jumped into the pipe and tried to stay afloat. The OR is supposed to get you processed and delivered to the "factory". The factory is supposed to turn out aviators and isn't geared to handle queries before you get there. I don't mean to sound insensitive at all. You just have to realize the parts everyone is playing in the big scheme of things.

John and Steve have fashioned an invaluable resource here with help of all who have signed on afterwards and I doubt you have a question that hasn't been addressed here and if it hasn't, ask away (like you have). Just be prepared for frank or humorous response (great prep for Ready Room environment). You might want to let your fiancee register and take advantage of Helo-wifey and Crysmc's sage advice. She likely wants the big date to be special and might appreciate opportunity to converse about what lies ahead. Cheers, HJ

 

[ben]

I have some questions for those of you who have the information. This is my situation right now, I will graduate college in May but at the earliest I can start OCS in August due to PRK recovery. The big iffy is this.
I have already been picked up for pilot and plan to get married June of 08. What I want to do is back track from that point so I can set a date to start OCS.
When would the best time be to get married (in consideration to OCS,IFS,API,and flight school)?
How long do each one last and what are the wait times between them?

To add to what's already been posted...

It took me a little over 2 years to get from checking in at OCS to pinning on my wings. We got married at the JOP early to get my wife in the system for benefits like medical insurance, housing allowance increase, life insurance if something happened to me, ease of getting a power of attorney, etc. We weren't sure exactly when to plan the big wedding at the time but we were both flexible and ok with "going with the flow." I know it's been posted once or twice in this thread already, but I'd REALLY recommend doing a JOP wedding first if you're not dead set against it. It's actually a very common thing to do for military couples. A lot of couples do it and don't tell anyone - not even their families. I'm not necessarily suggesting that you to keep secrets from your family, but it definitely worked wonders for us.

So back to the 2+ years from starting OCS to earnings wings... If you don't run into any delays at OCS you're looking at a solid three months. Two main things that could slow you down include physical injuries and academic/inspection failures. You could be "rolled" into a later class date and commission after you originally thought you would.

After OCS you'll walk across the street and check in at API. Wait, they're moving OCS to Rhode Island, so you'll have to do more than walk across the street, but you get the point. Depending on whether there is a backlog of students in the "A-Pool" who are ahead of you waiting to class up for API, you could wait as little as a few days or as much as several months before you actually begin classes for API. If you have a long break that would be a great time have your big wedding. You CANNOT, however, bank on having a long break. I classed up about two weeks after OCS and would have classed up sooner if I had not already had a leave chit approved before I officially checked in at API. Oh, and API is about 6 weeks if I remember correctly.

You will finish API and then go to Primary at NAS Whiting Field in Milton (about an hour from NAS Pensacola where API is), or NAS Corpus Christi, or Vance AFB. Most people will sell their souls not to go to Vance. You can do some searching around on the forum and get PLENTY of info on that subject. The syllabus for Primary is roughly six months. You may have a delay between API and Primary (a couple of weeks to a month) or you may not. Again, this would be a good time for a wedding but you CANNOT count on getting time off. The key here is to remain flexible. You will generally be scheduled to fly every weekday in Primary, but that definitely does not mean that you'll necessarily finish in the six months you're "supposed" to. It took me 11 months. My experience is not typical, but no one's experiences are the same. My delays included a hurricane evacuation, Christmas leave (17 days), two funerals, and quite a bit of med down time due to illness/injuries. Some people breeze through while others (like me) take a lot longer. People ask about getting married during Primary all the time here on Airwarriors and the best advice I can give you is to plan your wedding around a holiday weekend. Don't necessarily count on time off for your wedding. If you don't do it over a holiday (I suggest Christmas time) the most you can expect to potentially get is the Friday before/Monday after off from the schedule. The schedulers won't really give you more than that without some kind of extenuating circumstances.

After Primary you'll move on to Advanced training. You'll be in a pipeline for helicopter (best choice ), maritime propeller, or jet training. You could also fly the E6B but that isn't all too common. You could have another wait here or you may class up immediately. Again, if you get a break here it'd be a great time for a wedding but you definitely can't plan on that beforehand. Advanced syllabus lengths depend on which pipeline you select and pretty much range from six months-ish to about a year. Time off for a wedding during your advanced training will be about as difficult to get as it would be in primary. Plan around a holiday or plan on a wedding after you earn your wings. Again, just like primary, you may or may not wing when they tell you you will at check in. You can be delayed here for any number of things (also in primary) and may breeze through or take forever. Stay flexible and you'll be fine.

After advanced you'll go to the RAG and learn your fleet aircraft. Before/after the RAG (also called the FRS) you'll go to SERE school. Then it's off to the fleet you go. It will be a long ride and a lot of work through flight school, but it will seem like it went by pretty quickly when it's all said and done.

Don't let all the guys who are telling you not to get married faze you. Lots of people in America can't handle a marriage and that has nothing to do with a career in the navy. A military marriage will be more challenging, but if you're ready for it then you're ready for it. I know lots of guys who went through flight school single and I know lots who didn't. You have to do what's right for you and only you know what that is. People on airwarriors have a tendancy to tell everyone not to get married until after wings/first deployment/whatever. Take their advice for what it's worth but don't think that marriages are impossibe to handle if you're a flight student. Honestly, I don't have any idea why so many people seem to think that they should tell every guy who posts on this site to make their girlfriends wait. Further, I think it's stupid that people tell guys to wait when that's NOT THE QUESTION THEY WERE ASKING. It's one of those annoying features of Airwarriors that won't go away, and if you stick around you'll see what I mean. There are plenty of other recurring, annoying topics, but that's another discussion :icon_wink .The whole "she'll wait if she's worth it" argument is bullshit if you ask me, but that my opinion isn't worth more than anyone else's on this site. You've got to do what's right for you.

Hopefully my info has helped you out and answered your questions. Feel free to ask anything here on the site - someone will have the answer or point you in the direction of another person who is in the know. Welcome to airwarriors.com!

 

[Harrier Dude]

"wings before rings"

Best advice ever.

I went through 2 "she's the one" before I got winged. Once I got winged, I really met "the one". 10 years and counting.....

 

[RockyMtnNFO]

That'll go over like a fart in church. Nothing makes someone want to cut an Ensign a break like jumping several levels of the chain of command. You can't be serious.

Brett

I apologize for not being more clrealy sarcastic. I was definitely not serious.

Steve

 

[Elegant Emily]

I don't know if this will help at all...
but my fiance and I are getting married in July, then moving to Pensacola and he is starting his training right after our honeymoon.
I think there's really no way to "backtrack" from a point in order to be "free" during a certain month. No way.
So you could get married before your training or during it, but you probably won't have a lot of time to make elaborate plans either way.
Depending on how long you've been together, it might be nice to just go ahead and do a quickly-planned wedding for THIS June or July. It wouldn't be impossible.

I know a lot of the guys here are saying to wait until you have your wings to get married, but my fiance is definitely looking forward to some support from home (me). Then again, we've been together for 6 years and he has no qualms about whether I can "make it" as a Navy wife.

 

[BoaisyJon]

before you go off telling me what you think my priorities are, let me tell you what they are. I have been preparing for this next step in my life for the past 16 yrs. if i am going to drag this girl around for the next 20 yrs i think the least i can do is give her a little time for something she really wants and is important to her. as for me, i always wanted a military wedding so i think that would be kind of hard at a JP's office.

this is why I choose not to speak.