Officer first pilot second

[BrittO]

I am a VFA NA. Your title says it all. You are always an officer before aviator. That being said you have 3 years give or take where your sole job is studying and being prepared for flights/sims. When you get to an operational squadron you WILL be placed in leadership roles, probably being DIVO of at least one division and be tested on your ability to lead your peers. Fear not, the chiefs are there to guide and mentor junior officers and you also have counsel of fellow JOPA, and perhaps some DHs/XO COs. You do not need to be a Type A guy but you need to find inner confidence. You need to be able to take A LOT of criticism, especially in a Tacair world. You will not get a lot of pats on the back for flying well, but you sure as hell will have everything wrong you did gone over with a fine tooth comb.
Again, i speak from single seat VFA perspective..other communities may have other views.

 

[haimehhh]

@BrittO, that is a great way to state it, thank you. Hope to God I get to be in your shoes in a few years.

 

[BrittO]

@BrittO, that is a great way to state it, thank you. Hope to God I get to be in your shoes in a few years.

Good luck on your selection...i remember the wait back in fall of 04.

 

[Tobe]

Maybe OCS and the USN will teach Tobe to be a leader. I certainly developed a great deal as a leader from when I showed up to Day 1 of NROTC and when I signed my DD214.

There are plenty of ways to skin a cat and I've known plenty of successful officers who weren't the stereotypical Type A extroverts.

Thank you Pags, I'm hoping for this to happen.

 

[Tobe]

I was pretty shy when I came in but that changed quickly being around people who you have things in common with helps get over that
If you are willing to learn, willing to accept direction and then take that and grow you should be fine, not every officer I recruited was ready to be the captain of the football team, but they all wanted the chance to rise to the occasion and I saw enough in them to encourage them to apply, if I didn't I would have found a way to convince them this wasn't for them.

If a person has absolutely no desire to be a leader there are places for people like that.....Walmart

That is really true, when you're around people who share your interests, the conversation flows pretty easily. A fellow applicant told me they have trouble finding qualified applicants at times so they will put in sub-par applications to complete their quotas. I hope that's not the case, and it's as you said, he sees a bit of potential in me.

 

[Tobe]

If you're willing to grow and challenge yourself and have an inner drive to excel at everything, then you can learn to be a leader. If you're worried about speaking in front of people, that can be overcome. You can learn to speak in public and give briefs. You might hate it, but you can easily find ways to manage your stress and gain confidence. If you're worried about responsibility that might be an issue. I'm at the tip of the iceberg so far in my Navy career, but if someone asked me the difference between officers and enlisted in one word I would probably say responsibility.

Thank you for the advice, I am worried about the briefs and speaking in front of people, I will hate it but I'll probably get better with time. Motivation is not a problem and neither is responsibility.

for the love of god, if you come seeking advice and wisdom, and what you get isn't what you want to hear then don't try to argue.

Sorry.

 

[Uncle Fester]

So you're having second thoughts about OCS because you don't think you know how to lead people. You know what? I'm willing to bet if someone put you in the front seat of an airplane right this minute, you'd be a shitty pilot, too. That's why the Navy teaches you how to do it.

If you've got cold feet and you're looking for a reason to decline your OCS spot, then you don't need our help. If you're just wondering if you can hack the program and do well...the only question is, do you want to?

Incidentally, do you have any reason to think your dad knows what the hell he's talking about? Was he ever in the military? I'm guessing not, or he'd know that everybody - officer, warrant, enlisted - is expected to teach and lead their subordinates.

 

[Sonog]

Hey man, worst case scenario is you go through with this, find out its not for you, then be able to live your life with no regrets knowing you didn't turn down an absolutely incredible opportunity. This system has been training thousands of pilots and officers for decades. It's designed to train you, or worst case ultimately attrite you if you don't cut it. From the moment you walk in the door at OCS they hold your hand throughout the entire process. As time goes on they hold it less and less. Don't sweat attrition either, I don't know what the number is for the aviation pipeline but I believe non-medical, non-dor attrites are like less than 1%.

 

[Tobe]

Hey man, worst case scenario is you go through with this, find out its not for you, then be able to live your life with no regrets knowing you didn't turn down an absolutely incredible opportunity. This system has been training thousands of pilots and officers for decades. It's designed to train you, or worst case ultimately attrite you if you don't cut it. From the moment you walk in the door at OCS they hold your hand throughout the entire process. As time goes on they hold it less and less. Don't sweat attrition either, I don't know what the number is for the aviation pipeline but I believe non-medical, non-dor attrites are like less than 1%.

Very encouraging. I agree, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity only a fool would turn down.

 

[Tobe]

Incidentally, do you have any reason to think your dad knows what the hell he's talking about? Was he ever in the military? I'm guessing not, or he'd know that everybody - officer, warrant, enlisted - is expected to teach and lead their subordinates.

He was never in the military. His father was an officer in the dutch Marines, he's pretty knowledgeable about warfare and the military from reading an insane amount. But your comment strikes a note because when we were discussing this and my dad said, "you should just enlist because you're not officer material," my older brother who is a Seal was sitting there and took offense. He basically told him he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about because he's never served.

 

[Fallonflyr]

Now go out and prove to your dad just how wrong he is.

 

[Wareal]

"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing started with a dream and a mouse."

Walt E . Disney

Desire and hard work can get you farther than you can imagine. Go for it.

 

[RiseR 25]

I saw a lot of guys who didn't appear to be "officer material" at OCS. But guess what… they made it and I didn't, and many of them are proving to be very successful in their respective pipelines. Some got the NAMI whammy and didn't commission, and some had to go from pilot to NFO. Sh*t happens. The program is designed to push you in such a way as if there is anything else you could be doing with your life, you will end up quitting and taking that great job in the civilian world. It's not a fair system, but it works. Do your work and prep yourself, and report and see what you're made of. I'm glad I did.

 

[vxc961]

I'm not an aviator (let the flames begin...), but here's my 2-cents and sea-story:

-First tour on as a nuke on CVN, I was a cog with 50 people under me (on paper) but no real authority leadership.
-2nd tour with a Special Boat Team and seven guys: I go through months of prep and the final board learning that the range of an NSW RIB is XXX miles. Smash cut to me being on my first real mission, not halfway to the objective, and seeing we're already low on fuel. When I mention this, the stud second class who I've totally depended on says "yeah, they say the range is XXX, and it's on the boards, but I think it's really YYY". So anyway, it was at that point, like four years into my career, that I realized I could still be nice, shy VXC, but to be a leader I had to take some things by the short and curlies; not because I was an ego-maniac or control freak, but because it was my job.

You're probably too young to know if you'll be a good leader, or like it, but if you think you have the sense of responsibility than I agree that you should should do your best to prove your dad wrong.

caveat: there are plenty of good enlisted leaders, but it takes them longer to get there and they don't get to fly.

 

[ryan1234]

Very encouraging. I agree, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity only a fool would turn down.

Stand up and be someone, the first part of leading others is to first lead your own life. Each day is not guaranteed, take hold of who you want to be and make it happen. You may not be officer material, but that is for you to decide.