TACRON? Never heard of her.
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Hornet vs F35
- Thread starter blackngold
- Start date
You want to go fly F-35.
You specifically want to fly the F-35C; of all the variants, it is the best (minus not having a gun).
F-35 in general is just so much more capable than legacy aircraft, and if you want to be on the tip of the spear, you need to be in the most capable jet. While flying old jets is cool (there is definitely some pride to it) you will thank yourself when youâre not in a sundowning community, and showing back up to the fleet after a transition clawing to get quals and credibilityâŚagain.
The C is superior to the B model, and arguably more important the CVN/CAW is superior to the amphib/ACE. On an amphib you will always be short of gas and flight time, you will constantly be fighting for people to get off your runway, and youâll likely be under close scrutiny of a MEU and/or ACE CO who doesnât understand what TACAIR can and cannot do. Also, in a high end fight, the MEU is never going to get close enough to do anything, and if does itâs because itâs an ESG with a CVN attached. No sane commander is going to risk the lives of 1300 Marines and another 1000 sailors to get 10 F-35Bâs close enough to do anything just for the sake of it. Bold assumption they are sane though.
Lastly, the USMC F-35C fleet is going to be in a good spot by the time you hit the fleet, and probably close to standing up its fourth squadron.
That all said, regardless of where you end up youâll end up loving it. At the end of the day itâll be a gray jet that has âMarinesâ painted on the side. Cheers and good luck!
Do everything you can to not get stationed in Yuma or Cherry Point. Miramar and Beaufort are way better from a QOL standpoint. Deployments are out of your control.
Lots of the info being passed here is through a CVW lens and not larger Marine Corps lens - so take it with a grain of salt. Particularly from those without L-class experience (which is most). Simply put, do you want to work with Marines or be relegated to a niche part of the Marine Corps that hangs out with the Navy? and the rest of the Corps doesnât understand?
This a fundamentally flawed assessmentâŚ. or more likely, an assumption of what and how a ARG/MEU operates. Additionally thereâs a good amount of pot calling the kettle black. Nor is it information that you should base a platform selection.
No disagreement on Beaufort and Miramar being the superior options, but Cherry isnât too bad. Havelock is a dump but New Bern, Morehead, and (confusingly) Beaufort are all really nice towns that you can still afford to buy in.
The real negative to both Cherry and Yuma (besides the heat in the latter) IMO is both access to easy travel and job opportunities for spouses.
In any case, OP wonât have much input on location anyway outside COLO or Japan in the case of the B.
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Another thing that is lost in this thread - There is only 1 F-35 MOS, 7518. You could probably start in a C and eventually end up flying a B or vice versa. It is not analogous to selecting Hornets or Harriers like back in the day. There is no specific AMOS for B or C, like there are for RW platforms in transition.
Well, the CVN is there to primarily support the air wing. The LHD is there to support the MEU, which is more than just the ACE, and the ACE is more than just F-35 (whereas the CVW is primarily TACAIR).
I'd guess life is better being the priority on a CVN, but I was a land based Hornet guy my entire time. I'd be interested in a more informed assessment. I'd just guess the flying would be a lot better with the CVW and all the integration you can do with Growler, E-2, MQ-25 and Rhino tankers vs. the MEU.
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B-C is common but in practice the C dudes seem to typically stay in it as the conversion syllabus to the B is more involved than vis-versa, and perhaps more importantly, for reasons of CQ currency. I think in the legacy Hornet community the boat and exped dudes did not often cross pollinate for the latter reason but Iâll defer to them
The other unstated reason is I imagine a C guy getting told itâs either punch out or fleet to fleet from Miramar to Yuma often heads for (literally) greener pasturesâŚ
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Not really. Anyone whoâs done significant time on a LHD/A knows that F-35Bs and Harriers drive the airplan, because theyâre the least flexible in terms of fuel, ship landings, and missions. Additionally the CVW is just as reliant on Airforce tankers as we are except for recoveries (plus other stuff). Maybe that will change with unmanned systems? VMFA and HSC lines largely dictate where and what type of airplan it can run.
âŚand again who basis a platform selection on this info? Youâll spend 5% of your career embarked with the CVW, and then rest of it on the same pain train the rest of Marine air is on. I donât understand the fascination on it. If you wanted to fly off a CVN, then you shouldâve joined the Navy.
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How does the USMC manage that if theyâre the same MOS and no AMOS for variants? Do they just keep track somehow in your personnel record?
You've deployed on a CVN and know what their capabilities are? You'd be amazed what you can do with organic tankers.
I've done some pretty cool things in and around the SCS.
Listen to @Duc'-guy25
So now you know how strange it is when a bunch of sailors comment on an MEU when the vast majority of them have:
A) Zero experience with it
B) Compare it with a CVN (which itâs not)
C) Base everything on what it âcanâ do vice its actual mission.
If itâs so âcoolâ then why are all your pilots getting out? Probably because it involves the same flavor but different color of bullshit weâve all dealt with at times.
Offering career advice as a sailor on how the Marine Corps views career benefits between operating on a MEU vs CVN requires a pretty high amount of hubris. Let alone the fact that most of his information was inaccurate, or at best, very presumptive.
A) There are 2 ACEs now (VMFA, VMM) and thatâs the way of the future. MEU COs and XOs are aviators. Sometimes, even VMFA dudes/gals.
B) CVNs and LHDs will both not be in the area in any high end fight (because 2300 sailors and Marines on a LHD/A, are somehow more or less valuable than the ~5k on a CVN?)⌠but thatâs another subject/thread.
C) The MEU is designed to go ashore, not fight at sea. Stating one is superior than the other was a pretty amateur assessment - particularly when theyâre designed to different things. Itâs like saying Target is better than Wells Fargo. Doesnât make sense.
Having afloat MAGTF experience will always be more beneficial career-wise to a Marines career.
This whole thread is bizzare⌠The OP wants to fly as much as possible, which in most cases will not be much of difference between the C and Bs. Yet, here we are having a bunch of navy pilots here creaming their pants on CVN ops.
Is it a Marine helo or a Navy helo and are the pilots a Marine and a Navy pilot?
Iâm not smart on it but from a manpower level view on it the 7518 MOS by itself is probably fine for big picture stuff. Individually your NATOPS will be different of course but itâs small enough of a community where Iâm sure MMOA can more or less effectively track people individually, both with trucker comm and MSHARP electronically.