Your Decision?

[Njc242]

Hey guys. I have a quick question for you WSO's out there. When you joined up with the military and you knew you wanted to fly, What did you put as your first choice? Pilot or WSO?

I am curious about how many people actually put WSO as their first pick, not due to bad vision or that they scored low on the ASTB. But because that is what they wanted.

Thanks!

 

[Crowbar]

Going NFO doesn't guarantee you'll be a WSO. Based on the needs of the Navy, you could end up in P-3s, E-2s, or Prowlers, instead of Super Hornets.

There are people out there who were qualified for pilot but didn't ask for it, they just aren't as easy to find as the "I should be a pilot, but I settled for NFO" type.

 

[a_m]

I had no idea what I wanted until nearly two weeks to selection. I did not want to be a pilot (even if my eyes weren't horrible). NFO was my first choice and I felt pretty confident about getting it. To echo crowbar, once you get selected NFO, there is no guarantee for the platform.

 

[Njc242]

Thanks guys.

 

[Old R.O.]

Back in the days before miracle eye surgery and 20/20 was the minimum for the 131x guys, a friend of mine, in a moment of deep thought, wondered about NFO's who didn't wear glasses.

His point was -- "you can't tell what's wrong with them!"

 

[wink]

Back in the days before miracle eye surgery and 20/20 was the minimum for the 131x guys, a friend of mine, in a moment of deep thought, wondered about NFO's who didn't wear glasses.

His point was -- "you can't tell what's wrong with them!"

Nothing "wrong". Probably just too successful with the ladies to be a pilot.

 

[CommodoreMid]

I'm a midshipman that's going to be a SNFO when I get commissioned in May. I have terrible eyesight so pilot was out of the question, but even if I had good eyes the NFO job sounded cooler to me. The NFO is the reason the plane is in the air- you're doing the mission! That just sounded really awesome to me and I think fit the way I think better than being a pilot.

 

[HalfBreed]

I agree with much of what has been said above. I love flying, but I didn't want to be the one flying. I wanted to be an NFO to do the mission. I just felt there was a lot more variety in what I would do as an NFO than a pilot. I put NFO as my first choice and pilot second (though I would probably have been anthropometrically disqualified from pilot, this did not play into my decision).

 

[MasterBates]

Got T-Rex or just that short HB?

 

[TheBubba]

I originally wanted to be a pilot. As you can see, I'm wearing 2 anchors on my wings.. and am glad for it. The more I learned about what being an NFO entailed, the more enthused I became about it. If I could go back, I'd put NFO down as my first choice and pilot second.

Like I said, I'm happy about being a Prowler guy, and the more I learn about what I'm gonna be doing once I'm out of the RAG, the more I know that I made the right choice. Without the ECMOs, the Prowler is just an airplane.. not a weapons system.

 

[SemperGumbi]

The NFO is the reason the plane is in the air- you're doing the mission! That just sounded really awesome to me and I think fit the way I think better than being a pilot.

That really depends on the platform. E.G. Single seat hornets do pretty much the same mission as 2 seaters. So do the pilots in the 2 seaters just sit up there and fly and leave the whole "mission" to the WSO? No. And some people might argue that the guys on the ground are the reason the palne is in the air.

Kind of conversly to this original question, what about pilots who wish they had gone WSO/NFO/ECMO/a rose by any other name..? Perhaps that would be a good question, too.

 

[A4sForever]

I'm a midshipman .... NFO job sounded cooler to me....I think fit the way I think better than being a pilot........ just sounded really awesome to me...

The NFO is the reason the plane is in the air...

Cool. Really cool. Cooler. Coolest. Awesome. Really awesome. Make that really, really awesome. I love the way the new breed "thinks" and "talks" ....

"The NFO is the reason" ... for the season ?? Don't tell that to these guys.

photo by A4sForever

 

[FLYTPAY]

Wow, I'm surprised that I lasted so long with out an NFO in my helo... Apparently, there was no reason for me to be in the air!

The Phrog is technically a single-piloted aircraft....the reason you guys half two pilots is.........true story

 

[Hozer]

Well, I was a SNA and was 20/70 since I joined the Navy. Didn't matter that I was a SAR swimmer and helicopter AW for 8 years.
I had my flight surgeon up me for SNA in Mayport prior to OCS and of course NAMI laughed at me in P-cola. To be fair, they gave me 3 shots at the eye chart. It was one of my poorer performances,
So, voila! NFO it is.
No regrets, P-3 is/was a great platform to be a NFO/MC.
Without question, my priority was to wear Aviation Greens as an Officer.

 

[A4sForever]

Well, I was a SNA and was 20/70 .... So, voila! NFO it is. .... No regrets

Concur. Had my "peepers" gone south during training or the Fleet, I would have switched seats in a heartbeat. NFO = the second best job in Naval Aviation. That puts it into the top 2 .... which ain't bad.