What is it like to be an NFO?

[bobcat2006]

Day in the life of NFO

Ok, this is a very basic, maybe borderline lame question. What is your average day like. When you're deployed at sea is it like, wake up at 0400, plan flight, fly, land, debreif, shower, eat, repeat? What are you doing most of the time? And when you're not at sea what do you do? like on a daily basis?

 

[Fezz CB]

Ok, this is a very basic, maybe borderline lame question. What is your average day like. When you're deployed at sea is it like, wake up at 0400, plan flight, fly, land, debreif, shower, eat, repeat? What are you doing most of the time? And when you're not at sea what do you do? like on a daily basis?

Check out the NFO forum. Lots of good threads, and even a diary of the training pipeline.

 

[Thisguy]

Ok, this is a very basic, maybe borderline lame question. What is your average day like. When you're deployed at sea is it like, wake up at 0400, plan flight, fly, land, debreif, shower, eat, repeat? What are you doing most of the time? And when you're not at sea what do you do? like on a daily basis?

sorry, just had to pipe up here, but I don't think a JO NFO has ever been up at 0400 (unless he's still up from the night before).

The flight schedule dictates your day. You could have the first go with a 0900 brief, or you might not be flying until the last go at 2200. When you're not flying, you have your ground job, but to be honest, JO jobs in a squadron aren't that demanding. I'm not an NFO, but I did 2 cruises in an S-3 squadron, and the JOs played a lot of Halo 2.

Other than flying and your ground job, things like SDO, pri-fly, ACOPSWO and other misc meetings (depending on your job, for instance, the legal O attends all Captain's masts), take up your time.

 

[Gatordev]

sorry, just had to pipe up here, but I don't think a JO NFO has ever been up at 0400 (unless he's still up from the night before).

The flight schedule dictates your day. You could have the first go with a 0900 brief, or you might not be flying until the last go at 2200. When you're not flying, you have your ground job, but to be honest, JO jobs in a squadron aren't that demanding. I'm not an NFO, but I did 2 cruises in an S-3 squadron, and the JOs played a lot of Halo 2.

Wow, guess I should have been a FO in an S-3 squadron.

 

[Brett327]

Wow, guess I should have been a FO in an S-3 squadron.

Yeah, I was gonna say. Brief at 0900 for the first go? More like brief at 0500 for a 0700 launch. Anyone who says JO ground jobs (Maint. DIVO, AOPS, Training O) aren't demanding probably isn't doing them correctly. I guess that that's just a window into the life of a JO whose platform has no mission.

Time hack,

Brett

 

[Chubby]

Yeah, I was gonna say. Brief at 0900 for the first go? More like brief at 0500 for a 0700 launch. Anyone who says JO ground jobs (Maint. DIVO, AOPS, Training O) aren't demanding probably isn't doing them correctly. I guess that that's just a window into the life of a JO whose platform has no mission.

Time hack,

Brett

For the more senior JO's yeah. But I was under the impression that the ground jobs are pretty watered down for the more junior guys until they get their quals up. That being said, I'm sure the reason for that is to allow for studying for said quals. But what do I know, I'm not there yet?

 

[Brett327]

For the more senior JO's yeah. But I was under the impression that the ground jobs are pretty watered down for the more junior guys until they get their quals up. That being said, I'm sure the reason for that is to allow for studying for said quals. But what do I know, I'm not there yet?

Oh, you mean those nugget JO jobs like Legal O, skeds writer (OPS B!tch) or PAO? Yeah, those only take about 5 minutes per day and you can usually secure by 1200 if you're not flying. The first 1.5 years of your first sea tour are usually (and ought to be) your busiest ones. Your last year should be spent collecting credit for others' work so as to pad your money-maker FITREP.

Brett

 

[wink]

sorry, just had to pipe up here, but I don't think a JO NFO has ever been up at 0400 (unless he's still up from the night before).

The flight schedule dictates your day.

I was in a VS squadron and was up before dawn more times than I can remember. Don't you guys ever fly 24 hour ops anymore? Even when the whole airwing isn't flying 24 hours for some big exercise, the E-2 and S-3 were frequently flying all night while the rest of the prima donas were snug in their racks or napping in an alert cockpit.

To make the lifestyle/typical day question more relavent, a NFOs day is just like a pilots with the obvious exceptions while in the cockpit.

 

[Thisguy]

I was in a VS squadron and was up before dawn more times than I can remember. Don't you guys ever fly 24 hour ops anymore? Even when the whole airwing isn't flying 24 hours for some big exercise, the E-2 and S-3 were frequently flying all night while the rest of the prima donas were snug in their racks or napping in an alert cockpit.

To make the lifestyle/typical day question more relavent, a NFOs day is just like a pilots with the obvious exceptions while in the cockpit.

Wink,

I guess the S-3 platform has gone soft. We never did 24 hour ops, and our JOs got PLENTY of sleep.

 

[RockyMtnNFO]

It all depends on what is happening. For the P-3 guys, we were on a routine for the most part with day and night flights going off at the same time every day; but that was a few years ago. In the Gulf, could be around the clock, in Japan, not so much flight time unless there are submarine games to be played, then it could be around the clock. The ready in Misawa is the greatest deal ever; frosty pre-flight (winter), meet at the vans at noon, go to the commissary for luch and shopping then back for nap time, work out about 1500 then a nice home-cooked dinner or the O-club if your feeling spendy then movies in the suite.

At home I could get into the squadron about 0730-0800, sign whatever was in my inbox, look at some training jackets and then walk around with a blue folder so the CO, XO and Dept. Heads could see me. The blue folder is very important when trying to look busy and if anyone asks you who you are looking for, you will know who to say because you have already checked the flight sked and know who is out flying or on leave at the moment so he can't materialize right them and force your hand. You can be prepared for this, however, by having some sort of generic form with you or perhaps some PQS. Just be ready to once in while bite the bullet and actually do some work when not flying. As has already been said, if you are Legal, Trainig, OPS or readiness etc. you won't have to fake it, they'll get their work out of you.

 

[wink]

Wink,

I guess the S-3 platform has gone soft. We never did 24 hour ops, and our JOs got PLENTY of sleep.

Pity, like much of the Navy I fear.

 

[ip568]

Yeah, I was gonna say. Brief at 0900 for the first go? More like brief at 0500 for a 0700 launch. Anyone who says JO ground jobs (Maint. DIVO, AOPS, Training O) aren't demanding probably isn't doing them correctly. I guess that that's just a window into the life of a JO whose platform has no mission.

VP version: Brief at 0130 for a 0530 launch, ten hour mission, land at 1530, debrief until 1730. Next day up at 0500 for ground job(s) day, secure at 1745. Repeat sequence for next several years.

 

[saltpeter]

0500, for ground jobs, yikes. I remember the morning meetings for maint. beggining at 0730 and lasting app. 15 mikes. Everyone else began showing up closer to 0900 and the hall were deserted by 1630. But, I wasn't in the VP's and yes the it was kinder and gentler. Flight schedules were always hecktic, but never has a 2 hour debrief, my vocabulary is not extensive enough to talk on any subject for that long.

 

[Brett327]

Yeah, I was gonna say. Brief at 0900 for the first go? More like brief at 0500 for a 0700 launch. Anyone who says JO ground jobs (Maint. DIVO, AOPS, Training O) aren't demanding probably isn't doing them correctly. I guess that that's just a window into the life of a JO whose platform has no mission.

VP version: Brief at 0130 for a 0530 launch, ten hour mission, land at 1530, debrief until 1730. Next day up at 0500 for ground job(s) day, secure at 1745. Repeat sequence for next several years.

I gotta say that to this day, some of my longest days and work periods w/o sleep were in P-3s. Three hour preflight, 10+ hour flight, 2 hour postflight, then get up 10 hours later to do it all again. Lather, rinse, repeat 24/7 for six months with an occasional day of standing watch (a welcome relief), or standing the ready-1 with the crew. Once during a big excercise at AFWTF in Roosy, my crew and I stayed on shift for ~60 hours of constant torp, DST and buoy loading. Whew! Good times, though.

Brett

 

[wink]

I guess that that's just a window into the life of a JO whose platform has no mission.

If you mean VS of late, that isn't accurate at all. While tanking may be the biggest part of their job, it is still a mission. And I might add, it is a mission that is required on every launch. So if the Hoovers are launching at 0900, then the rest of the airwing is as well. To give the War Hoover it's due, even today, it retains one of the best radars in the airwing and a surface kill capability. By my estimation, the VS community has a mission until it goes away. That they may not have to get up until bankers do is more a testiment to the airwings schedule as a whole regardless of mission.