VFA Pilot attached to SEAL teams as FAC

[ABMD]

You can join NSW in the reserves as a UAS pilot (those units are usually run by actual aviators and i'd venture to guess you aren't jumping out of planes). Probably mostly Admin

 

[ChiccinTendies]

You can join NSW in the reserves as a UAS pilot (those units are usually run by actual aviators and i'd venture to guess you aren't jumping out of planes). Probably mostly Admin

Alright, but who actually wants to do that? No offense to anyone, but that seems like a very unfulfilling career choice. I guess maybe it's just not for me idk.

 

[DanMa1156]

You can join NSW in the reserves as a UAS pilot (those units are usually run by actual aviators and i'd venture to guess you aren't jumping out of planes). Probably mostly Admin

Alright, but who actually wants to do that? No offense to anyone, but that seems like a very unfulfilling career choice. I guess maybe it's just not for me idk.

I have a friend doing this. Untrue about just being a paper pusher. He's right there on the line with these dudes operating some sort of mini drone(s). Had to go through all sorts of PSTs, interviews with the teams, etc.

On the other hand, he just got selected for DH and will leave early. Funny how things work.

Do not expect to be offered these kinds of billets. Said friend was very open with his chain of command about not wanting to be on "the path," and wanting to do more "tactical" stuff. Fortunately, for him, he wasn't punished too badly on FITREPs and he ended up picking up DH anyway, and will go back to flying. He is most certainly the exception and not the rule all around for not getting punished too bad on the FITREP, picking up operational DH, and getting to do some of the most tactical stuff and missions the Navy does. Any one of those things could have gone the other way for him and he'd be looking at a whole different set of options at each step.

 

[DanMa1156]

Alright, but who actually wants to do that? No offense to anyone, but that seems like a very unfulfilling career choice. I guess maybe it's just not for me idk.

I am currently on a staff. While I am personally unfulfilled, there seem to be a good number of people who do enjoy it. It's solving big problems with limited resources, limited time, across long distances, and only so much speed available to you. The SWOs and Submarine guy in my office genuinely enjoy their job. Other guys get to travel all over the world planning exercises with foreign partners, and still others are involved on the intelligence and targeting side of the house... someone has to pick targets and keep ships in positions to shoot Tomahawks, among other things. For as unfufilled as I am, I am exposed to a great deal of information that's pretty interesting.

 

[ChiccinTendies]

I have a friend doing this. Untrue about just being a paper pusher. He's right there on the line with these dudes operating some sort of mini drone(s). Had to go through all sorts of PSTs, interviews with the teams, etc.

On the other hand, he just got selected for DH and will leave early. Funny how things work.

Do not expect to be offered these kinds of billets. Said friend was very open with his chain of command about not wanting to be on "the path," and wanting to do more "tactical" stuff. Fortunately, for him, he wasn't punished too badly on FITREPs and he ended up picking up DH anyway, and will go back to flying. He is most certainly the exception and not the rule all around for not getting punished too bad on the FITREP, picking up operational DH, and getting to do some of the most tactical stuff and missions the Navy does. Any one of those things could have gone the other way for him and he'd be looking at a whole different set of options at each step.

Yeah it sounds interesting, but for me personally, one of the big draws of doing "tactical" stuff is the physical requirements. What he's doing might be classified, but he's still sitting in a dark room all day, right?

 

[DanMa1156]

Yeah it sounds interesting, but for me personally, one of the big draws of doing "tactical" stuff is the physical requirements. What he's doing might be classified, but he's still sitting in a dark room all day, right?

No. He's not kicking in doors, but he's in the field every day with the SEALs. He does go back and have to file paperwork, but so does every E-7+ job in the Navy.

 

[Brett327]

Yeah it sounds interesting, but for me personally, one of the big draws of doing "tactical" stuff is the physical requirements. What he's doing might be classified, but he's still sitting in a dark room all day, right?

I'm beginning to think Naval Aviation might not be for you.

 

[Jim123]

Other guys get to travel all over the world planning exercises with foreign partners

That travel is one of the really neat things about staff billets in the surface navy operating forces (basically numbered fleets and a lot of the -RONs). I got to boost my "list of countries in which I've been drunk" list quite nicely during my dissociated tour- and see a lot of really interesting parts of the world too.

 

[ChiccinTendies]

I'm beginning to think Naval Aviation might not be for you.

I'm just one of those people that sees something cool and wants to do it. Just because almost everything happens to interest me, doesn't mean I can't stick to one single thing. I just need to grow up a little and gain some focus is all. At least that's what the boomers in my life tell me lol.

 

[Brett327]

One wonders how satisfied you’d be when you wind up flying pallets of trash and spare parts between ships as the novelty mission that breaks up long stints doing circles in starboard D.

 

[ChiccinTendies]

One wonders how satisfied you’d be when you wind up flying pallets of trash and spare parts between ships as the novelty mission that breaks up long stints doing circles in starboard D.

Is that a C-2 pilot? I think I'd be happy with that. At least I'm flying an airplane. I would honestly rather have that job than have any grunt job in the world. I really do love flying. I live near an airport, and still find myself to this day gawking at the airliners taking off and landing while I'm walking the dog. I'm pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering, and I've realized that I'm pretty sure any career that would challenge me, at least in some respect, and has to do with aviation, cannot steer me wrong.

 

[BarryD]

Is that a C-2 pilot? I think I'd be happy with that. At least I'm flying an airplane. I would honestly rather have that job than have any grunt job in the world. I really do love flying. I live near an airport, and still find myself to this day gawking at the airliners taking off and landing while I'm walking the dog. I'm pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering, and I've realized that I'm pretty sure any career that would challenge me, at least in some respect, and has to do with aviation, cannot steer me wrong.

-60 Sierra

C-2s are going to have a hard time flying between ships or pulling someone out of the drink from the Starboard D .

 

[Jim123]

C-2s are going to have a hard time flying between ships or pulling someone out of the drink from the Starboard D .

Only because we've never tried.

 

[GroundPounder]

Only because we've never tried.

Worked for CDR. Bond. He even got to bring his girlfriend along. These are recently declassified double nought secrets.

 

[bubblehead]

If you want do cool stuff, why not convert to 1815/CW? One of my friends is a former Hornet pilot and TOPGUN graduate. Converted to 1815. Had a load of a time both on active duty and Reserve doing lots of cool stuff including working at DEVGRU ? Apparently, being a pilot and a CW opened lots of doors for coolness.

Knowing what I know now, I would have converted to 1815 and not to 1825.