USMC F/A-18 from USAFA?

[Cobras4Ever]

I currently have two Naval Academy reps working to get me into NAPS, but that is not for sure. The only for sure that I have is the Air Force Academy Prep School. Therefore, my question is how difficult would it be to get into a USMC aviation slot from the Air Force Academy. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[phrogdriver]

I know two guys who did it. I don't know how hard it is.

BTW, why title your post "F/A-18 from USAFA" with a screen name like "Cobras4ever?"

 

[Thisguy]

Cobra,

The difficulty isn't necessarily getting a USMC flight slot, but a USMC slot period. If you want a USMC commission out of the USAFA, you'll need to find a USNA guy who wants to go Air Force for a one-for-one swap, and I think you may need a better reason then "I want to fly hornets" because the air force will say "F-you, you'll fly for us". That being said though, I think a valid reason (so I've heard) is that you applied and were denied admission to USNA, and you still want a USMC commission.

 

[American_Ace]

If you go to an academy and you want to switch you'll need a damn good excuse. Rivalry among the branches is pretty tense and if you leave, everyone who helped get you in the academy (congressmen / LOs / administrators / etc.) will feel slapped in the face. Not to mention the friends you've made there.

Also, I'm going with an AFROTC scholarship this year, but I was seriously considering the Marines for a while, so I did a decent amount of research. I found it is very hard to get a marine jet slot compared to the AF (over 60% of their fleet are choppers). I mean, there are some classes that go through flight school just to find 1, if any, jet slots that are open. Of course, being a Marine in itself is awesome, but if your main goal is to fly fighters, then go with the AF. If you want to crawl through the mud and blow #### up, then go in the Marines. I think the best way anyone put it was "In the navy or AF you're a pilot, but in the marines, you're an infantry officer who happens to fly." Also, I talked to a CH53 pilot at Miramar about a month ago, and he said that Marines just do not get the flight time that the other services do. And keep in mind that the Marines are a department of the Navy, so go to this link, scroll down, and read the post by the webmaster http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?p=66874#post66874 It's long, but it's well worth it.

Good luck

 

[phrogdriver]

Honestly, by the time you're ready to leave the academy, the people who helped you get in won't really care. All the active duty cadre will be at a different duty station. Your congressman sees a new bunch of applications every fall. He won't care if one of them tries to do a transfer 4 years later, even if he is still in office. Your elected reps have bigger fish to fry. I wouldn't go to one academy with the idea I was going to transfer to another service, but I wouldn't let loyalty to the admissions dept color my decision, either.

As far as the Marines are concerned, our percentage of TACAIR is pretty close to the Navy and Air Force. The percentages have been beaten to death, but the Navy is 50% r/w and growing, plus P-3s form a bigger slice of the pie than C-130s do of ours. The Air Force has very few helos, but it has a butt-ton of transports, tankers, BUFFs, and the like. Not to step on anyone's dreams, but if you are TACAIR or nothing, it's a tough road in any service. Even if you're good, it might not be your lucky week when you select. You'd better want to serve your country and fly. Getting your first pick is the bonus package.

Yes, every Marine is a rifleman, but I've been in for 9 years and have probably worn my cammies for a cumulative total of about a month, not including TBS and OCS. The flight time thing can be sliced a million ways, but I still contend that it breaks down more by type of platform than by service. My flight time compares favorably to AF helo pilots. Compared to transport bubbas, tough, I'm hurting.

Also, yes, we are part of the Department of the Navy. We're the MEN'S department. The USMC is a co-equal component under the SecNav. BTW, there has been talk of changing the name to the Dept of the Navy and Marine Corps!

Back to the original post. Have you applied for Marine Option NROTC? Remember, it's the end-state that's the important thing. If you want to be a Marine, work on making THAT happen, vice just going to an academy.

 

[HerrLURP]

As others have stated, you'll need to find someone from USNA who is willing to switch with you. Even then, your training billet is NOT guaranteed by any means...you may be able to pull of a cross-commission but end up as a quartermaster in the Marine Corps for the duration of your 5 year active commitment.

Also, in order to qualify for a cross-commission, you need to be ranked HIGH in your class. Something in the top 100 I believe, and if you bust your balls to rate that high at any Academy, I think it would be a waste to go to another service and lose all the benefits you could get from a high ranking, such as choice of billet and duty station.

And yes, Marine Air-PLC would be an excellent alternative for you if you wish to fly in the Marines. The end-state is probably the most important thing when it comes to the commissioning sources, however keep in mind that USNA is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and a truly unique experience that will follow you and mold you for the rest of your life. So keep the end-state in mind, but also keep in mind that few people have the opportunity to experience an Academy life.

 

[bch]

If you go to an academy and you want to switch you'll need a damn good excuse. Rivalry among the branches is pretty tense and if you leave, everyone who helped get you in the academy (congressmen / LOs / administrators / etc.) will feel slapped in the face. Not to mention the friends you've made there.

Also, I'm going with an AFROTC scholarship this year, but I was seriously considering the Marines for a while, so I did a decent amount of research. I found it is very hard to get a marine jet slot compared to the AF (over 60% of their fleet are choppers). I mean, there are some classes that go through flight school just to find 1, if any, jet slots that are open. Of course, being a Marine in itself is awesome, but if your main goal is to fly fighters, then go with the AF. If you want to crawl through the mud and blow #### up, then go in the Marines. I think the best way anyone put it was "In the navy or AF you're a pilot, but in the marines, you're an infantry officer who happens to fly." Also, I talked to a CH53 pilot at Miramar about a month ago, and he said that Marines just do not get the flight time that the other services do. And keep in mind that the Marines are a department of the Navy, so go to this link, scroll down, and read the post by the webmaster http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?p=66874#post66874 It's long, but it's well worth it.

Good luck

All right, I know you are just trying to help... YOU ARE NOT EVEN IN ROTC yet. It doesn't help people to make a decision when they are getting bum info from someone not in the know.

 

[Thisguy]

All right, I know you are just trying to help... YOU ARE NOT EVEN IN ROTC yet. It doesn't help people to make a decision when they are getting bum info from someone not in the know.

But what would this forum be without people who think that they know what they're talking about???

 

[Integer]

It'd be like it was before I got here.

jk

 

[bch]

But what would this forum be without people who think that they know what they're talking about???

True true, they still sucxk though

 

[American_Ace]

Hey, I went through all the indecision between AF and Marines, I talked to a lot of people about it (Marine pilots, Air Force pilots, AFROTC, NROTC, etc) and I told him about the things that led me to my decision. I was trying to save him the trouble of talking to various officers spread out all over the southwest in different services. Unless if everyone I talked to lied or gave me a very slanted opinion then I think my ideas are worth hearing.

 

[phrogdriver]

I don't have a problem with young people sharing the gouge they've got with each other, as long as everyone involved takes it for what its worth. That stuff carries though forever. People always talk above their paygrade. What company-grade gathering would be complete without everyone sharing how they'd run the squadron/wing/MEF/world, as if we'd do better?

As long as you defer to the opinions of those who know firsthand, there's no harm. If, as has happened in this forum before, you have people who've never been the service telling experienced officers how things are, you've got to pop the brown-star cluster.

Also, there's always the problem of someones who's inexperienced trying to convey what someone told him. There's usually something lost in translation. Again, just take it for what it's worth and don't slam anyone, just give your .02.

Back to the thread topic--figure out what you want to do. Then figure out how you're best going to get there. Believe me, there's a big difference between the services. I'm not saying one is necessarily better, just better for a given person. After all is said or done, you can either wear dress blues or a bus driver's suit. The academies are great, yadda, yadda, but after you graduate from NROTC, OCS, USNA, USAFA, etc, you will be a _____ officer. Choose what word you want to put in the blank and then figure out how to get there. I'd rather be a private in the brig in the Corps than have a commission from the USAFA. That's just me, though. Figure out what you want.

 

[bch]

Well said, did not mean to slam you, sorry if you took offense, just get tired of some of the terrible gouge spread.

 

[American_Ace]

yeah, sorry, I spoke with too much confidence, not my .02 It won't happen again.

 

[Integer]

Take the AFA prep school slot. God knows at least one Academy wants you. Stop taking it for granted Your post should read:

"Hi, I was accepted to a stint of five years' worth of great education at the academy that cares most about honesty and academic integrity. If my goal is to fly, should I accept the AFA's offer to fly a jet guaranteed? Because, I would much rather try to become a Marine helicopter pilot and get some of the smallest amounts of flight time in the Navy? This is a hard decision. Thanks!"

For the amount of effort you would put into getting a helicopter slot in the Marines (assuming you got into the USNA), you could put the same amount of effort into the Air Force Academy and qualify for a jet (since jets are not rare in the AFA and since you wouldn't have to concentrate on your shape as much as you would had you been in Marine training, giving you more time/energy to study, etc.)

Those are my $0.03. To people who actually know more about the service: feel free to pipe in and comment on anything that I did not remember correctly.