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Winging Ceremony Questions....
- Thread starter NFOMom
- Start date
petescheu
Registered User
Unfortunately you usually have no idea until just before. I was told on and off for several weeks that I would be winged in March, no wait Feb, no wait March, etc etc. The squadron will do what they need to do to get their number of required kids winged for a certain year, so the date might be bumped around. It can be weather dependant as well. You should have a good general idea, but nothing is certain really until right before. The best advice I can give is to get refundable tickets.
Asa parent though you will be mailed a very nice letter from either the Commodore or CO - basically saying that your son or daughter wouldn't be there if it weren't for your support. I know it's a form letter but my parents still keep their's on the wall, framed. It's a little embarrassing for me at the time but it was a nice gesture and my hippie parents surprised me because they both cried when they read it.
shoo24 said:
My son is going through the same thing. It was supposed to be November, but they might double up on flights and get winged in October. It's been back and forth a couple of times. With the weather we figured it would be November, but now they're talking October again. We're planning to drive so we won't have to worry about plane tickets. It just would be nice to have a little more notice so other family members who want to go down to Pensacola will be able to arrange it too.
At least I know now that we will get some sort of "formal" notice.
Don't count on getting a letter from VT-86 or Trawing 6. My son winged last year, and while all the right things were said at graduation, ("Without your influence, your sons and daughters would never have acheived...etc, etc."), there was no letter before or after graduation.
Unfortunately, our son was also in a "hurry up and graduate this month" push, which fell apart at the end. We drove 20 hours from NY to Pensacola over the third weekend of February to spend the week with him. (Graduation was always on the last Friday of the month.) When we got there he still needed four flights to complete the curriculum. That shouldn't have been a problem, but the weather went to pieces. Rained on Monday. Drizzled all day Tuesday. Poured on Wednesday. By then it was clear that he wasn't going to graduate on Friday, but we got to spend a lot of time with him. We stayed through Friday, then drove home over the weekend. Then he finished his T-2 flights in the next week or so and was "soft winged."
So we drove back and spent another week with him in March. But this time we knew he would be graduating. He left for SERE school and the RAG after that and we didn't see him again until Christmas. So it was nice to get to spend some time together when we did.
The bottom line is: don't count on knowing when he will be winged at least before he's been soft winged.
Having said all that, the winging ceremony itself was most impressive. It was held in "The Blue Angels Atrium" in the museum. Under the four Blue Angels' A-4 Skyhawks suspended from the ceiling. It was enough to give you goose bumps. By the way, a family member will actually pin the wings on.
On another note, there was an optional ceremony on Friday morning, the blessing of the wings, an interfaith service in the base chapel. About half the graduates participated. It was presided over by a priest and a minister, one the chaplain of the Wing, the other of the squadron. Each SNFO brought in two sets of wings. After the blessing, one set was left at the chapel where it is added to the hundreds of wings mounted on the back wall. The other set is to be taken to the winging ceremony.
However the timing works out, I'm sure you'll be proud as can be when you escort him up to the front and pin or help pin the wings on him.
Unfortunately, our son was also in a "hurry up and graduate this month" push, which fell apart at the end. We drove 20 hours from NY to Pensacola over the third weekend of February to spend the week with him. (Graduation was always on the last Friday of the month.) When we got there he still needed four flights to complete the curriculum. That shouldn't have been a problem, but the weather went to pieces. Rained on Monday. Drizzled all day Tuesday. Poured on Wednesday. By then it was clear that he wasn't going to graduate on Friday, but we got to spend a lot of time with him. We stayed through Friday, then drove home over the weekend. Then he finished his T-2 flights in the next week or so and was "soft winged."
So we drove back and spent another week with him in March. But this time we knew he would be graduating. He left for SERE school and the RAG after that and we didn't see him again until Christmas. So it was nice to get to spend some time together when we did.
The bottom line is: don't count on knowing when he will be winged at least before he's been soft winged.
Having said all that, the winging ceremony itself was most impressive. It was held in "The Blue Angels Atrium" in the museum. Under the four Blue Angels' A-4 Skyhawks suspended from the ceiling. It was enough to give you goose bumps. By the way, a family member will actually pin the wings on.
On another note, there was an optional ceremony on Friday morning, the blessing of the wings, an interfaith service in the base chapel. About half the graduates participated. It was presided over by a priest and a minister, one the chaplain of the Wing, the other of the squadron. Each SNFO brought in two sets of wings. After the blessing, one set was left at the chapel where it is added to the hundreds of wings mounted on the back wall. The other set is to be taken to the winging ceremony.
However the timing works out, I'm sure you'll be proud as can be when you escort him up to the front and pin or help pin the wings on him.
T.M.Gray said:
Hopefully we won't have to make two trips down like you did. But if we have to we will! Our son called yesterday and sounds like they're pushing for October winging. He says they will double up on whatever they have to.
We're 15 hours away, so we'll wait and drive down as soon as we know.
