Summer Flying for Mids

[PigzFly]

Yes, I was referring to USNA Mids. I did not realize the OP was inquiring about ROTC cruise. My experience, as limited as it is, was that of an Academy MIDN. My apologies for the confusion.

 

[IrishNavy05]

Yes, for the couple of months that it all summed up to at least

You sure about this?

I'm almost positive it doesn't count. If it does, my LES is screwed up.

 

[Python]

I did not realize the OP was inquiring about ROTC cruise.

lol well it is the "NROTC" section of the forum

 

[MIDNJAC]

You sure about this?

I'm almost positive it doesn't count. If it does, my LES is screwed up.

Not 100% positive, but that is what I was told by our federal secretary at my old ROTC unit after cruise #1.....she said it can make a difference once you go on terminal leave, how soon you can check out

 

[abracadabra11]

Yes, for the couple of months that it all summed up to at least

This doesn't make too much sense to me. USNA mids are considered Active Duty for 4 years and none of that counts as time in service. So, I think the same would be true for ROTC mids.

 

[HeyJoe]

Not 100% positive, but that is what I was told by our federal secretary at my old ROTC unit after cruise #1.....she said it can make a difference once you go on terminal leave, how soon you can check out

That's a new one on me. What exactly is a "federal secretary"?

 

[FLYTPAY]

Contact the S-3B wing in Jacksonville. There is always an open seat in the Hoov and there are 2 T-34's there. I hooked up more than one person on this forum with multiple flights when I was in Jax.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Well I guess I stand corrected then. Fed Secretary = civilian paid by NROTC unit to deal with student admin stuff. Clearly she was misinformed on this one.

 

[Gatordev]

Well I guess I stand corrected then. Fed Secretary = civilian paid by NROTC unit to deal with student admin stuff. Clearly she was misinformed on this one.

There's actually two different "classes" of employees. There is a civilian secretary (if the unit can afford it) and there's also a GS secretary (or at least there used to be...my info is dated). At UF, we had both. The vanilla secretary was a UF employee that worked (and still works to this day) in the Unit.

As a plebe I was able to get a ride in a P3. When I went home on Christmas leave I was taken up (along with another mid from my area) in a VP-1 bird. The whole thing about not being on active duty when you dont have orders doesnt add up for me. As a mid you are considered active duty. And that includes when you are on leave. You are free to travel when on leave so it shouldnt be an issue. The biggest problem would be finding a crew to take you up.

As others have pointed out, there's much wrong w/ your post. First up, ROTC mids aren't active unless on cruise (we've beaten that horse), but if you're active duty and on leave, you're actually NOT supposed to fly as part of a "crew" (for lack of a better word). Flying MAC is a different animal.

Have people done it? Sure. Did you get a good deal? You bet. But the book answer is all anyone can really give here and if individuals have other experiences that are exceptions, so be it.

I had somewhat of a special circumstance. My father was the CO of VP-1 and went directly to the commodore to get clearance. As far as I know it wasnt an issue at all. It was deemed as "training" because we were considered active duty. We did have to go through complete flight physicals and a condensed air crew course, but it may be different if you are already cleared to fly.

I have a feeling that if anything had happened, it wouldn't have been quite as rosy. But it worked out well, so it's not really an issue. Also, again, a full-up active duty aviator isn't supposed to fly as part of a crew in a DON aircraft while on leave.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

HSC-3 in San Diego baby!!!

Yeeeeah!!!

 

[Tickle]

Hey guys,

I'm going on my 1/C Aviation cruise this summer, and that means that I am good to go on my upchit and my physiology training.

This may seem like a silly question, but over the summer while not on cruise am I able to request rides from anybody if they aren't busy? If so, what kinds of squadrons would I be able to go with? I'm going to be all over the place this summer (thanks to my parents' airline benefits) so location won't be a big problem.

Thanks a lot!

You can always ask but don't expect anything without orders to that squadron. I was with a P-3 squadron for my first class cruise. Good times but one 8 hour P-3 flight was enough for me (besides I couldn't trim a P-3 to save my life). We had some USNA mids come fly with us one summer. Two of them were fine and absorbed the ready room antics well. The third was a tool and thought he knew everything. His "cockiness" quickly vanished when his airsickness set in. Turning on the heaters and doing a nice low level to a BAM is a great way to get your lunch launched. Morale of the story...Show up eager to learn and with a good attitude and you will get some good deals. Act like a tool and they're going to try and make you puke.

 

[kejo]

On another tangent...I get my first Mids as a new squadron JO on Tuesday. If things keep going the way they are, they'll probably leave after three weeks with more flight time than me. Seriously.