So my husband was preselected pilot optiion with his STA-21 package. He will be graduating April 2006 & then he goes off to Pensacola for flight school. I think I understand that there is some flight school he can go to before going to P'cola (not sure about that). Can someone tell me how long he will be in Pensacola? I am trying to decide if I want to come with him--we are in Jacksonville & I have an awesome job I would hate to leave if he will only be gone for less than a year. I can travel back & forth to Pensacola from Jax to keep my job! How long is the wait to "class-up" right now? How long is the school & where do you go after? He has always said he wanted to fly P-3's & hopfully we could be stationed back at NAS JAX. If that is the case does he go to P'cola & then back to Jax, or is there another school in between P'cola & wherever he gets stationed? He doesn't know yet...he is waiting for someone in the ROTC unit at his university to get him information. I found this site while searching for my own answers online. Thanks for helping me educate myself on this.
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Navy wife with questions...
- Thread starter Amy C
- Start date
Two good reads
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9334
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5856
I dont know much but that will get you started. Im sure there will be plenty of people to help you out (when they wake up)
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9334
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5856
I dont know much but that will get you started. Im sure there will be plenty of people to help you out (when they wake up)
At some point he will need to spend some time in Corpus Christi for either VT-31 or VT-35 advanced. I would estimate that with little or no waiting for class ups, he would need about 1 1/2 years of training before reporting back to Jacksonville for the P-3 rag. There's no way of telling how long the wait periods might be. And there's no gurantee for the P-3 slot either. You just might want to let that weigh into your decision.
Let's assume he gets P-3's. I would wait and see where he goes for primary. If he goes to Corpus, then it might be worth it to go with him. If Pensacola, then he'll only be there for less than a year. If Vance, by all means, stay in Jacksonville.
Let's assume he gets P-3's. I would wait and see where he goes for primary. If he goes to Corpus, then it might be worth it to go with him. If Pensacola, then he'll only be there for less than a year. If Vance, by all means, stay in Jacksonville.
Call me stupid...what do you mean by this?
Sounds to me like he could be gone for awhile & I didn't realize he would go somewhere else for flight training after P'cola. Kind of dumb for me to think that you could learn to fly in the 8 weeks you are in P'cola!! :icon_mi_1
Two good reads
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9334
http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5856
I dont know much but that will get you started. Im sure there will be plenty of people to help you out (when they wake up)
THANKS SO MUCH. This is the group I was looking for!!!!
STA-21 is done through an NROTC unit, right? If so, the unit should have either a Pilot or NFO on staff. Make an appointment to talk with him or her regarding this type of stuff. This forum is great, and you can get all kinds of info here, but a face to face with someone in the know will always be better.
As Zab mentioned, definitely use the resources at the NROTC Unit, that is what they are there for, and I am sure that they will provide a wealth of information.
But, to tell you the truth, you asked a pretty open ended question, there are quite a few unknowns with that question. But a ROUGH (emphasis on ROUGH) timeline for general discussion purposes:
APR06 Graduation/Commission (Active duty, right? So automatic commission, no waiting on those pesky Naval Academy Grads)
3 month - API, Pensacola (my GUESS, no wait, like me, got there before the Academy and rest of NROTC rush, but waits can be upwards of quite awhile, depending on loading. WORST case, he gets to API, is put in a waiting pool, and gets TAD orders back to the NROTC Unit at Jax until he is ready to class up).
6 months - Primary Flight Training. This can be in either Pensacola (Whiting) or Corpus Christi. If you are still doing the distance game, I am sure that if he spent the time working the angles, and talking to the Student Control Officer, that he could stay there in Pensacola.
Selection for Pipeline:
1 year - Jets (Kingsville, TX or Meridian, MS)
7 months - Prop (Corpus Christi, TX)
7 months - Helo (Pensacola, FL)
??7 months - TACAMO (middle of nowhere, Oklahoma)
Times to train are all guestimates, depending on weather, students in the pipeline, how well HE does, which squadron you go to, medical status (do you get sick?), and numerous other factors. Anys SNAs in the pipeline want to chime in on their time to Wings? lol
Basically what I am getting at, is that at this point in time, you have NO idea of how long you will be apart if you stay in Jacksonville, and whether or not he can get orders BACK there for P3s. At the VERY least, you are looking at a year, before he gets back there for the FRS, and that is if he is smoking through the pipeline, and he selected P3s. Anything else, and he is definitely not coming back there.
One more comment, aviation training can be very difficult at times, but it was also one of the best periods of my Naval career where I was able to spend quite a lot of free time with my wife and family. Don't feel like studying, go hit Pcola beach! I would be hesitant to give up that time, or worse yet, finally be back together, and he is in a Fleet squadron, with a ground job, trying to upgrade, and you never see him.
Good jobs come and go, but your relationship is there for the long haul.
My two cents, best of luck in your decision. If he has ANY questions on P3s, there are quite a few of us here on the forum that are able to answer questions (dispel or confirm rumors).... PLUS a lot of other community guys and gals (helo fags and pointy nosed prima donas to name a few....oh, am I gonna get it for that... BRING IT!!)
Seriously, best of luck.
John
But, to tell you the truth, you asked a pretty open ended question, there are quite a few unknowns with that question. But a ROUGH (emphasis on ROUGH) timeline for general discussion purposes:
APR06 Graduation/Commission (Active duty, right? So automatic commission, no waiting on those pesky Naval Academy Grads)
3 month - API, Pensacola (my GUESS, no wait, like me, got there before the Academy and rest of NROTC rush, but waits can be upwards of quite awhile, depending on loading. WORST case, he gets to API, is put in a waiting pool, and gets TAD orders back to the NROTC Unit at Jax until he is ready to class up).
6 months - Primary Flight Training. This can be in either Pensacola (Whiting) or Corpus Christi. If you are still doing the distance game, I am sure that if he spent the time working the angles, and talking to the Student Control Officer, that he could stay there in Pensacola.
Selection for Pipeline:
1 year - Jets (Kingsville, TX or Meridian, MS)
7 months - Prop (Corpus Christi, TX)
7 months - Helo (Pensacola, FL)
??7 months - TACAMO (middle of nowhere, Oklahoma)
Times to train are all guestimates, depending on weather, students in the pipeline, how well HE does, which squadron you go to, medical status (do you get sick?), and numerous other factors. Anys SNAs in the pipeline want to chime in on their time to Wings? lol
Basically what I am getting at, is that at this point in time, you have NO idea of how long you will be apart if you stay in Jacksonville, and whether or not he can get orders BACK there for P3s. At the VERY least, you are looking at a year, before he gets back there for the FRS, and that is if he is smoking through the pipeline, and he selected P3s. Anything else, and he is definitely not coming back there.
One more comment, aviation training can be very difficult at times, but it was also one of the best periods of my Naval career where I was able to spend quite a lot of free time with my wife and family. Don't feel like studying, go hit Pcola beach! I would be hesitant to give up that time, or worse yet, finally be back together, and he is in a Fleet squadron, with a ground job, trying to upgrade, and you never see him.
Good jobs come and go, but your relationship is there for the long haul.
My two cents, best of luck in your decision. If he has ANY questions on P3s, there are quite a few of us here on the forum that are able to answer questions (dispel or confirm rumors).... PLUS a lot of other community guys and gals (helo fags and pointy nosed prima donas to name a few....oh, am I gonna get it for that... BRING IT!!)
Seriously, best of luck.
John
OCwife,
I sent you a PM with instructions on how to join the Private Spouses Corner forum.
I'm sure we'll talk more about this in the private forum, but my husband flies P-3s and I am in a similar situation as you job-wise. From the time my husband was commissioned to the time he got to Jacksonville for the FRS was about 20 months. He did Primary and Advanced in Corpus Christi which is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from me in Houston. We were able to travel back and forth quite a bit (although 99% of the traveling was done by me, at least during Primary). Looking back, it wasn't too bad - but we weren't married then either. We got married during the FRS and the plan was for me to move when he went to his first duty station. After finding out how quickly he was deploying, we decided that I would stay in Houston to keep my job a while longer. The job market is terrible where he is stationed and I have a great job here. My employer has been great about working with me - I telecommute from Washington 1 week each month. Add on weekends to either end of that week and we end up being together about 10 days each month. I figure it's about the same amount of time that people with consulting jobs that travel all week spend with their spouses.
But... I think the main reason it works for us is the timing. We haven't been living together yet so we're used to being apart. I can't imagine going back to this schedule once we're living together and get used to seeing each other on a daily basis.
Anyway... we can talk about it more in the private section.
I sent you a PM with instructions on how to join the Private Spouses Corner forum.
I'm sure we'll talk more about this in the private forum, but my husband flies P-3s and I am in a similar situation as you job-wise. From the time my husband was commissioned to the time he got to Jacksonville for the FRS was about 20 months. He did Primary and Advanced in Corpus Christi which is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from me in Houston. We were able to travel back and forth quite a bit (although 99% of the traveling was done by me, at least during Primary). Looking back, it wasn't too bad - but we weren't married then either. We got married during the FRS and the plan was for me to move when he went to his first duty station. After finding out how quickly he was deploying, we decided that I would stay in Houston to keep my job a while longer. The job market is terrible where he is stationed and I have a great job here. My employer has been great about working with me - I telecommute from Washington 1 week each month. Add on weekends to either end of that week and we end up being together about 10 days each month. I figure it's about the same amount of time that people with consulting jobs that travel all week spend with their spouses.
But... I think the main reason it works for us is the timing. We haven't been living together yet so we're used to being apart. I can't imagine going back to this schedule once we're living together and get used to seeing each other on a daily basis.
Anyway... we can talk about it more in the private section.
Thanks to everyone who responded...I will move over to the spouses corner where I can get more help.
I hesitate to talk to anyone in the ROTC unit...they just don't have the support group for the wives/girlfriends that I think they should have. It is really different from the submarine fleet he used to be a part of. We really were all family there.
I hesitate to talk to anyone in the ROTC unit...they just don't have the support group for the wives/girlfriends that I think they should have. It is really different from the submarine fleet he used to be a part of. We really were all family there.
Your husband would be completely within his rights to scehdule a meeting for both of you with the aviation advisor. I'd make sure to do this at least once. This isn't a "wive's club" thing, this is his career and your future together as a family.
I left my wife in Jacksonville and came to Pensacola. Believe me, it will get old very quick. I was driving back and forth every other weekend (and consecutive weekends on occasion) for 4 months and finally decided to move them here. It is a short 5 hour drive, but it's nothing but I-10 and the gas prices suck. In addition, not knowing how long he'll be waiting to class up can make it that much more frustrating and that much longer. If you can, make the move. You'll be glad you did. If your husband is at the JU ROTC, there's a chance I know him and maybe you, feel free to call.