• 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

STUPID questions about life as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO)

KilroyUSN

KilroyUSN

Prior EM1(SS) - LTJG - VP P-8 NFO COTAC
None
Thanks all =)

Thanks a lot for the feedback, sorry for the percentage type question, I was really wondering if it was like nuke pipeline, where you say "I wanna be this." and then they give you something random, or if it was like everyone wants P3 but there are only so many p3 spots, I think I pretty much got my answer.
Thanks again for the quick response and the awesome information.
 
zippy

zippy

Freedom!
pilot
Contributor
I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but pretty much tailhooker I've ever talked said they don't fly weekends (Work-ups/Fallon etc excluded). My squadron had a month and a half off from flying weekends after deployment and flew at least two weekends a month, if not three, for the entire IDRC up until the latest deployment. While your QOL will be slightly better, it is by no means easy... wives tend to not understand why their husbands are spending 12-14hr days in the squadron during the week and then going in regularly on the weekends when their upcoming deployment is right around the corner...
 
Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
In general, the wives who are new to Naval Air get most upset about workups, no matter what community they've married into. I can't tell you how many I've heard say something to the effect of, 'I knew about six months gone, I prepared myself for that, but no one tells you that they're gone almost all the time for a year before that'.

My reason for telling the OP not to get his hopes up about the P-3 deployment sked, is that I've heard so many students say that they want P-3's because they have a family and they want to be home every night.

We didn't fly on weekends all that often, but the particular redass for East Coast E-2's was midnight FCLP's. Between the Hornet, Rhino and Hawkeye RAG students, and all the deploying squadrons at NASO and Chambers, all sharing Fentress, that place is always booked solid. So the Hummers tend to get the godawful middle-of-the-night bounce periods (midnight to 0400 wasn't uncommon) in an attempt to reduce noise complaints from the citizenry, being as we're the "quiet" plane of the bunch.
 
webmaster

webmaster

The Grass is Greener!
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
KilroyUSN,

First off, really great post, it is refreshing to see threads with well laid out questions asking for advice. Even though you did skirt the what % get.... :)

As a prior Submariner, I can say hands down the life in a VP/VQ squadron is better than what you will find on the boat. Even a Hilton riding boomer fag like yourself will find the lifestyle that much better (I am a prior fast attack puke!). I have come across MANY prior sub types in the P3 community, and like you posted, many of us decided not to go back to subs based on QOL issues.

I have deployed all around the world, and with very few exceptions, I have talked/emailed or chatted with the wife, family and friends each day. In addition, it is enjoyable to come back from a flight, and go grab a steak and beers with the crew.

The missions are rewarding, and our services whether it is ASW or ISR are in continued demand.

For me, the absolute highlight, and what I will have a hard time walking away from, is "dad" giving me the keys to the car, and taking a crew out flying. Especially over a deployment or DET, and all the workups and training come together and you take the warpig out on real world missions.

But, no community is perfect, and similar to some of the problems being experienced with an aging submarine fleet, we also have maintenance issues and training issues that we struggle with.

Best of luck with the STA-21 package.
 
J

JBM

Gainfully Employeed
None
Negative. We only flew the T-6. We go through primary and then about half of the intermediate syllabus, but all flights are on the T-6.
 
J

JBM

Gainfully Employeed
None
As far as P-3 NFO's go it really depends on timing. My class 6 of the 8 ended up P-3. However in the class after me only 1 of 15 got selected.

Best advice I would give is an echo of others comments. Work hard and do well and you will get what you want.
 
nittany03

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
nickUSN said:
What? P3 FOs do the T-39 syllabus? :p
Click to expand...
You didn't hear?? Huge P-3 draft is coming down the pipe out of 86 . . . I hear there's a new AFC to mount sonobuoy tubes in the cabin. Something about sonar stations instead of radar displays. :D
 
FlyBoyd

FlyBoyd

Out to Pasture
pilot
A very small percentage go TACAMO NFO. It is worth looking into if deployment/det cycle stability are near the top of your list. Be advised, it really is more of a COMMO job with an ass load of super secret squirrel mission crap thrown in. The flip side of the Boomer mission is part of it but it has grown into way more.

I don't know of any E-6 NFOs here but some of the younger guys might.
 
Hozer

Hozer

Jobu needs a refill!
None
Contributor
Trends over the last year have seen a lot of folks request VP. It has been interesting to note in the student preference sheets the number of times "quality of life" and "family" are included with "this is why I want VP".

Whether reality meets that fantasy, that is what I've seen.

The top grad is still getting what they want, for now. But now that we're in the last third of the fiscal year, we've got spots to fill and most are jets (including E-2's). Look for one only in most remaining P-grads and don't forget, if you're in a class with a CWO...they get the VP drop by default.

Hoze
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top