Kosher for a HAC or OIC. I'd say no-go for a 2P. Those cats need to focus on making HAC.
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Life on the open water....
- Thread starter Piposterous
- Start date
What has your experience been WRT OOD qual? I'm asking both in terms of timeline and PQS pre-reqs. Did you just go up U/I when you had the free time?
Most of my COs (east coast) required pilots to go through most or all of the PQS pre-reqs which include a bunch of special evolutions and CIC quals. It's a lot to do in a 6 deployment in your spare time from flying.
We had a 2P on our cruise who was a merchant marine grad and definitely knew his stuff on the bridge. Even for him, all of the pre-reqs were too much and he didn't end up getting the qual.
I got my OOD in 3mo and that included qualifying as CICWO, a couple of sea and anchor details, and conning alongside a few times. I got a bunch of the pre-reqs like BoatO waived. I thought the board was very easy.
The guys that did it were on the watch bill, but they were UI in concert with the flight schedule. Both the CO and the XO (of recent infamy) were cool about it, and we (the Air Det) were doing a lot of good work making the ship look like rock stars, so there was some flexibility. I tended to take up the slack (read: night bags) for the OIC so he could crew rest and still stand watches. They both did everything they needed to do on the PQS, just not maybe to the same frequency as a SWO JO. That said, they were still doing legit ship driving. One night I was flying a VBSS flight against a COI and one (or both...I think one was OOD UI and one was JOD UI) of the pilots was driving the ship. When the pilot parked the ship next to the COI perfectly for the take down, there were some gasps, but really, it's the same basic idea. You just have to get a feel for inertia and drift of the ship versus a 21K pound helo. The chart/MOBOARD/RotR stuff isn't really all that big a deal. Knowing which circuit calls the aft junior officer study/shag room sound powered phone is the hard part.
"Hmmm, I'm not sure how the 1MC cord was ripped out so aggressively Sir, perhaps a seabag fell on it? I couldn't really say..."
There's no more SWO pins for non-SWOs. They felt - not without some justification - that their warfare pin shouldn't be extra bling for guys from other communities. I think it's still captain's discretion; I know the junior Chop on my first frigate earned his SWSCO pin, then did the extra legwork and quals to earn a 'proper' SWO pin. But that's an exception.
I think there ought to be some kind of Fleet OOD pin for non-Shoes who earn that qual. If you think about it, it's kind of weird that you can get a pin for driving around an Academy YP or a harbor security boat, but not for qualifying as OOD of an aircraft carrier.
Well...the two on the left weren't originally meant for just putting around in circles pulling harbor security on big grey things all day.
Yes sir! Class of 2012 here.Curious. is this referring to "Arnie's" Alma Mammy?
BzB
Yup!
Sleep, eat, fly, video games, wash-rinse-repeat.
Make sure to have the following in your stateroom
- Comfortable sheets, pillows, blankets (extras to ensure you can make your rack COMPLETELY DARK. Duct tape helps.
- Put carpet on the floor.
- Best TV / Video Game / DVD combo possible.
- Refrigerator, ice maker, maybe even a microwave if possible. Definitely keep hidden in a spare locker, drill holes for power
- A futon is pimping if you can manage to get one in your room. I was in a 4 man where we knocked out about 3 lockers and rearranged things, allowing a full futon in our living area. The disco ball and smoke generator were optional but came in handy at times.
- Definitely disconnect the 1MC in your stateroom. Your duty officer should ensure you don't miss a man-overboard by calling every room.
Don't let the SWOs get you down about sleeping as much as possible. They drive a ship with about 15 people on the bridge watching cruising from 0-30KTS. They get crazy when CBDR shows them having a collision in under an hour - you'll fly / be flying in an aircraft that is often less than a few seconds away from an ugly death. If a SWO nods off because they haven't slept in 48hrs someone will wake them up. If you nod off it could easily mean death.
And remember the truth, if you sleep 12 hours a day, cruise is half as long.
Make sure to have the following in your stateroom
- Comfortable sheets, pillows, blankets (extras to ensure you can make your rack COMPLETELY DARK. Duct tape helps.
- Put carpet on the floor.
- Best TV / Video Game / DVD combo possible.
- Refrigerator, ice maker, maybe even a microwave if possible. Definitely keep hidden in a spare locker, drill holes for power
- A futon is pimping if you can manage to get one in your room. I was in a 4 man where we knocked out about 3 lockers and rearranged things, allowing a full futon in our living area. The disco ball and smoke generator were optional but came in handy at times.
- Definitely disconnect the 1MC in your stateroom. Your duty officer should ensure you don't miss a man-overboard by calling every room.
Don't let the SWOs get you down about sleeping as much as possible. They drive a ship with about 15 people on the bridge watching cruising from 0-30KTS. They get crazy when CBDR shows them having a collision in under an hour - you'll fly / be flying in an aircraft that is often less than a few seconds away from an ugly death. If a SWO nods off because they haven't slept in 48hrs someone will wake them up. If you nod off it could easily mean death.
And remember the truth, if you sleep 12 hours a day, cruise is half as long.
This. Highest thread count sheets you can get, plus two memory foam mattress toppers under a mattress pad. Mattress toppers come in cardboard boxes. Use the cardboard/duct tape/ blankets creatively, and you can black out your rack completely. If possible, snag the rack closest to the vent. Great white noise generator.
And don't forget carpet padding.
