On the flip side, there's something to be said for letting someone else work out all the kinks.
Brett
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The Great Growler Gallery
- Thread starter woodman
- Start date
On the flip side, there's something to be said for letting someone else work out all the kinks.
Brett
One of 3, or the Man? A new, supersonic a/c or one ~ 40 yrs old w/ a suppository in its face? A new AESA radar? Fry half the emitters in the neighborhood before they know you're there? Sheeet, if given the choice, I'd take the Growler in a NY minute.
Keep in mind if you select S/F, you might end up going superhornets and not growlers....not that that's a bad thing 
Oh this sexy beast? Can you guess what I'll be putting on my dream sheet?
090117-N-8157C-118 PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 17, 2009) Seaman Chris Cardenas, left, from Ft. Worth, Texas, and Boatswain's Mate Seaman Guillermo Mercado, from Reading, Pa., stand aft lookout watch on the fantail of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) as an EA-6B Prowler from the "Yellowjackets" of Electronic Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 138 comes in for an arrested landing. John C. Stennis and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 are on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Denny Cantrell/Released)
Sound-powered phone operator?? :icon_tong
Growler is amazing. I put in for Growler/Prowler/Hornet on my first selection sheet. Very lucky to have gotten Growlers; apparently there aren't very many slots available still.
I had the same "Prowler or Growler?" debate with myself as you, and am glad I put down Growlers as my #1 choice. Seems very possible you won't get the slot, unless they start selecting a lot more Growler FOs, but you definitely won't get it if you put Prowler first. You'll eventually transition to the Growler, but it could be a long while, depending on which fleet squadron you end up in. Prowlers will be around until at least 2014 it seems.
That being said, the VAQ community is great, and is still defined by the Prowler for the time being. Either way you'll be happy, but if you want to fly in the Growler, put that as #1. At least you won't have to do AVEWS
I had the same "Prowler or Growler?" debate with myself as you, and am glad I put down Growlers as my #1 choice. Seems very possible you won't get the slot, unless they start selecting a lot more Growler FOs, but you definitely won't get it if you put Prowler first. You'll eventually transition to the Growler, but it could be a long while, depending on which fleet squadron you end up in. Prowlers will be around until at least 2014 it seems.
That being said, the VAQ community is great, and is still defined by the Prowler for the time being. Either way you'll be happy, but if you want to fly in the Growler, put that as #1. At least you won't have to do AVEWS
I have no dog in this fight, but consider that some of an a/c's coolest work and neatest new toys are often in the last ten years of service life, when the attention of Big Navy has moved elsewhere and a few enterprising JO's get money to play with and little adult supervision. I would imagine the story will be the same with the Prowler.
You're too late to be "first of the Growler Guys"...might as well be one of the last to ride molar-rattling turbojets down the 'cat and help squeeze some of those shit-hot last years outta the Prowler.
You're too late to be "first of the Growler Guys"...might as well be one of the last to ride molar-rattling turbojets down the 'cat and help squeeze some of those shit-hot last years outta the Prowler.
Agree with Uncle Fester on this one.
I'll give it to you this way... Growlers aren't in the fight yet. Navy Expeditionary and USMC Prowlers are in the fight all day everyday.
The Prowler's still got a lot of fight left in her, and she gets the job done.... superbly. I'd not want to be flying anything else right now.
There's also something to be said about sitting next to your pilot. I can't count how many times I looked at my pilot and we both knew we were thinking the exact same thing. Or passed a single hand signal in about 2 seconds that would have meant about 20 seconds worth of chatter. Try doing that in a Growler.
I'll give it to you this way... Growlers aren't in the fight yet. Navy Expeditionary and USMC Prowlers are in the fight all day everyday.
The Prowler's still got a lot of fight left in her, and she gets the job done.... superbly. I'd not want to be flying anything else right now.
There's also something to be said about sitting next to your pilot. I can't count how many times I looked at my pilot and we both knew we were thinking the exact same thing. Or passed a single hand signal in about 2 seconds that would have meant about 20 seconds worth of chatter. Try doing that in a Growler.
Select Prowler and end up flying G in a year or two. It'll make you a better ECMO/WSO and more importantly a better CO-PILOT..... in my humble single anchored opinion. All the fancy button pushing and new-fangled boxes don't matter if you and your pilot can't work together to put it all together.
Yeah like 80% of their syllabus... just sayin'. It is funny hearing the Growler guys becoming Air to Air experts though.
Hopefully the jamming skillz will not be lost in the effort to drink the Hornet Kool-Aid, memorize missile timelines, and be "fighter pilots." :icon_tong
I was pretty surprised that we do the EA portion of the syllabus last, although it is the largest portion.