Marine Pilot Process

[JCL]

I have a few questions about where the Marines get their pilots. Mostly I am interested in whether the Marines select pilots seperatley from the Navy or if they draw from the same applicant pool.
Another point is that I am currently active duty Navy and whether that might be an issue.
The reason for questions derive from my recent non selection by the Navy but with prospects of resubmitting, before I do so I was advised to retake the ASTB. I don't want to risk the score I currently have if I might use it to apply with the Marines.
Any help would be appreciated, thank you

JCL

 

[Junior]

I am pretty sure it is separate. For your other questions I will step aside and let someone with more knowledges answer.

 

[invertedflyer]

It is definitely seperate. Marine pilots go through the same primary through advanced flight training, but the pool to get into these schools is different. On top of that fresh Marine lieutenants must complete The Basic School (TBS) at Quantico. ASTB scores of 6/6/6/ are competitive, but is possible to get contracted with slighly worse scores (I had a 5/6/6). Try your luck Marine side... they aren't hurting as much for pilots like they were two years ago, but its worth a shot. What are your current ASTB scores? Your PFT score as well as your G.P.A. is a factor (just like Navy).

Keep in mind that the Marine side is a bit different. The attitude should be more geared toward a "Marine Officer first, Naval Aviator second" type of mentality. Don't join up unless you are ready and willing to lead troops on the ground.

 

[Cordespc]

I have a few questions about where the Marines get their pilots. Mostly I am interested in whether the Marines select pilots seperatley from the Navy or if they draw from the same applicant pool.
Another point is that I am currently active duty Navy and whether that might be an issue.
The reason for questions derive from my recent non selection by the Navy but with prospects of resubmitting, before I do so I was advised to retake the ASTB. I don't want to risk the score I currently have if I might use it to apply with the Marines.
Any help would be appreciated, thank you

JCL

Totally different aplication process, OCS-wise. OCS is in Quantico, as is TBS. Once I had an NC1 swear up and down to me that OCS was combined in Pensacola, and you could choose Navy or Marines upon completion.

If you're relying on locally procured knowledges (there...I used it) it would behoove you to do a lil good 'ol fashioned googling and searching for Marine OCS stuff on here and on Marineocs.com.

Your profile is a bit unclear, but I'll assume you are active Navy enlisted, in which case you would have to either wait until your EAOS, or score an early-out.

 

[USMCEA6BNFO]

Look up the Marine Officer Selection Office in San Diego. They handle all recruiting of Officer's for guys going to OCS. Marines select in an entirely seperate process than the Navy. If you have your degree you will do the OCC route..OCS for college grads. If are still in school you can to the Platoon Leaders Course (PLC) which is the summers between semesters you go to OCS for 1 ten week course or 2 six week courses. You can get a Naval Aviation gurantee. Good luck.

 

[JCL]

Thank you for the information it is much appreciated.

J-

 

[SuperStallionIP]

Try your luck Marine side... they aren't hurting as much for pilots like they were two years ago, but its worth a shot.

Really? What experience do you base that statement off of? Last I checked, my squadron (the 53 FRS) is at 70% of our staffing goal. Staffing goal is significantly less than T/O. Just about every helo T/M/S needs folks. I can't speak for the Herks or strike platforms. 12 hours is an average work day for me and my "collegues". Often times I am stretching to 14 just to keep my head above water with ATFs, paper work, awards, fitreps, workcenter audit reviews, etc. Trust me...we still need people.

 

[invertedflyer]

^^Just going off of what my OSO said. He said its to the point where there is some competition for the Air Contracts....one office only had a single spot that they had available. Also, when I was at OCS, the instructors reported that there was an inordinately large amount of Air Contracts (supposedly filling the spots). In short, its gouge, and gouge isn't always right. I'd say you probably have a more accurate perspective.

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

Last I checked, my squadron (the 53 FRS) is at 70% of our staffing goal. Staffing goal is significantly less than T/O. Just about every helo T/M/S needs folks.

At a recent manpower/monitor brief, we were told that this situation was to be expected. The system is designed to put more bodies into the infantry batallions, and Congress limits just how many bodies we can throw around.
Let's all vote Democrat so we can learn how to do even more with less money and fewer people.

 

[phrogpilot73]

At a recent manpower/monitor brief, we were told that this situation was to be expected. The system is designed to put more bodies into the infantry batallions, and Congress limits just how many bodies we can throw around.
Let's all vote Democrat so we can learn how to do even more with less money and fewer people.

And pilots are starting to get out in droves...

 

[illinijoe05]

Keep in mind that the Marine side is a bit different. The attitude should be more geared toward a "Marine Officer first, Naval Aviator second" type of mentality.

So whats the attitude on the Navy side of the house ol' wise one?...Ill fill you in, its basically the same except we spend less time worrying about haircuts and more time worrying about things that matter.

 

[invertedflyer]

^^ I never said anything to bash the Navy in my previous post... not sure where you're coming from... this thread is about the Marines.... but I'll answer it this way. Before I shipped to OCS this was the PRECISE advice that was given me on this forum... I'm just passing it on. I'm by no means wise, but it was good advice that I took to heart. As for "worrying about things that matter"... IMO the Navy/MC is a team that compliments each others capabilites... "what matters"? I'm not going to start some BS between the services, both sides should be respected IMO. If you want to argue that the two services are the same... well, I think that would be difficult to do. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that they have different roles and "styles" and "attitudes". I'd say Marine Officers have a distinctly different (not better) attitude that fits their role. If you thought there was some kind of negative connotation to my post then you mistook what I said... training to lead an infantry platoon is just plain different than other billets. Conversely, a Marine platoon leader wouldn't know the first thing about commanding a sub, or coordinating a search aboard an unidentified vessel. This doesn't make one good or bad IMO, its just the difference between the services. I WAS NOT trying to say that the Navy doesn't have the "officer first, naval aviator second" mentality... the comment wasn't aimed at the Navy. It was merely meant to say:

1. The Marines is different than the Navy.
2. Your attitude should put your leadership position and officership ahead of any other aspect of your career.

There is no doubt in my mind that #2 exists in the Navy. Hope that clarified and covered "what matters".

...and haircuts are important!

...as well as bike-stealing.

 

[invertedflyer]

 

[A.Kuettel]

At a recent manpower/monitor brief, we were told that this situation was to be expected. The system is designed to put more bodies into the infantry batallions, and Congress limits just how many bodies we can throw around.
Let's all vote Democrat so we can learn how to do even more with less money and fewer people.

So is this what is to be expected in the fleet? Is this a situation that will be the same in a few years, or just a current problem?

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

So is this what is to be expected in the fleet? Is this a situation that will be the same in a few years, or just a current problem?

From my (limited) understanding, it's an ongoing dilemma that's plagued all services since the introduction of democracy and bureaucracy. For the foreseeable future, I'll wager that most politicians will not run on an "increase taxes, increase the size of the military" platform, so we'll continue to see personnel shortages across the board for a while.
Theoretically, operational units should have first dibs on filling their T/O (table of organization [manpower]) requirements (in the Marine Corps, infantry units are generally a higher priority), but things happen and units often must make do with what they got.

Inverted flyer, you didn't have the heart to say it, but I will: the Marine Corps is better than the Navy. We get our power from the haircuts.