OCS 08APR2024 SNA/SNFO BOARD

[elariosa95]

Why doesn’t the Navy ask how much I can bench :/

How much do you bench?

 

[Empire16]

Good question I was just making a joke lol. I really only use dumbbells rather than barbell for chest.

 

[elariosa95]

Good question I was just making a joke lol. I really only use dumbbells rather than barbell for chest.

This is kinda unrelated but the CMC of OTCN is hella jacked lmao. Dude is one of the nicest guys I've met tho, you can tell he loves what he gets to do and he gets a lot of enjoyment from developing leaders

 

[Pringles]

Yes that’s correct. Just get used to doing pushups on pushups . Do them until you can’t, take a couple minutes to rest, and do some more. It wouldn’t hurt to supplement with some weights (Overhead press, bench press)

Echoing some advice from physical fitness trainers that have been helping me, make sure you also target your opposing muscle zones when it comes to push ups. You don’t want to injure yourself by over focusing one zone and not the others around it. (I’m not a physical trainer, I don’t know the correct term here.)

 

[Pringles]

A fun question to speculate on while we wait. Say a Growler got locked up by an Iranian F-14's radar. One might assume the Growler is screwed because it carries nothing for self-defense and can't outrun the F-14. However, could the Growler, potentially defend it's self by locking on to the F-14's radar and shooting a HARM at it?

Oh! This is a fun one, and something I can actually speak on!

Two things immediately come to mind...

1. The type of weapon that the Iranian F-14 would use and how they employ it will drastically change how this works.

a. If it's a Phoenix (of which they only have the AIM-54A) fired in a Track-while-Scan, the Growler potentially won't know the missile has been fired at it until the Phoenix's seeker head goes Pitbull at terminal distance. This also assumes that the Tomcat is able to hold an acceptable TWS soft-lock on the Growler and that the Growler wasn't prepared to intercept and attack the Tomcat's radar. The big assumption here is that the Growler (for some reason) either doesn't actively jam the Iranian Tomcat's radar from the get-go (and therefore prevent the Tomcat's FCS from building a track profile) or doesn't have a profile loaded to stop it. (I have no classified or unclassified information on what the Growler can actually do or how well it can respond to an unbriefed threat radar). In this situation, the Growler wouldn't have any reason to fire a HARM at the Tomcat's rough location, and the Tomcat's radar return would (possibly) be harder to track given the sweeping nature of the way the radar would illuminate the Growler and its HARM. By the time they're being fired on, the Tomcat has already closed distance and there's no good reason to attempt turning hot against it... especially if they've fired more than one Phoenix.

b. If it's a Phoenix fired in a Pulse-Doppler Single Target Track, the Growler could notch 90 degrees towards the Tomcat, attempt to jam its radar, slide into the Main Lobe Clutter filter, and then return a HARM in its direction, but the distance at which the Tomcat's radar would 'burn through' the Growler would likely bring them fairly close together. The bright side is that the A model of Phoenix can't guide itself if fired in an STT, so the missile would be dead the moment the lock was broken. If the Tomcat loses lock, the HARM isn't going to be able to 'ride the beam' back to the Tomcat. So, great. You've broken the lock, but you now have no way to send a HARM back at it. Why not just use an AMRAAM, instead? Or, if it gets too close, use a fancy AIM-9X? (Spoiler... the Growler absolutely carries self-defense missiles.)

c. If it's a Sparrow (or more specifically the AIM-7E model the Iranians had), they'll need to hold a pulse STT on the Growler the entire time (as these models couldn't hone-on-jam like the MH/P models could). While this maybe doesn't sound as scary as the other two options above, I think this one would be the most dangerous one, as the AWG-9's radar is incredibly powerful, and it's very difficult to break a Tomcat's lock when it has something in a pulse STT. (Scary enough, they could also use their Phoenixes this way, basically turning them into a Sparrow with twice the range.)

2. The theater in which the engagement happens.

This is the biggest "if" of the entire scenario.
If the Growler knows the Tomcat is there, and the Growler knows that the Tomcat will attempt to engage them, there's no way that Growler is going to be out there alone. On top of that, there's no way that the Growler isn't going to know that Tomcat is coming from a significant distance and immediately scramble its lock attempts. The RCS of a Tomcat is... big. And with the Radar on both the F-35's and the E-2D supporting it, that Tomcat is going to get shot down the moment after it decides to lock up anything.

I love the Tomcat... but this doesn't end well for it in any situation.

 

[Tyr]

Oh! This is a fun one, and something I can actually speak on!

Two things immediately come to mind...

1. The type of weapon that the Iranian F-14 would use and how they employ it will drastically change how this works.

a. If it's a Phoenix (of which they only have the AIM-54A) fired in a Track-while-Scan, the Growler potentially won't know the missile has been fired at it until the Phoenix's seeker head goes Pitbull at terminal distance. This also assumes that the Tomcat is able to hold an acceptable TWS soft-lock on the Growler and that the Growler wasn't prepared to intercept and attack the Tomcat's radar. The big assumption here is that the Growler (for some reason) either doesn't actively jam the Iranian Tomcat's radar from the get-go (and therefore prevent the Tomcat's FCS from building a track profile) or doesn't have a profile loaded to stop it. (I have no classified or unclassified information on what the Growler can actually do or how well it can respond to an unbriefed threat radar). In this situation, the Growler wouldn't have any reason to fire a HARM at the Tomcat's rough location, and the Tomcat's radar return would (possibly) be harder to track given the sweeping nature of the way the radar would illuminate the Growler and its HARM. By the time they're being fired on, the Tomcat has already closed distance and there's no good reason to attempt turning hot against it... especially if they've fired more than one Phoenix.

b. If it's a Phoenix fired in a Pulse-Doppler Single Target Track, the Growler could notch 90 degrees towards the Tomcat, attempt to jam its radar, slide into the Main Lobe Clutter filter, and then return a HARM in its direction, but the distance at which the Tomcat's radar would 'burn through' the Growler would likely bring them fairly close together. The bright side is that the A model of Phoenix can't guide itself if fired in an STT, so the missile would be dead the moment the lock was broken. If the Tomcat loses lock, the HARM isn't going to be able to 'ride the beam' back to the Tomcat. So, great. You've broken the lock, but you now have no way to send a HARM back at it. Why not just use an AMRAAM, instead? Or, if it gets too close, use a fancy AIM-9X? (Spoiler... the Growler absolutely carries self-defense missiles.)

c. If it's a Sparrow (or more specifically the AIM-7E model the Iranians had), they'll need to hold a pulse STT on the Growler the entire time (as these models couldn't hone-on-jam like the MH/P models could). While this maybe doesn't sound as scary as the other two options above, I think this one would be the most dangerous one, as the AWG-9's radar is incredibly powerful, and it's very difficult to break a Tomcat's lock when it has something in a pulse STT. (Scary enough, they could also use their Phoenixes this way, basically turning them into a Sparrow with twice the range.)

2. The theater in which the engagement happens.

This is the biggest "if" of the entire scenario.
If the Growler knows the Tomcat is there, and the Growler knows that the Tomcat will attempt to engage them, there's no way that Growler is going to be out there alone. On top of that, there's no way that the Growler isn't going to know that Tomcat is coming from a significant distance and immediately scramble its lock attempts. The RCS of a Tomcat is... big. And with the Radar on both the F-35's and the E-2D supporting it, that Tomcat is going to get shot down the moment after it decides to lock up anything.

I love the Tomcat... but this doesn't end well for it in any situation.

Nah, the Tomcat would win in any scenario

 

[Ninja]

^this
if you're on here and you're a male aged 22-32 and you can't do at least 60 pushups, hold a plank for 2 minutes, and run 1.5 miles in less than 12, either rethink this career or get your ass in gear.

Currently in the 'getting my ass in gear' category, albeit by slim margins.

 

[OGBean]

Echoing some advice from physical fitness trainers that have been helping me, make sure you also target your opposing muscle zones when it comes to push ups. You don’t want to injure yourself by over focusing one zone and not the others around it. (I’m not a physical trainer, I don’t know the correct term here.)

For sure, you want to make sure your joints are experiencing equal strength from both sides. I usually get in pull ups before pushups, I haven’t had any issues since then.

 

[JRCarl22]

What about pull ups? I know that isn't part of the PRT but is training pull ups something to consider prior to OCS?

 

[madiego]

For getting to board, it first goes through Paul and then it goes to a "review board" that checks my package BEFORE it gets to the main board?? I just wanna make sure im getting this right.

 

[Ninja]

What about pull ups? I know that isn't part of the PRT but is training pull ups something to consider prior to OCS?

Haven’t been to ocs and in the same boat ish at you. But with that said, the way I look at it is any sort of training will make you slightly more prepared for ocs even if that exercise isn’t necessarily tested, ie: pull-ups. From what I’ve seen it appears ocs (excluding the prt) is mostly going to be running and a shit load of core/general calisthenics, but with the addition of being sore, sleep deprived, and hungry on top of the PT itself.

 

[Average Monke]

What about pull ups? I know that isn't part of the PRT but is training pull ups something to consider prior to OCS?

I would recommend they. Not only are the a great general exercise, they will also help prevent muscle imbalances if you are only focusing on your chest. This may actually indirectly help your push ups too. I would also recommend not neglecting your lower body. Compound movements like squats and deadlifts are fantastic, but even weighted lunges are beneficial. Working your hamstrings and calves will help with running and explosive power. Sprints will increase your C02 max and so on.

Don't just train for the PRT, train to be physically fit.

 

[JRCarl22]

I would recommend they. Not only are the a great general exercise, they will also help prevent muscle imbalances if you are only focusing on your chest. This may actually indirectly help your push ups too. I would also recommend not neglecting your lower body. Compound movements like squats and deadlifts are fantastic, but even weighted lunges are beneficial. Working your hamstrings and calves will help with running and explosive power. Sprints will increase your C02 max and so on.

Don't just train for the PRT, train to be physically fit.`

100% agree

 

[Kyle42]

Anyone know if Air Force pilot selections and air guard are still next to impossible to come by? Been that way for a while so I wouldn’t be surprised if so

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Anyone know if Air Force pilot selections and air guard are still next to impossible to come by? Been that way for a while so I wouldn’t be surprised if so

2 different programs that can't be compared.

USAF prioritizes their selections USAFA then AFROTC and whatever is left goes to OTS.