Is there anything I can do to guarantee a pilot slot in the Navy?

[mcneillaviation]

I heard OCS can guarantee a pilot slot unless something is found that you can qualify, is this true? I may just save my money about getting my PPL since the Navy doesn’t really care about it. I’m really passionate about Naval Aviation and I’m very determined to fly jets, let me know if there’s anything I can do now or post-HS/post-college I can do to get an edge on getting that slot. Thank you guys so much for your time.

 

[Hair Warrior]

If you apply to OCS, and you only apply for SNA (not SNFO), then you are guaranteed to be selected for either pilot or nothing. There are other factors, of course, such as completing OCS, being medically and anthro qualified (NAMI), and completing the pilot training pipeline. If you accept entry into USNA or NROTC (instead of aiming for OCS), you are subject to the needs of the Navy in terms of career field. That said, Navy pilots are selected each year out of USNA and NROTC, so it’s possible.

 

[mcneillaviation]

If you apply to OCS, and you only apply for SNA (not SNFO), then you are guaranteed to be selected for either pilot or nothing. There are other factors, of course, such as completing OCS, being medically and anthro qualified (NAMI), and completing the pilot training pipeline. If you accept entry into USNA or NROTC (instead of aiming for OCS), you are subject to the needs of the Navy in terms of career field. That said, Navy pilots are selected each year out of USNA and NROTC, so it’s possible.

Sweet, thank you so much! How do I apply to OCS when I’m ready?

 

[Pags]

I've heard very few stories of NROTC or USNA midshipman who requested aviation and then didn't get selected for it. Sure those commissioning sources are subject to the needs of the Navy but, in general, the USN works hard to let folks serve in the way they desire. Most of the service selection heart break comes from SEALs, Nuke, and other random things. So your chances of getting "needs of navy'd" into something you don't want is slim. Also, NROTC and USNA gets you through college debt free which is certainly a nice feature. Also, OCS seems to be far more competitive than NROTC or USNA when it comes to aviation.

 

[mcneillaviation]

I've heard very few stories of NROTC or USNA midshipman who requested aviation and then didn't get selected for it. Sure those commissioning sources are subject to the needs of the Navy but, in general, the USN works hard to let folks serve in the way they desire. Most of the service selection heart break comes from SEALs, Nuke, and other random things. So your chances of getting "needs of navy'd" into something you don't want is slim. Also, NROTC and USNA gets you through college debt free which is certainly a nice feature. Also, OCS seems to be far more competitive than NROTC or USNA when it comes to aviation.

it seems like the majority of the aviators here gone through OCS but I had a call once with a women who became an aviator through the academy. I’m thinking about applying to the academy and NROTC or go through OCS.

 

[PEFO Silver-Shades]

it seems like the majority of the aviators here gone through OCS but I had a call once with a women who became an aviator through the academy. I’m thinking about applying to the academy and NROTC or go through OCS.

most of the individuals here probably applied through OCS. there is another forum page with people who are currently in college.

navy

 

[Pags]

it seems like the majority of the aviators here gone through OCS but I had a call once with a women who became an aviator through the academy. I’m thinking about applying to the academy and NROTC or go through OCS.

Each commissioning source provides about 1/3 of the Navy's aviators. 20yrs later Im glad I picked NROTC because not having any college debt during my life has been awesome. USNA would also do this for you.

 

[mcneillaviation]

Each commissioning source provides about 1/3 of the Navy's aviators. 20yrs later Im glad I picked NROTC because not having any college debt during my life has been awesome. USNA would also do this for you.

That’s definitely why I’m kinda considering USNA or NROTC a lot more than OCS. I’d love to start out adulthood debt free, that’s pretty important

 

[ChuckMK23]

Go get your Private Pilot rating, then rush/apply an Air National Guard unit - if you are a diversity applicant even better - but even as a white male you will have almost certainly have a pilot slot flying the aircarft that respective guard unit flies.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I've heard very few stories of NROTC or USNA midshipman who requested aviation and then didn't get selected for it. Sure those commissioning sources are subject to the needs of the Navy but, in general, the USN works hard to let folks serve in the way they desire. Most of the service selection heart break comes from SEALs, Nuke, and other random things. So your chances of getting "needs of navy'd" into something you don't want is slim. Also, NROTC and USNA gets you through college debt free which is certainly a nice feature. Also, OCS seems to be far more competitive than NROTC or USNA when it comes to aviation.

I served with several who were either USNA or NROTC that wanted aviation and ended up getting nuke drafted, common traits were STEM and high GPA.

 

[Pags]

I served with several who were either USNA or NROTC that wanted aviation and ended up getting nuke drafted, common traits were STEM and high GPA.

I went to a leading engineering school and never saw anyone during my 4.5yrs there get nuke drafted. Granted this was 20yrs ago and i know it's a thing that happens sometimes but I still don't think it happens so often that it's something the OP should be worried about.

I had a STEM degree and a good GPA and the Nuke community and EDO community did try and recruit me. The Nuke community called the Nuke LT at school to see if I wanted to come have an interview with the Admiral. But my NROTC unit had my back and said, "he's not interested" and that was the end of it. Even if I had been ordered to go see the Admiral I would have told him my strongest desire was to serve via Naval Aviation. And if I had been told it was in the needs of the Navy to be a nuke I think in hindsight it would have worked out as I would have still been joining a highly focused community and I still would have had zero debt.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I went to a leading engineering school and never saw anyone during my 4.5yrs there get nuke drafted. Granted this was 20yrs ago and i know it's a thing that happens sometimes but I still don't think it happens so often that it's something the OP should be worried about.

I had a STEM degree and a good GPA and the Nuke community and EDO community did try and recruit me. The Nuke community called the Nuke LT at school to see if I wanted to come have an interview with the Admiral. But my NROTC unit had my back and said, "he's not interested" and that was the end of it. Even if I had been ordered to go see the Admiral I would have told him my strongest desire was to serve via Naval Aviation. And if I had been told it was in the needs of the Navy to be a nuke I think in hindsight it would have worked out as I would have still been joining a highly focused community and I still would have had zero debt.

I think "sometimes" is the key word and the ones I knew were single digits so odds are very low, to me it is one of those things to be aware of.

 

[nick3893]

As a college student aiming for the OCS route, I think USNA or NROTC are great options to go for. You get quality and free education, and also get those extra opportunities, summer trainings, and cruises which seem like a great preview of the Navy life, and like everyone's saying, as long as you work hard at those schools you will get your first choice (as long as you qualify for it!).

If you work hard enough to get into the Academy or NROTC scholarship though, chances are you might be able to fund your way into non-Navy schools anyways (personally turned down NROTC scholarship at an okay school to attend a good state school for free b/c of scholarship and financial aid). I've been able to have my fun and even graduate a whole year early if I wanted, so this also an option to keep in mind.

 

[Pags]

If you work hard enough to get into the Academy or NROTC scholarship though, chances are you might be able to fund your way into non-Navy schools anyways (personally turned down NROTC scholarship at an okay school to attend a good state school for free b/c of scholarship and financial aid). I've been able to have my fun and even graduate a whole year early if I wanted, so this also an option to keep in mind.

You can still have plenty of fun on an NROTC scholarship*. I'd assume you could also graduate early if you managed to meet the requirements. Did you ask for a scholarship to the other school? I don't know how the process works these days so I'd be curious if someone could get into a school and then not be offered a scholarship there provided the school had a NROTC unit or crosstown affiliate.

*My NROTC unit required maybe at most 10hrs of mandatory time a week for PT, NS classes, drill, and other unit related things. Plenty of folks were involved in the Greek system, had jobs, were active in other school organizations, etc. In general, the NROTC unit didn't care how you spent your free time provided you showed up when you needed to and got good grades.

 

[nick3893]

You can still have plenty of fun on an NROTC scholarship*. I'd assume you could also graduate early if you managed to meet the requirements. Did you ask for a scholarship to the other school? I don't know how the process works these days so I'd be curious if someone could get into a school and then not be offered a scholarship there provided the school had a NROTC unit or crosstown affiliate.

*My NROTC unit required maybe at most 10hrs of mandatory time a week for PT, NS classes, drill, and other unit related things. Plenty of folks were involved in the Greek system, had jobs, were active in other school organizations, etc. In general, the NROTC unit didn't care how you spent your free time provided you showed up when you needed to and got good grades.

For sure, that's definitely valuable insight; important to note to the OP that I haven't had any experience with being in NROTC beyond the introductory spiels so take some of my thoughts with a grain of salt .

If I get your question, the scholarship now is more so attached to you rather than a school. Transferring NROTC scholarships between units/schools is generally pretty easy, but it is dependent on how much space is available at that unit (not sure if it's a limit of scholarship recipients or midshipman in general). Sadly I couldn't bring it with me to my current school though, which doesn't have NROTC nor is a crosstown affiliate.