Choice of Aircraft after Flight School

[altuc]

After searching around online, and in this sub-board, ive gotten mixed signals about this. Is it only the top graduate of your class that gets his/her choice of what Aircraft he/she wants to serve on? Or is it the top 10%? For the rest of the graduates, do they get like a.. wish list? And then based upon class ranking and Navy needs they assign you to your aircraft? Also, do NFO's have to go through like Aero 1, Aero 2, and that stuff?

Thanks, just a couple questions. Im leaning towards the NFO side of things..

 

[S.O.B.]

Stand by for a dork dog-pile followed by a lockout....

 

[desertoasis]

Short answers:

1. You put in a preference sheet at each stage (Primary and Intermediate) saying where you'd like to go. For Primary, your choices are P-3s, E-6s (TACAMO, not Prowlers), or staying on for Intermediate. For Intermediate, your choices are E-2s or VT-86. I don't know how it works in -86, because I chose E-2s, but I'd assume it's a very similar process. In all cases, the top student gets his/her choice if it's available. If there are still slots available as you move down the rankings, the students will get what they want. After that, it's whatever is left.

2. NFOs go through all of API just like Pilots. It's good knowledge.

 

[badger16]

In -86 you select about 3ish months into it. Guys who go Prowlers go straight to the T-45. Guys who select Boeing (Growler/Rhinos) go though the Strike Fighter portion of training before going to the T-45.

 

[altuc]

Thanks for the clarifications.

 

[PhrogLoop]

Guys who select Boeing (Growler/Rhinos) go though the Strife Fighter portion of training before going to the T-45.

The typo stays.

 

[xmid]

For pilots you put down Maritime (P-3/E-6's), tailhook, or helo's at the end of primary. What you get depends on whats available and how well you've done. Sometimes there's no jet slots, so it doesn't matter how well you do you aren't getting them. Sometimes they try to keep guys who went to primary at Whiting there for Helo's and the guys that went through primary at Corpus there for Maritime. Its really a crap shoot.

 

[altuc]

Makes sense xmid.

 

[SynixMan]

For pilots you put down Maritime (P-3/E-6's), tailhook, or helo's at the end of primary. What you get depends on whats available and how well you've done. Sometimes there's no jet slots, so it doesn't matter how well you do you aren't getting them. Sometimes they try to keep guys who went to primary at Whiting there for Helo's and the guys that went through primary at Corpus there for Maritime. Its really a crap shoot.

Not saying I don't trust the ENS rumor mill, but is do you have anything to back that up? Or from a real source? I've heard the whole "Whiting jet guys to Meridian and Corpus jet guys to Kingsville" thing to save on PCS costs, but that one is a bit harder to believe.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

Not saying I don't trust the ENS rumor mill, but is do you have anything to back that up? Or from a real source? I've heard the whole "Whiting jet guys to Meridian and Corpus jet guys to Kingsville" thing to save on PCS costs, but that one is a bit harder to believe.

I can only counter anecdotal evidence with more anecdotal evidence. The week I selected from primary, everyone who got jets from VT-28 got Kingsville whether they wanted it or not, and everyone who got jets from VT-27 got Meridian whether they wanted it or not. I think the PCS costs rumor is b.s. like most rumors.

 

[badger16]

The typo stays.

Oops! That damned Freud strikes again...:icon_mi_1

 

[Kickflip89]

Needs of the Navy. Everyone gets a dream sheet, but it may or may not be available regardless of how well you did or did not do. In general, the better you perform, the more likely you'll get what you want. In terms of actual numerical odds, it changes from week to week / month to month.

 

[Pepe]

For pilots you put down Maritime (P-3/E-6's), tailhook, or helo's at the end of primary. What you get depends on whats available and how well you've done. Sometimes there's no jet slots, so it doesn't matter how well you do you aren't getting them. Sometimes they try to keep guys who went to primary at Whiting there for Helo's and the guys that went through primary at Corpus there for Maritime. Its really a crap shoot.

Bad gouge. I was at whiting and had one roommate go to Meridian and one roommate go to Kingsville. Had 2 other friends that selected around the same time. One went to Kingsville, one went to Meridian. You got the craps shoot part right though!

 

[MIDNJAC]

I think the operative word in xmid's post was "sometimes". I saw the same thing happen a couple times in primary....two guys with similar grades, one in corpus, one in whiting. Corpus guy wanted helos, Whiting guy wanted P-3's. The Navy gave them the opposite.......you can't know for sure if the move cost was a factor, but that being said, maybe it was. The guys eventually negotiated a trade, and Corpus guy is flying MH-60's now. Also, I did notice that a disproportional amount of Krock dudes went E2/C2, compared to my classmattes in Meridian. Granted there is a much bigger pot of money at stake there (Krock doesn't double dip from the BAH/perdiem bucket like NMM guys do), but again, maybe it is just coincidence.

 

[Pepe]

I think you guys are giving all the monitors/manpower bubbas WAY too much credit. You're all basically implying that they know what they're doing and are trying to save money through a logical thought process.