NPQ for aviation. What other designator should I choose?

[Beefalo]

Found another possible career path....

I was NPQ due to excessive pre-op refractive error of -8.50. I got PRK and see 20/20 and 20/25, corrected to 20/20. However since the pre-op was too great the flight surgeon at NAMI told me it was still a no go. I was very disappointed but convinced myself I could be happy staying Navy in another field which prompted this thread.

Doing some more research and reading the Aeromedical Reference guide it appears I would qualify for Naval Aerospace Physiologist. There are no refractive limits, basically have to be correctable to 20/20 and color vision must be good. Would not get as much flight time as other aviators possibly only four hours a month but I would be happy with that and it would be awesome to help develop and test equipment for other aviators.

The community is very small about 100 in the Navy so I dont know how competitive it would be. I would need to get another degree in physiology or something related. The program says Masters or Ph.D preferred BUT a bachelors degree in bioscience or equivalent with extensive military aviation experience may be considered. That is the route I was looking into.

The question is do I want to remain on active duty and try to slowly work on this degree plan or separate from the Navy and concentrate on this full-time. I roll back to sea duty in a few months so it could take as long as my next shore duty to get these requirements done which would be four years of sea duty until I roll back to shore. Instruction says you have to commission prior to age 42. I am 29 right now. This would be the safe route as I would still be in the Navy and could collect my pension as early as 41. The downside is it could take me many many years to do it this way especially if some of these courses require labs which would be impossible on sea duty.

Second option is to put all my eggs in a basket, separate from active duty, and go to school full-time using the GI bill. My EAOS is in May with terminal leave I could be out as early as April. I could finish up the degree quickest this way (possibly 2-3 years) the downside is I may never get accepted. I would go reserves but with the downsizing and budget constraints it may be very difficult to come back to active duty if things didnt work out. I am content with my enlisted career to this point but would be much much happier as a Aerospace Physiologist. I joined this site eight years ago hoping to one day be a pilot or NFO....

Sorry for the long post. Just wanting to see if this risk is viable or am I crazy and go the safe route. Im going to contact the assension officer for that program and see if I would even be competitive.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Found another possible career path....

I was NPQ due to excessive pre-op refractive error of -8.50. I got PRK and see 20/20 and 20/25, corrected to 20/20. However since the pre-op was too great the flight surgeon at NAMI told me it was still a no go. I was very disappointed but convinced myself I could be happy staying Navy in another field which prompted this thread.

Doing some more research and reading the Aeromedical Reference guide it appears I would qualify for Naval Aerospace Physiologist. There are no refractive limits, basically have to be correctable to 20/20 and color vision must be good. Would not get as much flight time as other aviators possibly only four hours a month but I would be happy with that and it would be awesome to help develop and test equipment for other aviators.

The community is very small about 100 in the Navy so I dont know how competitive it would be. I would need to get another degree in physiology or something related. The program says Masters or Ph.D preferred BUT a bachelors degree in bioscience or equivalent with extensive military aviation experience may be considered. That is the route I was looking into.

The question is do I want to remain on active duty and try to slowly work on this degree plan or separate from the Navy and concentrate on this full-time. I roll back to sea duty in a few months so it could take as long as my next shore duty to get these requirements done which would be four years of sea duty until I roll back to shore. Instruction says you have to commission prior to age 42. I am 29 right now. This would be the safe route as I would still be in the Navy and could collect my pension as early as 41. The downside is it could take me many many years to do it this way especially if some of these courses require labs which would be impossible on sea duty.

Second option is to put all my eggs in a basket, separate from active duty, and go to school full-time using the GI bill. My EAOS is in May with terminal leave I could be out as early as April. I could finish up the degree quickest this way (possibly 2-3 years) the downside is I may never get accepted. I would go reserves but with the downsizing and budget constraints it may be very difficult to come back to active duty if things didnt work out. I am content with my enlisted career to this point but would be much much happier as a Aerospace Physiologist. I joined this site eight years ago hoping to one day be a pilot or NFO....

Sorry for the long post. Just wanting to see if this risk is viable or am I crazy and go the safe route. Im going to contact the assension officer for that program and see if I would even be competitive.

One thing I learned after sharing an office with the medical recruiter for a few years as well as doing medical recruiting for a short time, when it says "preferred" that means they will consider it if no one else is applying, HCA also says Master's preferred but they would take Bachelors, however everyone submitted with a Bachelors was shot back saying "why did you submit?" In this current economy preferred = required.

One other thing, should you get out when you come back you would fall under new accessions standards, for officers if you ever have been over 8 diopters that is disqualifying, I am guessing when you came in you were just under and that is why it isn't an issue now. I would encourage you to apply for what you can now rather than risk what others have done and are still not back in, some due to medical some due to just not being accepted.

 

[Beefalo]

Yes you are right I was about -7.50 when I came in. I didnt even think about that being another potential hurdle if I got out. Id hate to get accepted and than turn around and be denied a commission for that technicality.

 

[Renegade One]

... For aspiring and current officers if you could not do pilot or NFO what community would you go into?

Just wanted to revisit the basic question again. I'm "assuming" (I know, I know…) you were motivated towards NA/NFO because at least a part of you wanted to "engage bad stuff and make it blow up"…in a reasonably "direct participant" kind of way.

Hence my original response to continue to any other URL warfare community…at least to start. Granted, there are many, many folks... in many, many communities ...who all participate in the F2T2EA process. Probably a reasonable example currently extant in "pop culture" would be the composite (I think…) character named "Maya" in the movie Zero Dark Thirty. She wasn't there at the end…never pulled a trigger, but no one else would have either without her/their dogged F2T2 efforts. You get the idea.

Pros and cons apply everywhere…can't escape it. Which set outweighs the other for an individual is dependent on too many variables to predict over a period of initial/required/continued service. I still recommend doing whatever would best satisfy YOU, even if only for an initial contract.

 

[LFCFan]

....the composite (I think…) character named "Maya" in the movie Zero Dark Thirty.

In "No Easy Day" the author specifically mentions a female CIA type who had "come straight from college" and done nothing but work on UBL and was 100% certain he was in the compound, just like Maya. If she isn't a composite I hope she got some medals.

 

[Beefalo]

Just wanted to revisit the basic question again. I'm "assuming" (I know, I know…) you were motivated towards NA/NFO because at least a part of you wanted to "engage bad stuff and make it blow up"…in a reasonably "direct participant" kind of way.

Hence my original response to continue to any other URL warfare community…at least to start. Granted, there are many, many folks... in many, many communities ...who all participate in the F2T2EA process. Probably a reasonable example currently extant in "pop culture" would be the composite (I think…) character named "Maya" in the movie Zero Dark Thirty. She wasn't there at the end…never pulled a trigger, but no one else would have either without her/their dogged F2T2 efforts. You get the idea.

Pros and cons apply everywhere…can't escape it. Which set outweighs the other for an individual is dependent on too many variables to predict over a period of initial/required/continued service. I still recommend doing whatever would best satisfy YOU, even if only for an initial contract.

Well I always wanted to fly when I was a kid and I generally like the Navy hence naval aviation as a NA/NFO. Right now I am working on my PPL and will pursue piloting from the civilian side.

I know IW has some flying billets and my condition wouldnt disqualify me from that so that is appealing. I know they are on P3 so if that is the case what is the difference as far as the mission is concerned for the flying IW officer and P3 NFO?

Are there flying clubs around most squadron locations? Do Navy pilots actually fly civilian planes in their off-time or get enough of "fix" flying in the Navy? I was thinking if going AMDO there is probably some perks to being assigned to a squadron and learning how to fly or staying current in ratings in some sort of flying club.

 

[MasterBates]

Can't speak to the VP NFO having IW.. I know VQ has them, but it's a dying community.

Most fleet concentration areas have a flying club, Navy or AF. I never used them once in 12 years. Just dealing with the "club" just trying to get checked out in JAX was such an exercise in hiding my hatred of certain retirees, that I never did it and rented at a local FBO.

I flew civ planes maybe 5 times for fun in 12 years.. The cost to fun ratio just isn't there. Probably slightly jaded by the fact that a 60B would outperform anything I could afford to rent, and an E-2 could annihilate any of my rental choices, minus doing stalls or aero. And I flew slow, ugly shit by USN standards. I was also piss broke for a lot of my time, so that factored in as well.

I flew a handful of times for spare cash when on leave, but it was more of a "hey I need B206 brought here" or "my normal pilot is sick, can you fly some holiday tours for us" than doing what I wanted.

 

[Beefalo]

Good news looks like I have been pro rec for IW according to BOL Online. I checked it at home but I always feel nothing is official until your COC tells you so Im trying to be reserved about it.... Thanks for all the input so far Im sure I will have more questions especially if I get pro rec for the other two communities.