I Need Help!

[Brett327]

The biggest question I have is this: which service gives the best chance for you to fly your first choice of aircraft-assuming that the needs of that service are open to anything? I'm talking about getting good grades, doing well in flight school, etc... which branch will give the best opportunity assuming you accel in everything you do?

The scenario you present is not one based in reality. There is also no way to predict what will be available to you - that's the breaks. There are several threads on AW worth looking at, but ultimately you can do very little to control what you get. Look at Punk - he got SH grades at the boat and got stuck with Prowlers.

Brett

 

[Catmando]

Fortunately, you cannot really go wrong with either choice - Air Force or Navy. However, there are significant differences between the two, as Bob Norris has so eloquently pointed out in an earlier post.

Personally, I think it quite notable that most of our recent Presidents served in the Navy: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Bush Sr. I also suspect Congress is populated with more former Navy and Marine service members than any other.

Since you are interested in the astronaut program, consider this: Even with a smaller pool of aviators for selection, the Navy still has the highest representation of current astronauts.

"Of the current 108 active astronauts, there are 23 members from
the Air Force, 1 from the Air Force Reserves, 6 Army officers, 1 Coast Guardsman, 6Marines, 27 from the Navy, and 3 from the Navy Reserves." http://www.nasaexplores.com

There are very real and important reasons why our nation's leadership, the astronaut program, and many other august groups enjoy such high, U.S. Navy representation. May you be fortunate to explore those reasons, personally.

Many years ago, I confronted a similar choice as you. I wisely chose Navy. While perhaps a slightly more difficult path, it has proven to be far more exciting and rewarding, both personally and professionally, that I ever could have dreamed.

With absolutely no regrets, I would again jump at the chance to do it all over again, in the Navy – in a heartbeat!

"I can imagine a no more rewarding career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.'" (John F. Kennedy's remarks at the United States Naval Academy, August 1, 1963)

Good luck in your quest!

 

[BlkPny]

Choices

Back some years ago when a common deployment pattern was six months at sea, then six months ashore at home, a wise old chief (wait, they all are, aren't they?) told a bunch of us JO's that "no matter if you love your wife or hate her, at least you're happy half the time". That's more than most people get.
You will find that all of those horrible drawbacks to Navy life will, later in life, become great adventures and tremendous experiences. The bonding of a squadron on deployment is an incredible thing, and the sense of pride concerning your accomplishment (launching, mission, recovery) stays with you forever. You will set sail, steam to a trouble spot somewhere in the world that you've never heard of, complete the mission, and be sailing home before the Air Force finishes building their obligatory golf course and 17,000 foot runway.
Those long periods between port calls, night traps, missing your families, all these things are, once done, sources of great and unending pride.
Besides, even private pilots can land on runways........

 

[TheBubba]

I made the choice in question coming out of high school: AF or Navy.

I chose Navy. My reasoning: I wanted to do something other than fly a desk. My eyes were sh!tty and I didn't know about PRK at that point. From what my research told me, if I didn't get picked up for an AF aviation (pilot or nav) slot, I'd get stuck behind a desk. Didn't want that. What it also told me was that if I didn't go aviation in the Navy or Marines, there was a buch of other stuff to do: SWO, infantry, subs, artillery etc... So I explored the Navy and Marines and "chose" to go Navy as an NFO.

Besides... Naval Aviators have cooler stories to tell.

So now I find myself a SNFO in P-cola looking to class up in about 3 weeks and enjoyiing life.

 

[ChunksJR]

...looking to class up in about 3 weeks and enjoyiing life...

Ironically, for about 3 more weeks.

j/k
~D

 

[ChunksJR]

Just a heads up there staff...

Fast movers are awesome and the people that make them up are awesome and most of my helo bubbas wanted to be fast movers...but got helos. If/when you wing...56% of the wingers are going to be helo bubbas. Keep an open mind and remember that the Navy HAS to be near a Beach...

 

[staff]

great posts guys. and to be more precise, although my first choice will be jets, i will be 100% satisfied with anything i get to fly- i just don't want to sound like one of those guys who wants jets and only jets and is too stubborn to accept anything else because i'm sure flying helos is a hell of a lot of fun too. thanks to your help i have made up my mind to apply for BDCP SNA here in a few months when i become eligible.

 

[ChunksJR]

I'm sure that flying helos is fun too...

DAMN Skippy...to fly is human, to hover is divine. The realm of unrestricted Naval Aviation awaits young jedi...

Congrats and Good luck.

 

[gaijin6423]

If flying is human, and hovering is divine. Then what is autorotating? Besides being pucker-inducing, that is.

 

[Brett327]

If flying is human, and hovering is divine. Then what is autorotating? Besides being pucker-inducing, that is.

Skid might suggest that it's back-breaking work.

Brett

 

[staff]

In regards to Bob Norris' peice on AF vs. Navy, he stated that the aircraft in the AF are state of the art, and well maintained. He mentioned that the quality of Navy aircraft depends on available parts. Surely some of the Navy aircraft can't be that bad, at least I hope. Any pilots out there have any say on that?

 

[ChunksJR]

Surely some of the Navy aircraft can't be that bad, at least I hope. Any pilots out there have any say on that?

I know that there are a number of maintainers/former maintainers on this board that could definitely support that quote.

It is that bad. I fly the MH-60S...the oldest one in the fleet is 4 years old. Today, we had to cannibalize a helo in the PMI hangar to get a JIT part (God bless the Saturday morning FCF)...meaning that Sikorsky couldn't get the part to us quickly enough to us because they only make these things when they are actually ordered...and we needed a duty bird for this week. Oh and since the brass are constantly changing the missions of the squadrons out there, the assembly line is 6 months behind.

The incredible "Awaiting Parts" is a constant in most Naval ADBs (Aircraft Discrepancy Books)

The AF, on the other hand, has the largest budget of all the branches (also remember that the Dept. of the Navy includes 2 armed forces) hence the "supurbly maintained" aircraft.

 

[gaijin6423]

As a former maintainer, I'll give a shout out to my homey AWP. Whatup, G. There were times I'd sit through the morning meeting as NCOIC of my shop with about 8 pages of stuff printed off NALCOMIS (the maintenance tracking software). Part of the meeting was to talk about all priority one work requests and what we were doing about them. At one point, the last four pages of my list were all AWP (and most of those were EXREP), and I'd just read off the list, shrugging whenever the OIC queried if we ever did any work over there. And yes, I have--er, borrowed parts from the AF before.

If you want a group of maintainers who will work until their shift is over, then go back to their air-conditioned, cable-ready, frickin' sweet barracks room, their hands washed of the a/c maintenance issues, then the AF might be for you. It's just a job, right? But if you want people who will bust their asses, in the rain, while taking professional pride in getting and keeping the birds in the air, then you might not want to "cross into the blue".

If you want to fly pretty things, wear a 'neat' scarf, iron your flightsuit, etc., then I say join the Air Force. They do good things.

But Naval Aviation does more with less. Cheesy, I know, but it's true.

As a disclaimer: Not all USAF people are dirtbags. And not all Naval Aviation personnel can walk on water. But having born witness to the AF mentality of a/c maintenance, mission accomplishment, and leadership many times, I stand with the Navy/Marine Corps team, hands down.

 

[Brett327]

As a former maintainer, I'll give a shout out to my homey AWP. Whatup, G. There were times I'd sit through the morning meeting as NCOIC of my shop with about 8 pages of stuff printed off NALCOMIS (the maintenance tracking software). Part of the meeting was to talk about all priority one work requests and what we were doing about them. At one point, the last four pages of my list were all AWP (and most of those were EXREP), and I'd just read off the list, shrugging whenever the OIC queried if we ever did any work over there. And yes, I have--er, borrowed parts from the AF before.

If you want a group of maintainers who will work until their shift is over, then go back to their air-conditioned, cable-ready, frickin' sweet barracks room, their hands washed of the a/c maintenance issues, then the AF might be for you. It's just a job, right? But if you want people who will bust their asses, in the rain, while taking professional pride in getting and keeping the birds in the air, then you might not want to "cross into the blue".

If you want to fly pretty things, wear a 'neat' scarf, iron your flightsuit, etc., then I say join the Air Force. They do good things.

But Naval Aviation does more with less. Cheesy, I know, but it's true.

As a disclaimer: Not all USAF people are dirtbags. And not all Naval Aviation personnel can walk on water. But having born witness to the AF mentality of a/c maintenance, mission accomplishment, and leadership many times, I stand with the Navy/Marine Corps team, hands down.

Good stuff. While I have no direct experience with USAF maintainers, something (maybe logic or reson) tells me that the idea that their jets are always up and never AWP is a myth. Jets are jets and jets break - a lot! Some of their jets are just as old, or older then the Navy's, so while I agree 100% with the organizational and cultural differences stated in this thread, my bet is that, all else being equal (I.E. you're not on month 10 of a 6 month cruise), jets are jets.

Brett

 

[Gatordev]

Don't listen to anything Chunks has to say when it comes to how "bad" his aircraft health is. After he's done flying, he has to go home and take a shower. Not because he's sweaty, but because he has to wash the new helo smell out of his hair. I bet your birds still even have all their sound proofing.