P-3s--What's the community like?

[billiken2002]

Come fly 40 or 50 missions and see how cool they really are. You're in for a real treat.

Better than being in the Tac Trainer......I love knob turning....

 

[KTBQ]

Actually it's remarkably similar, except three/four times as long and when you're finished, you're still in Iraq.

 

[dimlight85]

What's with the per diem and why do you P-3 guys get it while deployed?

 

[othromas]

What's with the per diem...

The basic idea behind per diem is to provide money to pay for food and/or lodging due to being stationed someplace that doesn't have government lodging or chow halls. You get more per diem in places where the cost of living is very high, and very little in places where it isn't. For example, you can get a max of $334 per day in Bahrain. However, even if you're in a place that does have government lodging and messing, you get $3.50 a day because you're OCONUS.

...and why do you P-3 guys get it while deployed?

Because we piss excellence.

 

[dimlight85]

Because we piss excellence.

...hell, I knew that already.

 

[scoober78]

Are EP-3's in the VQ's seeing as large of reduction of flight hours as the VP and VPU guys? I'm interested in the EP-3 gig. If someone could PM me about it up there and doesn't mind a few q's that'd be cool.

In short...no. The red stripes haven't seem to have hurt us near as badly. Our tasking is of a fundamentally different nature than VP's for the most part and as a result, we tend to fly what we need to fly. Period. At home, the biggest factor seems to be the suck that is CMO, not the airplanes. Keep in mind, this is a baby EWCP...

Ask away.

 

[xj220]

What's VPU? I've never heard that designation until this thread.

 

[HAL Pilot]

What's VPU? I've never heard that designation until this thread.

P-3 Special Projects. Unless the rules have changed in the last 10 years, that is all you are going to get about VPU.

 

[zippy]

P-3 Special Projects. Unless the rules have changed in the last 10 years, that is all you are going to get about VPU.

They haven't.

 

[xj220]

Thanks for the info. I don't know if this would be too much info, but I assume it's not something that one could get out of VP-30 (i.e. must be more senior).

 

[Sky-Pig]

Thanks for the info. I don't know if this would be too much info, but I assume it's not something that one could get out of VP-30 (i.e. must be more senior).

Yes, a tour with a VPU squadron after VP-30 (I assume you mean after your FRS instructor tour...and not directly out of VP-30 as a nugget) is a possibility.

Normally, VPU is in place of your dissassociated boat tour, but occassionally there are billets for folks to flow to VPU directly from their initial VP/VQ JO tour...case by case basis, of course.

And while we can't talk about their mission here, just about everyone raves about what they do during the time in the "U".

There are potential career impacts to going VPU during your dissassociated tour, however. Talk with your front office about it to learn more about the pros and cons of VPU.

 

[xj220]

Sounds interesting, I am certainly intrigued now. Thanks again for the info. I'll keep it in the back of my mind for down the road.

 

[robav8r]

. . . . . . So, for my 2 cents worth, take jobs you think you will enjoy, because you will spend a lot of hours doing them. . . . . . . . In the mean time, don't sacrifice the important things (your family, your friends, you sanity or your pride) to satisfy some elusive "career track" that doesn't exist. . . . . . There are happy people who don't select and sad people who do. (hey some of us thought we would get to take the money and run). Don't sweat what you can't control and you'll be much better off.

For all you first tour folks (and first tour wanna-be's), this is VERY good advice. As A4's always says: "Believe it!"

 

[smittyrunr]

What your IPs were probably talking about was stuff that they did a few years ago. The missions are NOT as cool anymore.

The mission are longer now than they were two years ago, so the boredom factor increased some. From my recent deployment experience, on a 6 month deployment to the desert, you will probably have 2-3 missions that are "really cool." We're flying more different profiles than we did two years ago, so at least you generally aren't burning the same exact holes in the sky every time.

As for the desert deployment, you will see $3.50 a day which will not cover your 3 beers a day. Southcom, on the other hand, has increased per diem in the last 3 years...


KBR had better food 2 years ago.

 

[othromas]

^ I did my cool missions at the beginning of the deployment, from what I can gather.

The food isn't too bad out here, honestly--what I don't like is the fact there are hours to the chow hall in the first place.