• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

C-130 Marine NFO's??

Riper Snifle

Riper Snifle

OCC 194 TBS C 03-07
Are there Marine NFO's in C-130's? I have seen that there is a navigator position in the C-130, but NAMI does not list that in the pipeline for Marine NFO's in the OPNAVINST. So does that mean the EA-6B and F/A-18D are the only Marine NFO aircraft?? A friend of mine was found too tall to be a pilot and is debating going NFO (which NAMI did not disqualify him for) and is curious over what aircraft he could be in. Thank you!
 
P

phrogpilot73

Well-Known Member
macattack said:
USMC KC-130's had enlisted navs, the new J models don't have those as far as I know though...
Click to expand...
I hadn't heard that, I'll have to check with my buddy who is a loadmaster on 130 J's. But yes, on the old 130's, enlisted/warrant officer navigators.
 
phrogdriver

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
Js don't have navs. I think they also ditched the flt engineer, too.
 
M

macattack

Member
phrogpilot73 said:
I hadn't heard that, I'll have to check with my buddy who is a loadmaster on 130 J's. But yes, on the old 130's, enlisted/warrant officer navigators.
Click to expand...

Well as I said, "as far as I know"-I figured since the AF didn't have them on theirs the Marines wouldn't have them either (all jokes aside).
 
Flash

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
macattack said:
USMC KC-130's had enlisted navs, the new J models don't have those as far as I know though...
Click to expand...

The Marines actually used the same training simulators and flew in the T-43's when I went through Nav school at Randolph a few years ago. It was interesting seeing a bunch of E-3's and E-4's doing the same thing we were doing :eek:.

One of the civilian ground instructors at Randolph was a retired CWO4 who had been the CO of the school before he retired. The had their own nice new building and everything. The guy was a master at celestial nav, the Marines apparently had a pretty intense cel nav course (he said they made them memorize the 60 primary navigation stars, we didn't know if it was boasting or the rantings of a man who had one too many hard drinks....). The last I heard though is that they shut down the school and will phase them out when they get to an all C-130J force (They say that in the Wikipedia article I linked below).

Here are their wings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Aerial_Navigator_Badge

Pretty snazzy if you ask me (that is a compass rose in the middle). They are the same as the Naval Aviation Observer (Navigator) wings that were awarded from 1945-1947, and apparently they were the only US military wings that women servicemembers earned back then (I read an article about it a few years ago).

A history of Naval Aviation Wings (PDF, a very interesting read): http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/APP20.PDF
 
Riper Snifle

Riper Snifle

OCC 194 TBS C 03-07
Thank you for the replies everyone, this has been very informative for me, I greatly appreciate it. I have one friend from college who did Air Force ROTC and became a Navigator in a C-130H, so I am surprised that it is an enlisted position in the Marines, but grateful for the knowledge of this fact. Thank you!
 
phrogdriver

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
Riper Snifle said:
Thank you for the replies everyone, this has been very informative for me, I greatly appreciate it. I have one friend from college who did Air Force ROTC and became a Navigator in a C-130H, so I am surprised that it is an enlisted position in the Marines, but grateful for the knowledge of this fact. Thank you!
Click to expand...

I'm told it was a point of pride for those Marines that PFCs and lance corporals were attending the same school as USAF lieutenants. Enlisted nav required the highest ASVAB of any MOS, but still...
 
Harrier Dude

Harrier Dude

Living the dream
The air force bumps up the rank required to hold any billet or do any task by at least 4 paygrades. That's just the air force.
 
GT Propjock

GT Propjock

Registered User
Official word: (from C-130 pilot finishing the RAG pipeline) Enlisted/WO Navs remain in the reserves on T models, J models have gone to a 4 man crew. (pilot, co-pilot, crew chief replaces engineers and flight mechs, and the loadmaster) Yut.
 
M

macattack

Member
JIMC5499 said:
I guess they wanted the job done right. We used to have to keep a backup plot in out helos. The backup became the primary more than a few times.
Click to expand...

I did read a rumor on Baseops that some people in the leadership were considering putting navs on the J model (keep in mind this is AF, but nonetheless) since they found out they do actually improve things when it comes to tactical drops etc. Maybe someone with actual expertise can chime in on that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top