Osprey or bust...

[p1nky1298]

I am currently at primary up at Vance and am seriously considering putting the Osprey as my first choice. Can somebody please explain to me how the pipeline goes. Where it goes. How long it is. Who gets selected, how many slots are opening. Is there a minimum score required like there is in jets. Is there anything I can do to increase my chances of selecting Ospreys? And any other things you might think would help me finalize my decision like general things you like/dislike about the aircraft. Any information would be nice since up here at Vance, not too many people seem to know much about the program in general.

 

[winger]

2-3 spots some weeks, none the next. It seems like they have been opening and closing the pipeline... when I went through, it was closed (5 months ago). There is no min Osprey NSS, but the guys I know who selected them did well in Primary. Since you're in Vance, there isn't a whole lot you can do to influence your selection, other than to do well. That's pretty much all there is anyways, but the guys in Corpus and Pensacola can express a vested interest in the platform to the squadron IPs, which ends up in them getting pointed towards people with experience.

Semper Fi and don't let the Air Force turn you gay

 

[FLY_USMC]

Pinky, talk to Maj. B and let him know what you told us, if I remember right studs at Vance thinking about selecting the Osprey were supposed to let their chain of command know to "get the ball rolling", this is what we were briefed during in-processing. It can't hurt, and I'm sure he'd be more than willing to give you information since his old squadron Phrog squadron is now Ospreys.

 

[PU Grad]

I've been on the V-22. It was pretty cool. and big.



Oh you mean while it's flying. Not to that point yet, I hear getting into the military helps me on that front.


Kobyra

 

[handjive]

The rumor around TBS (one of the many) is that many of the current Fox Co studs will end up in the Osprey.

100% BS

The Marine Corps barely knows what slots they will be giving out next month, let alone in a year. Any rumors regarding what "everyone" will be getting at TBS is crap. Actually any rumor regarding pipeline selection is crap until the week or so before your actual selection.

All that said, the Marine Corps will be transitioning (actually we are already) to the Osprey. So by the time you guys make it to selection, there will be many more Osprey slots than there are today. This will in no way affect the number of jet or prop slots out there (if that's what you are worried about). The only folks that this will really suck for are those that had their heart set on flying a 46.

We had equally as many rumors in TBS about a helo draft, a jet draft, and possibly a draft into the Liechtenstein Air Force. None of it is worth a damn. Concentrate on killing as many CRF insurgents as you can and then be prepared to have a blast in flight training. Worrying about stuff like that now is a waste of time.

 

[jarhead]

for all you motivators ...


MARADMIN 107/06
««---------------------------------------------------------------------»»

Date signed: 03/02/2006
MARADMIN Number: 107/06
Subject: FIXED-WING AND ROTARY-WING PILOT TRANSITION INTO THE MV22
R 020054Z MAR 06
FM CMC WASHINGTON DC(UC)
TO AL MARADMIN(UC)
UNCLASSIFIED//
MARADMIN 107/06
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC AVN//
SUBJ/FIXED-WING AND ROTARY-WING PILOT TRANSITION INTO THE MV22//
REF/A/MSGID:MCO 1331.2K/-/YMD:19960722//
REF/B/MSGID:MCO P1300.8R CH 1-8/-/YMD:19940904//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/
1. THE MARINE CORPS TRANSITION/CONVERSION (T/C)
PROGRAM ASSISTS IN BALANCING NA AND NFO INVENTORIES IN PARTICULAR
AIRCRAFT COMMUNITIES AND PROVIDES FOR TRANSITIONS INTO NEW AVIATION
PLATFORMS.

2. ON 16 MAY 06, THE MV-22 PILOT TRANSITION SELECTION BOARD WILL
MEET TO SELECT UP TO TEN ROTARY WING, KC-130, AND JET
PILOTS FOR ASSIGNMENT TO SUSTAIN MV-22 OT&E, INSTRUCTOR PILOT, AND
OTHER B-BILLET REQUIREMENTS DURING THE 1 JAN - 1 JUL 07 PERIOD.

3. TO ENCOURAGE FIXED-WING APPLICATIONS, THE FOLLOWING INCENTIVES
ARE INCLUDED: VOLUNTEERS SELECTED WILL RECEIVE ORDERS THAT SPECIFY
A THREE-YEAR TOUR IN THE MV-22; EVENTUAL FOLLOW-ON DIFOP ORDERS TO
CHOICE OF COMMUNITY (MV-22 OR PREVIOUS FIXED-WING COMMUNITY);
RETENTION OF FIXED-WING BONUS (IF APPLICABLE); AND RETENTION OF
PRIMARY FIXED-WING MOS WITH 7532 (MV-22) SECONDARY MOS.

4. REF (A) STATES THAT NAVAL AVIATORS WITH MOS'S TARGETED UNDER THE
AVIATION CONTINUATION PAY (ACP) PROGRAM ARE INELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR
TRANSITION/CONVERSION TRAINING. THIS RESTRICTION IS WAIVED FOR
THIS BOARD. TRANSITION SELECTIONS WILL SEEK TO AVOID AGGRAVATING
SHORTAGES IN CURRENT AVIATION INVENTORIES.

5. SELECTIONS WILL BE MADE TO OBTAIN A REPRESENTATIVE DISTRIBUTION
OF EXPERIENCE, QUALIFICATIONS, AND DESIGNATIONS FOR THE MV-22
COMMUNITY, WHILE CONSIDERING THE HEALTH OF AFFECTED COMMUNITIES.

6. IAW REF (A), DC AVIATION HAS DESIGNATED THIS AS A VOLUNTARY
TRANSITION. SELECTEES WILL INCUR A 4 YEAR ADDITIONAL SERVICE
OBLIGATION TO COMMENCE UPON DESIGNATION OF THE 7532 MOS (V-22 PILOT).

7. THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY FOR
PILOT TRANSITION (NO WAIVER REQUESTS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS
SPECIFICALLY NOTED BELOW).
A. TOS REQUIREMENTS: PILOTS MUST BE ELIGIBLE FOR A TRANSITION
WINDOW THAT BEGINS 1 JAN 07 IAW REF (B). NO MINIMUM TOS
REQUIREMENTS EXIST FOR APPLICANTS WHO RESIDE ABOARD MCAS NEW RIVER,
MCB CAMP LEJEUNE, OR MCAS CHERRY POINT. ALL OTHER APPLICANTS MUST
MEET TOS AND/OR GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THEIR CURRENT
DUTY LOCATION. THE BOARD MAY REQUEST WAIVER OF TOS AND/OR
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION REQUIREMENTS ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.
APPLICANTS SHOULD CONTACT INDIVIDUAL MONITORS WITH QUESTIONS
REGARDING TOS ELEGIBILITY.
B. YCS REQUIREMENTS AS DEFINED IN REF (A): ACTIVE DUTY WITH 16
YEARS OR LESS COMMISSIONED SERVICE AS OF 1 JAN 07.
C. FLIGHT HOURS: MINIMUM OF 500 HOURS TOTAL MILITARY TIME.
D. OFFICERS WHO OTHERWISE MEET THE ABOVE CRITERIA WILL NOT BE
ELIGIBLE IF THEY HAVE FAILED SELECTION FOR AUGMENTATION/PROMOTION.
E. CAPTAINS DOR JUN 02 OR SENIOR SHOULD BE PME COMPLETE FOR GRADE
BY CONVENING DATE OF BOARD.

8. ALL TRANSITION APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IAW REF A AND
MUST INCLUDE A SUMMARY OF FLIGHT TIME, INSTRUMENT TIME, DESIGNATIONS
AND QUALIFICATIONS HELD, CURRENT MCC, DCTB, DATE OF ARRIVAL AT
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, WORK PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL ADDRESS, YCS AS OF 1
JAN 07, AND STATEMENT OF FOUR-YEAR SERVICE OBLIGATION ACCEPTANCE
UPON COMPLETION OF MV-22 PILOT TRANSITION TRAINING. IN ADDITION,
SUBMIT A COPY OF A CURRENT AND COMPLETE FLIGHT PHYSICAL WITH
ANTHROPOMETRICS DATA AS PART OF THE PACKAGE. EACH APPLICANT MUST BE
FOUND PHYSICALLY QUALIFIED AS A NAVAL AVIATOR SERVICE GROUP I OR II.
IF ON A MEDICAL WAIVER, ENCLOSE A COPY OF THE APPROVED WAIVER.

9. INDIVIDUALS ASSIGNED TO NON-FLYING BILLETS (TACP, SCHOOL, STAFF,
ETC.) SHOULD FORWARD AN ENDORSEMENT BY THE COMMANDING OFFICER FROM
THEIR PREVIOUS FLYING ASSIGNMENT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE TRANSITION
BOARD. DUE TO THE ANTICIPATED VOLUME, ORIGINAL APPLICATIONS AND
ENDORSEMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY CMC (ASM) NLT COB 4 MAY 2006.
APPLICANTS SHOULD EMAIL THEIR INTENTION TO APPLY FOR THIS BOARD,
INCLUDING NAME, RANK, SSN, MOS, YCS (AS OF 1 JAN 07), EMAIL ADDRESS,
AND PHONE NUMBER, TO TAYLORCD@HQMC.USMC.MIL. FAXED PACKAGES WILL BE
ACCEPTED. SIGNED ORIGINAL PACKAGES MUST BE RECEIVED BY DC AVIATION
(ASM) PRIOR TO MMOA-2 ASSIGNMENT. THE BOARD WILL NOT CONSIDER LATE
APPLICATIONS.

10. ENDORSED APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE EXPEDITED TO CMC (ASM) VIA
FEDERAL EXPRESS AT THE ADDRESS NOTED BELOW. USPS IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
FOR FEDEX HAND CARRY, MAIL TO:
COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
HEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS (AVN/ASM-31)
3000 MARINE CORPS PENTAGON
DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION, RM 5E527
WASHINGTON, DC 20350-3000

11. SELECTION BOARD RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY MCBUL (MARADMIN)
APPROXIMATELY 30 DAYS AFTER CONCLUSION OF THE BOARD. BOARD RESULTS
WILL NOT BE PASSED BY PHONE UNTIL AFTER PUBLICATION OF THE MCBUL
ANNOUNCEMENT MESSAGE. THE BOARD RESULTS WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE
AVIATION OFFICER ASSIGNMENT SECTION AT HEADQUARTERS MARINE CORPS
(MMOA-2). MMOA-2 WILL ASSIGN AVIATORS TO TRANSITION TRAINING BASED
ON SEAT AVAILABILITY.

12. POC: LTCOL C.D. TAYLOR, DSN 223-9874/COMM (703)693-9874 OR
(703)614-1556, OR VIA EMAIL AT TAYLORCD@HQMC.USMC.MIL
<MAILTO:TAYLORCD@HQMC.USMC.MIL>. HQMC (ASM) FAX: DSN 224-1309,
COMM (703) 614-1309.

13. THIS BULLETIN IS NOT APPLICABLE TO THE MARINE CORPS RESERVE.

14. THIS BULLETIN IS CANCELLED 01 JAN 07.//

 

[squeeze]

Really guys.. this is the last chance...

Ah, the desperation to find kamikazes continues.

 

[BOMBSonHAWKEYES]

Do they issue different PCLs accomodating religious preferance when one shows up to the RAG?

 

[gunfighter77]

Other issues with the Osprey: who will escort them? (that is currently one of the Cobra's missions), what if they have battle damage and can't transition to vertical flight (they can't land like a plane), did they manage to put a weapon on there yet (crew served or fixed)? Will they do Casevac's? Will they blow everything away in the LZ? Will they fit in normal LZ's ( 53's won't.)

 

[phrogdriver]

Do they issue different PCLs accomodating religious preferance when one shows up to the RAG?

Clever. Do they issue joke books to all the new boots now?

Gunfighter--escort, as always, will be situationally dependent. Usually, you'll look for some kind of detached escort. Due to the ranges, that will likely be fixed wing, but if we're talking shorter-range, r/w might do the trick. Remember the profiles we're talking about. Dependending on threat, the V-22 will go high or low. For most threats, i.e. small arms or manpads, they'll have one chance to engage before the V-22 is past, due to the speed. We're not talking about skids covering to give assaults a chance to displace anymore.

"Transitioning" is going VTOL to airplane. "Converting" (APLN to VTOL) is what I think you're referencing when you say "transitioning to vertical flight." You can envision any contingency, I suppose. "What if the Jesus nut breaks off in your 2-bladed helo?" "What if the sync-shaft breaks in a 46?" Anyway, there are 2 separate drive units to move the nacelles up and down. You actually can land with the nacelles pretty far down, just really fast. If you were to get stuck in APLN, it's built to shatter the blades. You'll give it back to the taxpayers, but you'll walk away.

The downwash isn't that bad, it's just more concentrated in the area immediately around the nacelles. As far as tight LZs, think "CH46 sideways." The better visibility and better power actually can put you in some pretty confined LZs.

And yes, the fleet birds will have a gun. Let's not go any further down this rabbithole.

 

[FLY_USMC]

For all you motivated V-22 drivers, I did find out today that you'll need a 48 NSS to select Ospreys, and the "let your chain of command know" comment I made earlier is because if you really want one and qualify for it, they can let the selection gods know, and forecast one for your selection day. This is for Vance, whether or not Corpus and Whiting studs have their chain of command help them out like this, I have no idea.

 

[scotty008]

For all you motivated V-22 drivers, I did find out today that you'll need a 48 NSS to select Ospreys, and the "let your chain of command know" comment I made earlier is because if you really want one and qualify for it, they can let the selection gods know, and forecast one for your selection day. This is for Vance, whether or not Corpus and Whiting studs have their chain of command help them out like this, I have no idea.

What is an average NSS score (i.e. how would a 48 stack up compared to normal/typical helo scores)? Maybe what I want to ask- is there a failing NSS? Sorry for the partial threadjack...

 

[FLY_USMC]

Well with 35 being the minimum to graduate and 80 being the max, I'm assuming that probably a 45-50 to be fairly average, give or take? I will say that I personally know a Navy Ensign who got less than a 35...quite possibly the lowest NSS ever...went to a review board...and ended up going to helo land, so there are exceptions.

 

[phrogdriver]

Over time it is supposed to work out that a 50 NSS is the median. So, if you want to stretch the definition of average to mean approximately the same as median, 50 is average.

Since the V-22 is going to eventually replace the most common platform in Marine air, one of three things will have to happen. Either the remaining helos are going to start having to take more bottom feeders, the 48 NSS will have to be relaxed, or some would-be jet guys will be drafted to V-22s. Not gospel, just my guess.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Is the osprey pressurized? If so I see no way to post a door gunner.