I see what you mean but you are on to something. On the 2017April board, people had only applied pilot and were prorec x'd and then opffered NFO spots because of their FOFAR. They even had competitive scores for pilot...
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Pilot/NFO Board Changes (Effective IMMEDIATELY)
- Thread starter FormerRecruitingGuru
- Start date
Also I just got a call from someone from my recruiting office asking if I still just wanted to apply as Pilot, don't know if they are calling me to try to push me to include NFO (it didn't feel like this at all but who really knows), or are just double checking and making sure.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
The latter.
I'm a Navy applicant, not Marine Corps. Also, a captain of a different name is the OSO up here, not a Lt. Deskin.
If you guys are this fixated on "my first choice or nothing" now, just wait 'til you hit pipeline selection... 
If you guys are this fixated on "my first choice or nothing" now, just wait 'til you hit pipeline selection...
All due respect, but I feel like there's a big difference between being faced with what you'll fly compared to whether you'll fly.
Angel17
Well-Known Member
I'm in the Marine Corps switching to the Navy. So I have a Navy OSO that's why I was asking
000669219
Active Member
especially if you are considering between 10 years SNA then private sector pilot or full career as NFO......
000669219
Active Member
Literally who whole ANIT for me.Marines have OSOs, Navy has NORs.
Angel17
Well-Known Member
My mistakeMarines have OSOs, Navy has NORs.
Ya got me. I'm sure whatever you're doing on the outside is much more rewarding than being an NFO could ever possibly be.
Look, you guys are sweating bullets over maybe not getting your first choice. I get that. But consider two things: one, what an OCS selection board says does not seal your fate. You all are talking like if you don't get what you want right out of the gate, you're doomed to a miserable life. Two, you've had zero exposure to Naval aviation and what NFOs (or NAs, for that matter, really) actually do. Your options are always much better once you're aboard than when you're on the outside looking in. Get FO, see if you like it. If not - or if being a pilot just looks like more your bag - apply to redesignate when appropriate. Worst case? That doesn't work out and you get a fun, interesting, and well-paid flying job for a few years.
Speaking as someone who really wanted to be a pilot and wasn't interested in NFO out of USNA, I've had a fantastic career as an NFO that I've enjoyed a lot and wouldn't trade for anything. I've had contractor flight test jobs for almost all my post-Navy career, which I certainly never would've imagined in the summer of '99. We've got NFOs on this board who did all kinds of shit on the outside, including airline pilots. Be willing to take a chance on your second choice - your life and career and desires can evolve along with whatever the universe throws at you.
Or be 50 one day and sit around telling your fellow tractor insurance salesmen how you could've flown for the Navy but they wanted you to ride in the back seat.
I'm not berating NFOs at all, sir. But I do come from a socioeconomic background that prevents me from being a career pilot unless I get that training from the military, or somehow make enough money in a civilian job to trudge through the necessary training (I made poor decisions in high school, and my college career has reflected that, so that's not a route I want to lean on). People (in some cases, quite rightfully) mock the Civil Air Patrol, but the emergency services work I've gotten to do with them has given me a peek into what it's like to work in aircraft, whether it's with a camera, with a radio, or even holding the stick. What little stick time I've received has been a spiritual experience, and I'll do anything to get back to that, and to stay close to that. I've wooed myself into the idea of operating out at sea, but if another branch is the only way I can get back to that, I'll have to explore those options.
I mean zero disrespect to NFOs or their profession. I have no doubts that everything you guys do is mission critical and that your experiences are not terminal to your Navy careers, and I feel that I have been careful not to express any such notions.