Pilot vs. NFO Promotions

[taz954]

Do Pilots have a competetive edge on NFOs when it comes to being promoted?

 

[FLY_USMC]

I would say no, not in the Marine Corps. The Air Force probably, I might even venture to guess that ground guys advance in the Marine Corps through the higher ranks faster.

 

[macattack]

The EA-6 squadrons seem to be controlled by NFO's, no? (I guess it makes sense though since in an EA-6 its a 3-1 NFO to pilot ratio though)

 

[zab1001]

Or you could let the Fleet Marines on the board field a question better suited to their experience level.

 

[jarhead]

Do Pilots have a competetive edge on NFOs when it comes to being promoted?

the Marine Officer selection/promotion board is made up of 10 officers - 4 Fighter/Attack pilots, 1 helo, 1 herc & 1 attack pilot, 2 ground guys, and one WSO/NFO ... the promotion board gets all the names of Officers that are in the zone for promotion and there are only a certain amount of promotions given out yearly ... it's not that competitive for Marine Corps fighter/attack pilots due to the fact they are selected first, because they mean so much to the Marine Corps ... whatever ѕluts is left over gets divvied out among the remainder of the names, with Harriers pilots getting most of those, then Prowlers, then Hercs, then the ground guys, then WSO's/NFO's, then whoever is leftover, then finally the Helo bubbas. it doesn't seem fair but it all works out in the end. the Marine Corps realizes that they have invested a lot of time & money in its Fighter/Attack guys and they need to keep us around. this is one of many ways they do it, by giving us priority in promotions.























:icon_tong na, j/k, trying to get the fellas spooled up a bit.

seriously now, up to the rank of Captain i'm pretty sure they go down the lineal standing list for promotions so as long as you aren't a f**k up, MOS doesn't matter. to get selected to the rank of the Hinges though is a different story, one that i'm a couple years away from & not 100% sure how they do it, but one i kinda dread, because, from the stories i hear, upon promotion to the Hinge ranks, you go to a special school in which you learn the art of using your mouth & working on your knees, as well as playing with inanimate toys with your hinge buddies, and something about a lot of kool aid? ... damn, fox 3, times two!

:icon_zbee

 

[skidkid]

As a prospective kool-aid drinker (I hope I think but not sure). Promotions are independant of MOS to an exent. The boards get a list of short MOSs to consider but always with the "only if qualified" cavaeat. Usually it is not the aviation MOSs that get special consideration, it is intel and adjutant becasue none of them seem to stick around past Captain.

I really dont know the intracacies of the board but an equally qualified NFO is at no disadvantage to a pilot. The bottom line however is that the majority of General officers are Grunts, Phrog pilots and Hornet pilots in that order.

 

[Schnugg]

Sustained superior performance is all that counts.

 

[A4sForever]

.....The bottom line however is that the majority of General officers are Grunts, Phrog pilots and Hornet pilots in that order.

Probably about the proportionate numerical distribution from those communities (MOS's ???) amongst the General officers, also, yes???

I love those "bottom lines" .... takes away all the fog and mystery.

 

[BlkPny]

Valuable Pilots

the Marine Officer selection/promotion board is made up of 10 officers - 4 Fighter/Attack pilots, 1 helo, 1 herc & 1 attack pilot, 2 ground guys, and one WSO/NFO ... the promotion board gets all the names of Officers that are in the zone for promotion and there are only a certain amount of promotions given out yearly ... it's not that competitive for Marine Corps fighter/attack pilots due to the fact they are selected first, because they mean so much to the Marine Corps ... whatever ѕluts is left over gets divvied out among the remainder of the names, with Harriers pilots getting most of those, then Prowlers, then Hercs, then the ground guys, then WSO's/NFO's, then whoever is leftover, then finally the Helo bubbas. it doesn't seem fair but it all works out in the end. the Marine Corps realizes that they have invested a lot of time & money in its Fighter/Attack guys and they need to keep us around. this is one of many ways they do it, by giving us priority in promotions.























:icon_tong na, j/k, trying to get the fellas spooled up a bit.

seriously now, up to the rank of Captain i'm pretty sure they go down the lineal standing list for promotions so as long as you aren't a f**k up, MOS doesn't matter. to get selected to the rank of the Hinges though is a different story, one that i'm a couple years away from & not 100% sure how they do it, but one i kinda dread, because, from the stories i hear, upon promotion to the Hinge ranks, you go to a special school in which you learn the art of using your mouth & working on your knees, as well as playing with inanimate toys with your hinge buddies, and something about a lot of kool aid? ... damn, fox 3, times two!

:icon_zbee

Well done. Really well done.

 

[jrodlandruff]

It is all about time on a MEU. That's why it goes grunt, phrog pilot, then hornets.

 

[Crowbar]

Hornets on a MEU? Never seen that one.

I always thought the grunt, phrog, hornet thing came from there being three major career path distinctions. Ground, R/W, F/W. If you look at each of those three categories, infantry battalions, HMMs, and VMFA/VMFA(AW)s are the most common units. Meaning, infantry officers, 46 pilots, and hornet pilots have the most opportunities for command. Therefore, there is a bigger pool to draw from than the other MOSs.
Looking for input here. Am I right? Wrong? Somewhere in between?

 

[jarhead]

so i had a boring day at the office today, not scheduled to fly, so i decided to look up how many Marine Generals we currently have and what they flew. i used the General Officer Biographies on the USMC homepage as a guide. i won't promise the accuracy of the below information because, well, i didn't really gnats ass it due to the fact i really don't give a ѕhit as i was just wasting time until i could crack open a beer. so this is what i found ...

4 star:
1 ch-46
1 f/a-18 (the other Hornet 4 star just retired 1 Nov, he was a WSO)

3 star
2 ch-46
3 f/a-18

2 star
3 ch-46
1 ch-53
4 f/a-18
1 av-8

1 star
5 ah-1
1 ch-46
1 uh-1
1 ch-53
7 f/a-18
1 a-4
1 av-8

most of these gentlemen have flown multiple airframes so the numbers i posted are based off either the first airframe they flew, or the type of aircraft the squadron they commanded flew, or in the case of the majority of the fixed wing Generals, what they eventually transitioned to due to the fact most of them started off in either the F-4 or A-4

cheers

As a prospective kool-aid drinker (I hope I think but not sure). Promotions are independant of MOS to an exent. The boards get a list of short MOSs to consider but always with the "only if qualified" cavaeat. Usually it is not the aviation MOSs that get special consideration, it is intel and adjutant becasue none of them seem to stick around past Captain.

I really dont know the intracacies of the board but an equally qualified NFO is at no disadvantage to a pilot. The bottom line however is that the majority of General officers are Grunts, Phrog pilots and Hornet pilots in that order.

 

[E6286]

So not a single current General is an NFO?

 

[FLY_USMC]

Just looking at the link for like 2 seconds, I found:
Brigadier General Terry G. Robling
Chief of Staff, Striking and Support Forces NATO, Naples, Italy
He's an NFO, so I'm sure there's more. If your talking 4-stars, once again, 2 seconds worth of looking shows me General Cartwright has both NFO & NA wings, so...................

edited, just saw General William Nyland is also an NFO, must say the aviation side of the house is represented fairly well amongst our 6 total Generals.

 

[Coota0]

Do aviators ever command MEU(SOC)s?