They mean that simply a desire to fly (rather than to serve your country as a Marine) probably won't be enough motivation to get you through the program.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Question about the guaranteed flight contract. (kinda long story attached)
- Thread starter redbaron586
- Start date
Depends on, platform/community, deployment/home cycle, maintainence, weather, skeds etc etc etc.
GT Propjock
Registered User
Long and short, I just finished the C-130 FRS, and from the time I finished to the time I will likely fly again is going to be about 6 month. (Due to family issues, and overseas rotation) In that time, I have been an AAMO, upgraded MCMAP belts, completed PME, and will be going to AMO school. You may not get to fly all the time, but there are other things to be done.
So flying 24/7 is not how military flying works.
So flying 24/7 is not how military flying works.
small threadjack, but where are you at in your belts right now? I hear it can pretty tough to progress once you start flight training.
I've been in eleven years and I'm a proud tan belt. Apparently, after you do the initial course, nobody gives a sh!t. In all reality, a lot of commanders soft-pedal MCMAP among pilots because of the injury rate.
Back to the subject....
Your flight time varies dramatically depending on your situation in the Navy and Marines. I wouldn't say you necessarily fly LESS in the Marine Corps, it's just that you have a lot MORE other stuff to do, in the form of collateral duties and B-billets. Remember also, the USAF has adjutants, too, and I don't think they offer flight contracts.
Zilch
This...is...Caketown!
I disagree with this. I'm almost ashamed of this at this point, but the AF was the service I contacted first. I figured flying, Air Force. Makes sense, right?
The short story is, it was a waste of time. No offense to any AF people here, if we even have those, but I was not impressed at all. It was kind of like they were doing me a favor by just allowing me in their office. The look on their faces when I said I wanted to fly was priceless. It was like, "You gotta be kidding, *another* one." They didn't come out and say it, but they basically said I was a no-go for flight, because their Academy grads get first dibs on that, but I could end up in admin somewhere. This, of course, is after they showed up 20 minutes late to the briefing they scheduled which I drove an hour to attend.
The Marine OSO people, though...what a difference. They are sharp, helpful, and will bust their ass to make sure you end up where you should be, provided you are motivated and bust your ass as well. My OSO wakes up two hours early to drive to my college and PT with us for a couple of hours, and then drives back. That kind of thing really makes you want to give your all during the application process, and I *seriously* doubt anyone from the AF office I went to would have done anything close to this.
After talking to the Air Force people, the professionalism you see from the Marines is like night and day. I figured that these are definitely the kind of people I want to work with...and, guess what? They have flight contracts up front, to boot. A few months later, I'm set to go to OCS with an NFO contract in my hand.
I can't speak for the Navy side, I have no experience with it. If you want to contact the AF, go ahead. Even if it goes poorly, it'll make you appreciate Marines that much much more. Besudes, maybe the guys I talked to were having a bad day or something, and I'm not about to generalize about an entire service based on the actions (or lack thereof) of two individuals. Even so, I can pretty much garuntee the Marine OSO people will do more for you, if you are willing to meet them halfway.
/sales pitch
^^ Steve's point though, which you did not address, is that USAF officers do focus more on just the flying part and not on leading troops, and that was the question at hand. Your bad experience with USAF recruiters, while disappointing, does not change that fact.
Brett
Brett
GT Propjock
Registered User
I'm a grey belt, working on green. It is hard to advance in flight training due to time/instructor constraints. I stayed a tan belt through flight training and didn't get to any MCMAP until I hit the RAG back on a Marine base.
Have to agree with phrogdriver though, MCMAP is somewhat taboo among pilots (from what I have seen and heard) due to injury rates, my recent CO being an exception. When we shut down our squadron last week, we were 100% tan belt qual'd and 77% grey belt qual'd with a few green, instructor, and a brown belt in the mix....so, there it is, for what it's worth.
Back to original post....
