Deployment related questions

[Caribbean_Joe]

I am looking at either pursuing the NFO or Pilot route. I have been pretty torn between going into the Marines or the Navy. One of the big factors is what deployments are like. Personally I'd rather be on solid ground wherever I am deployed than on an aircraft carrier. If you are in the Marine Corps and based in Afghanistan do you get to leave the base and explore/ interact with the public? Additionally in the Navy what are port calls like. I have good friends who do Intel and love port calls ,they said they had a blast in the Philippines and Australia. For port call is it a week of exploration of whatever country you are in? How does it function?

 

[Python]

The first rule of fight club...

 

[nittany03]

For port call is it a week of exploration of whatever country you are in? How does it function?

It's usually somewhere around 4-5 days, and folks generally get off the boat and into a hotel somewhere. If you're in the Middle East, there generally will be a list of approved hotels for people to stay at that have been vetted for security. The tradition in aviation is for everyone to chip in for an "admin," i.e. a nice big suite where the ready room all crashes. Some folks who want more privacy get their own rooms in the same hotel as the admin.

There are Morale, Welfare and Recreation-arranged formal tours, as well as usually opportunities to go paint a school, put a playground together, or other community-related stuff. Or you can go off and do your own thing. If you're outside the US, folks are generally required to be in groups, so no one gets drunk and stupid, or lost, or mugged or something.

There are also duties that still have to be stood on the ship and in shore patrol, so everyone generally has to pull duty one of those days. Generally the good deal if you're more senior is to pick either the first or last day to stand duty, so you have uninterrupted fun the rest of the time. But someone will still get stuck in the middle.

 

[HeyJoe]

If you are in the Marine Corps and based in Afghanistan do you get to leave the base and explore/ interact with the public?

Not exactly a tourist spot nor is it advisable to go outside the enclaves as a tourist. I’d pick another country for your wanderlust.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Back in the day it was drunken whoring debauchery.

Then tail hook happened. Then political correction became the thing.

 

[AllAmerican75]

One of the big factors is what deployments are like. Personally I'd rather be on solid ground wherever I am deployed than on an aircraft carrier.

Then you probably want to stick with the Air Force or Army aviation programs. Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard pilots all have the opportunity to eventually deploy on a ship at some point. Maybe the only exception are USMC Herc pilots, but I'm not sure.

Additionally in the Navy what are port calls like. I have good friends who do Intel and love port calls ,they said they had a blast in the Philippines and Australia. For port call is it a week of exploration of whatever country you are in? How does it function?

Port calls can be lots of fun. You usually still have work of some kind and a duty requirement to fulfill so it's not completely free time to explore foreign ports of call. You will often need to stand duty at some point during the time in port, which means you will have to remain on the ship for 24 hours unless you can finagle your way into being part of the shore patrol which is ALWAYS a good deal. Sometimes the squadron and/or air det will get themselves a hotel room in town. I can't speak to what occurs there but it's essentially a crash pad so you don't have to go back to the boat.

The actual experience out in town differs depending upon where you are. Some spots are great, others not so much. You will likely have a lot more fun and be able to stay out in town a lot longer when pulling into Cartageña, Spain, versus somewhere like Karachi or Dakar. With the security concerns of the modern post-9/11 era, you may or may not be able to stay out overnight in town. Also, the OPTEMPO of the ship has a say. Sometimes you get a week in port, sometimes it's less than 24 hours. Other times you can have operational requirements scrub your port call entirely.

And then, sometimes Neptune and the Fates smile upon you. For instance, the harsh winter weather in the Mediterranean could force your ship to have to head into anchorage in Augusta Bay, Sicily, and you will find yourself suddenly and abruptly ashore in the sleepy town of Augusta. When that happens, make sure you partake of the Sicilian rabbit and plenty of vino Siciliano. When interacting with the locals, remember the phrase "Ciao, bellissima!"

 

[taxi1]

If you screw up in one port, you may get to stand watch aboard the ship the whole time in the next port. Hopefully it’s a shitty one.

 

[JTS11]

If you screw in one port, you may get to stand watch aboard the ship the whole time in the next port. Hopefully it’s a shitty one.

If you screw in certain ports without proper PPE, it'll burn when you pee and you'll need to get your bore punched.

 

[Caribbean_Joe]

I am looking at either pursuing the NFO or Pilot route. I have been pretty torn between going into the Marines or the Navy. I was curious what a typical day is like on a carrier for a pilot or NFO? I was curious NFOs get the same mandatory sleep that pilots do, additionally I was curious if either pilots or NFOs had free time? I was going to look to further my education going either the TA or NCPACE route while deployed on a carrier, is this feasible? Additionally I saw some ships had BJJ meetups which I would also pursue, again I am curious about what daily schedules look like, and if you have free time?

 

[nodropinufaka]

There was a couple guys doing masters courses while underway. But they were CVW staff or on their Super JO tour.

You would prob be way too busy as a JO or DH but prob could but your life would be miserable.

aside from that everyone does all sorts or workouts, gym, whatever on downtime.

 

[Spekkio]

You and every sailor who deploys in 2020-2021 will be left wondering

 

[HAL Pilot]

If you screw up in one port, you may get to stand watch aboard the ship the whole time in the next port. Hopefully it’s a shitty one.

Back in the day, if you screwed up in port you got put in hack for a week...but the next port was 2 weeks away so who cared?

 

[AllAmerican75]

NCPACE is largely set up for enlisted guys to get their undergrad general education classes out of the way. It also isn't guaranteed that you will have an NCPACE instructor aboard your ship. It is NOT a program for guys getting Masters Degrees.

Being operational (aka Sea Duty) in the Navy takes a lot of time and doesn't leave much available for grad school. You will have plenty of stuff to do such as getting qualifications and meeting wickets for career advancement. Fail those, and you will be back on Civvie Street so fast it'll make your head spin. If you want the Navy to pay for your Masters, the best plan is to use TA while on shore duty, get orders to NPS (I'm not sure how PERS-43 sees that career wise), or getting orders to the War College (usually when you're more senior and often when on the Golden Path™). Before you worry about how to get a Masters, figure out what branch of service you want to join and get selected.

 

[AllAmerican75]

If you screw in certain ports without proper PPE, it'll burn when you pee and you'll need to get your bore punched.

When we were in West Africa, Doc told me that he was so happy that we were all taking doxycycline because he would otherwise have needed to treat far more cases of VD and intestinal bugs than he was. And our dirty, rowdy boatswain's mates did their damnedest to keep him busy.

God, I love boatswain's mates.

 

[FrankTheTank]

Fly, Eat, Workout, Ground job, Xbox, Porn, Eat again, Sleep. Rinse and repeat. Order varies but activities basically stays the same.