I'm going to try to keep this short. I was intent on becoming an officer in the military after college, and it wasn't until a few months ago that I narrowed my focus to Navy, and particularly Naval Aviation, as what I think I would most enjoy. I think the culture of Naval Aviation sounds more like my sort of thing versus Subs or Surface Warfare, and because I'm solid on numbers and memorization, I was able to get a decent score on the ASTB. I initially wasn't sure about flying planes, though, despite hearing from a lot of people, including a couple Navy friends and some individuals on this board, about how I had "pilot numbers." I don't have any physical disqualifiers either, at least to my knowledge.
A couple things turned me on to putting NFO first, including hearing about an increased role in mission planning and more work with the computer-based systems, but after more reading, I'm starting to wonder if the degree to which the Pilot is involved in that stuff is dependent on how much the Pilot wants to be involved in that stuff and the airframe one gets assigned. I also preferred the NFO's shorter ADSO, but the more I look into it, the more I think rewards and opportunities from staying in would beat what I'd get by getting out.
The biggest reason, though, for me having trepidation about putting down Pilot, which I've struggled to articulate, is that I just don't know if I would be any good with the actual stick. I'm pretty confident that with academics, I can do really well if I'm willing to work for it, but I don't know that I wouldn't just end up a mediocre, or, even worse, flunked-out pilot by virtue of just not having that talent.
Is this a valid reason for requesting SNFO first, and not SNA? Are my worries complete garbage, and it will most likely be entirely possible for me to be a great pilot if I have the academics down, listen well, and work my ass off at it? Because of a submission hang-up, I've got some time to think it over before I make the final call.
A couple things turned me on to putting NFO first, including hearing about an increased role in mission planning and more work with the computer-based systems, but after more reading, I'm starting to wonder if the degree to which the Pilot is involved in that stuff is dependent on how much the Pilot wants to be involved in that stuff and the airframe one gets assigned. I also preferred the NFO's shorter ADSO, but the more I look into it, the more I think rewards and opportunities from staying in would beat what I'd get by getting out.
The biggest reason, though, for me having trepidation about putting down Pilot, which I've struggled to articulate, is that I just don't know if I would be any good with the actual stick. I'm pretty confident that with academics, I can do really well if I'm willing to work for it, but I don't know that I wouldn't just end up a mediocre, or, even worse, flunked-out pilot by virtue of just not having that talent.
Is this a valid reason for requesting SNFO first, and not SNA? Are my worries complete garbage, and it will most likely be entirely possible for me to be a great pilot if I have the academics down, listen well, and work my ass off at it? Because of a submission hang-up, I've got some time to think it over before I make the final call.