Do graduates from the Naval Academy get selected first for Naval Aviation?

[sh89]

I was with a friend of mine today at Magic mountain and, while we were on our to the parking lot, we saw a National Guard recruiting station. My friend and I decided to go and ask a few questions. Anyway, he(recruiter) asked me what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to be a pilot in the Navy. He then said that if I wanted to become a pilot, I should really try to get into the USNA. He said that officers form the Naval Academy get selected first(they have priority) over officers from NROTC and OCS.

Is this true?Do graduates from the Naval Academy get selected first for Naval Aviation?

(If it helps in answering my questions, do note that I'm a senior in high school.Also, the officer at the recuriting station was a tank officer in the army.)

 

[Brett327]

Blah, blah, blah.

The answer is no.

Brett

 

[eddie]

For SPECWAR or SPECOPS, USNA does have the most slots.

 

[HeyJoe]

For SPECWAR or SPECOPS, USNA does have the most slots.

To be correct, it's simply SPECWAR (or to be precise, Naval Special Warfare, NSW). All SEALs and other personnel attached and supporting their "activities" come under command of Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command at Coronado. Entry into world of SEALs is through BUD/S. SPECWAR also includes the SWCC (Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman) community (as of 2001 they have their own warfare pin) of officer (SWO) and enlisted personnel who "drive" the combatant craft operated by SPECWAR as well as many other specialities such as Intel, Seabee, EOD, Comm, etc.

When you use term SPECOPS, you are referring to Special Operations, which embodies the Army Special Forces and Ranger battalions as well as 160th SOAR, Air Force Special Operations Command and newly formed Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC). All of the collective activities of US Special Operations are "governed" by the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in Tampa. Each of the Combatant Commanders who are geographically oriented (Europe, Pacific, Central, South, etc.) also have Special Operations Components (ie SOCEUR, SOCPAC, etc.).

 

[nittany03]

I would hazard a guess that there are no slots for BDCP which are a given. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Navy tries to first fill its quotas for all warfare specialties through the Academy and NROTC, and then fills in what it needs after that with OCS slots . . .

 

[TheBubba]

Eh... not really... USNA and NROTC are given a certain number of slots for each community...

Say for instance that the Navy decides it needs 500 SNA's. They look at how many NROTC and USNA mids wnat pilot, ans say USNA get 200 slots, NROTC gets 200 slots and the rest go to OCS/BDCP...

At least thats how it was explained to me.

 

[Brett327]

All the minutiae asides, let's see the original post for what it is - a "what are my chances" question. Bottom line, going to the USNA doesn't improve the odds that you'll get an aviation slot.

Brett

 

[Steve Wilkins]

All the minutiae asides, let's see the original post for what it is - a "what are my chances" question. Bottom line, going to the USNA doesn't improve the odds that you'll get an aviation slot.

Brett

No, but I know what WILL improve your odds. Shhhh. It's a secret.

 

[VetteMuscle427]

I would hazard a guess that there are no slots for BDCP which are a given. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Navy tries to first fill its quotas for all warfare specialties through the Academy and NROTC, and then fills in what it needs after that with OCS slots . . .

You are corrected..... you can be in BDCP and designated as an SNA for your last 3 years of college. Long before selections in USNA or NROTC.

 

[zippy]

To be correct, it's simply SPECWAR

I think when he is talking about Navy SPECOPS slots, he is reffering to EOD, and not the SOCOM variety. The EOD guys I know refer to their community as SPECOPS. I know that community has been undergoing some changes, but I didn't think they merged into SPECWAR, or changed their designation.

 

[Thisguy]

(If it helps in answering my questions, do note that I'm a senior in high school.Also, the officer at the recuriting station was a tank officer in the army.)

As you get older, you'll develop a BS flag, and learn not to believe everything you hear. Especially when it's a tank officer pimping the National Guard talking about SNA slots from the Naval Academy.

 

[wink]

Eh... not really... USNA and NROTC are given a certain number of slots for each community...

Say for instance that the Navy decides it needs 500 SNA's. They look at how many NROTC and USNA mids wnat pilot, ans say USNA get 200 slots, NROTC gets 200 slots and the rest go to OCS/BDCP...

At least thats how it was explained to me.

Confusion about this comes from the fact that OCS numbers sometimes go up and down throughout the year to adjust for the manning needs of the Navy. These changes are due to many things only one of which is unexpectly high attrites from the pipeline. OCS takes up this slack because of it's shortened production time. If the needs of the Navy were to go up and they wanted more NROTC guys after severcie selection they couldn't just yank a guy out of college and send him to P cola. It isn't that OCS gets last dibs or the USNA gets first. OCS just takes up the slack through out the year. And Brett is right about your "chances." The Navy does not look to the USNA and see how many want pilot and then alot that many quotas. Many mids do not get their first choice out of ROTC or USNA.

 

[fly2fight25]

I read an article a few months ago on this issue. It stated that until recently USNA and NROTC grads were given preference (First dibs). However, the Navy is getting away from that due to studies of performance ratings of academic and flying abilities compared between OCS/NROTC/USNA graduates. The bottom line discovery was that it really makes no difference if you went to FSU, NOTRE DAME, or HARVARD... when your butt hits the seat, throttles are forward, and you're pointed down the runway... do you have what it takes?

 

[Harrier Dude]

If the needs of the Navy were to go up and they wanted more .... guys after severcie selection they couldn't just yank a guy out of college and send him to P cola.

Yeah, they could. It was called NAVCAD, but I guess that program is dead now (perhaps dormant). That was the basic idea of the program.

 

[eddie]

Was NAVCAD different from the "Flying Midshipman" program that aviators like Neil Armstrong went through? (2 years of college + 2 years active (flight training) + last 2 years of college).

Why would you bust up the college into pieces like that? By the time you finish your edumacation, you've been out of the cockpit two years before the RAG?