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advanced degree/deployment questions

S

staff03

New Member
Just curious if anyone knew how important an advanced degree is for advancing your career past the required 6-8 years for a pilot? What are the criteria that determine if you qualify for advancement, if any?

Another question is: As compared to an Air Force pilot, how much more time will be spent away from home? I am aware that different communities spend more or less time home than others, I am just looking for a rough estimate, can't find anything on the Air Force side of things.

Also, do the aircraft that are shore-based go through regular deployments that something based on a carrier would? What are the deployment cycles for those communities?
 
P3 F0

P3 F0

Well-Known Member
None
Some good answers here for you on degrees: http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136549
Bottom line: nice to have, but not a requirement. Advancing to O-3 (LT) is fairly automatic unless you've really screwed up somewhere along the line. O-4 is a bit harder, but again, if you've performed well, you can reasonably expect to make it. Advancing to O-5 is much harder, and in the aviation world, generally speaking, you pretty much have to screen for Dept Head and get a #1 or #2 competitive departing fitrep upon leaving your DH tour (these two things you need to screen for command of a squadron, which will put you in the running for O-6). If you don't have those, plus a couple other checks in the blocks, you'll be lucky to make O-5.

I can't answer the time away from home question. It all depends on what aviation community you wind up in. Aside from that, you can count on spending 6-12 months in the sandbox and/or at sea outside of whatever community you wind up in. That's not a guarantee it'll happen, but it's likely. Within your community, you can expect to deploy to the sandbox or other myriad det sites.

Shore vs Land-based a/c: speaking for EP-3's and P-3's, generally speaking, you're looking at either 2-3 month deployments or 6-month deployments (I hope this info isn't too out of date). As an EP-3 guy, I did 8 2-month deployments in 3 years. Compare that with the ship-based guys, who may only do one 6-month deployment at sea (again, I'm sure someone will be in here to correct and embarrass me if I'm wrong). The sea duty is much harder, arguably more rewarding, and probably looks better on your record, but you don't get the per diem and BOQ rooms the land-based guys get.

For the VP guys, I believe they do 6 months out and then a year at home.
 
webmaster

webmaster

The Grass is Greener!
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
P3 F0 said:
For the VP guys, I believe they do 6 months out and then a year at home.
Click to expand...
Good post. Its now a 24 month cycle:

12 months homecycle
6 months surge homecycle (maybe one or two crews on tap to go on short det, or augment deployed squadrons)
6 months deployed

As always, subject to change.
 
B

bert

Enjoying the real world
pilot
Contributor
As a side note, for the FY07 O-4 board, a masters degree seemed to be the number one factor after FITREPS and billets, followed by JPME.
 
webmaster

webmaster

The Grass is Greener!
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
bert said:
As a side note, for the FY07 O-4 board, a masters degree seemed to be the number one factor after FITREPS and billets, followed by JPME.
Click to expand...
Do you mean Department Head screen? I hope you don't mean O4... at least for me, there hasn't been any slack in my tours to date to get either, heck I turned down GEV last tour because operational commitments on my shore tour precluded it.
 
P3 F0

P3 F0

Well-Known Member
None
bert said:
As a side note, for the FY07 O-4 board, a masters degree seemed to be the number one factor after FITREPS and billets, followed by JPME.
Click to expand...
It sounds like things are still tight. I wonder if another round of VSP is coming? Out of curiosity, did you get this from someone sitting on the board?
 
B

bert

Enjoying the real world
pilot
Contributor
It is solid info, but won't answer beyond that. Every board is a little different though, and IA's didn't have the same emphasis then, so things can always change (don't forget how important OOD letters used to be).

The O-4 board isn't nearly as tight as the DH board, for what that is worth.
 
Swanee

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
P3 F0 said:
No, it doesn't. Where did you get this nonsense?
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From what I understand the Active Duty AF pretty much requires a graduate degree to get to O-4. The reserves and the Guard do not require it, and there are waivers and stuff like War College counts. This comes to me directly from my old man who just retired(O-6) from the AF/ANG.
 
P3 F0

P3 F0

Well-Known Member
None
Maybe it's O-5. It is certainly not O-4. I believe they require JPME (I think for O-5).
 
Goober

Goober

Professional Javelin Catcher
None
Absolutely not the case. Bro-in-law is an AF O-4, same YG as me, and doesn't have a master's.
 
snake020

snake020

Contributor
Swanee said:
From what I understand the Active Duty AF pretty much requires a graduate degree to get to O-4.
Click to expand...

No. Whether you have a grad degree or not is a box that's checked in your records for promotion selection past O-3, but there's no requirement.
 
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