Any military aviators on here?

Unit74 said:
Flying nam era airframes!

Although MV22s sounds sexy, I heard it’s a career killer after retirement or leaving as it’s not a fixed wing nor a helo.
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Don’t know about a career killer but I work with a guy who flys them in the Reserves. 8 hrs flight time in a year! :confused:
 
“Hogs, to the Corps elite, to that special breed of sky devil known and feared throughout the world, the Marine dogfighter, to the bravest men who ever lived. There’s not a force who can defeat us in battle, deny us victory, or interrupt our destiny...Marines.”
 
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Velocity173 said:
Lol! A 2Lt for PC??? That was a different time and place. Closest I’ve come to that would be signing off a 1Lt at around 450 hrs. He was solid though, as are a lot of West Pointers.
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Just gotta go fighters.......gonna be signing for the jet/PIC at a whopping 200 hrs or so, and for the rest of your career. Seriously though, in a multi pilot airplane, that is pretty impressive for those folks!
 
35 AoA said:
Just gotta go fighters.......gonna be signing for the jet/PIC at a whopping 200 hrs or so, and for the rest of your career. Seriously though, in a multi pilot airplane, that is pretty impressive for those folks!
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I gotta hand it to you guys. I couldn’t imagine slamming down on a carrier as a student with sub 200 hours. I think in the spirit of risk management, there should be an IP in the back of every T-45 to reduce the risk associated with a solo to the boat.:D
 
I was a PC 1Lt both AH-1 and OH-58 at the same time..and got the recommendation on the Cobra from a DES checkride under NVG’s...I got the ride because I was flying both...different times and would not happen today...optempo and being a border trace unit during the Cold War and lots of flying hours under President Reagan....just a wild question but either of you know Pete Lautzenheiser...?
 
Velocity173 said:
I gotta hand it to you guys. I couldn’t imagine slamming down on a carrier as a student with sub 200 hours. I think in the spirit of risk management, there should be an IP in the back of every T-45 to reduce the risk associated with a solo to the boat.:D
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They’re in better hands with Paddles.:yes:

I can’t imagine being in the backseat with an SNA at the boat.
 
Calberto...

Congrats! Marine strike fighter guy here. Feel free to shoot me a message whenever as you go through the "process" if you ever have any questions. Semper yut.
 
35 AoA said:
Long gone wouldn't be correct. It was late 2014 for the USN, but the USMC flew them until a couple weeks ago. Still, not an option for OP :)
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Alas yes. As part of the USN/USMC skies beautification program the fighting drumstick is history. 51 years of service. I picked up a new one at Grumman Bethpage in 1990 and it smelled like a new car and came with 4 sets of new leg restraints so was able to excess my ratty old ones. http://www.ea6bprowler.org

I went through VT-10/86 in 87/88 with some Marine Captain Aerial Observers who were being sent back to get NFO wings. They'd been flying OV-10's long enough it was pretty much a formality for them. Great guys and what was a neat platform but at least one got bagged during Desert Storm.
 
At least you should have decent weather for TBS and not freeze your butt off. The Crucible will be fun.:( Not sure if they still have it in the syllabus though.
 
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Velocity173 said:
At least you should have decent weather for TBS and not freeze your butt off. The Crucible will be fun.:( Not sure if they still have it in the syllabus though.
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I just got to freeze all OCS! It wasn't too bad though.
 
Fancy said:
Calberto...

Semper yut.
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This always gets me a bit. The derivatives of this moto are from the Amphib assault guys. The original saying was, "You ain't tracks, you ain't Shhhheeet!" which then became YAT-YAS for short and then it was stolen by those who have no idea what YAT-YAS even is. YUT is a child of YAT-YAS....


If you are a pilot, fly over Del Mar (CamPen) and look down at the roofs......
 
Hey boot LT......

Take a bit of advise from one who made the mistake..... Stay in and take the full ride. Max out your TSP plan. Use Tuition assistance for your masters/PhD or get into one of the programs that you earn one like Monterrey. Have fun, but keep you eye on the finish line.... It will show up sooner than you expect!
 
Banjo33 said:
Well, with 23 in and 2 to go, for the last 3 years, I’ve felt like time was at a stand still and only seems to be getting worse...except for getting older. That has definitely accelerated. :(
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Yea... When you know it's time, it does go slow. Savor the flavor! You got an EAS clock on your desk?
 
Unit74 said:
Hey boot LT......

Take a bit of advise from one who made the mistake..... Stay in and take the full ride. Max out your TSP plan. Use Tuition assistance for your masters/PhD or get into one of the programs that you earn one like Monterrey. Have fun, but keep you eye on the finish line.... It will show up sooner than you expect!
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Thank you! I've been trying to get my TSP set up so I can do just that. And as far as the post-grad, I'll definitely be utilizing it.
 
calberto said:
Thank you! I've been trying to get my TSP set up so I can do just that. And as far as the post-grad, I'll definitely be utilizing it.
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Put it in the Roth side.
 
Velocity173 said:
TBS update???
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Things are going well! Just finished up PEX (patrol exercise). Learned how to hunt the enemy on the ground, essentially.

TBS sucks but it’s really fun at the same time. Hard but rewarding. Glad I get the opportunity to do it before flight school.
 
calberto said:
Things are going well! Just finished up PEX (patrol exercise). Learned how to hunt the enemy on the ground, essentially.

TBS sucks but it’s really fun at the same time. Hard but rewarding. Glad I get the opportunity to do it before flight school.
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Well, start of flight school should be soon. What’s up?
 
Hey everyone. I graduated TBS last month and am now down in Pensacola for flight school after taking some leave. I'm loving it down here.

I get to skip IFS (they solo a 172 with a civilian school) and go straight to API which is a ground school. I probably won't start that till January or February, but we will see. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the beaches.
 
calberto said:
Hey everyone. I graduated TBS last month and am now down in Pensacola for flight school after taking some leave. I'm loving it down here.

I get to skip IFS (they solo a 172 with a civilian school) and go straight to API which is a ground school. I probably won't start that till January or February, but we will see. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the beaches.
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January/ February? That’s a serious training bubble. There are worse places to be waiting on a course though.
 
calberto said:
I get to skip IFS (they solo a 172 with a civilian school) and go straight to API which is a ground school. I probably won't start that till January or February, but we will see. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the beaches.
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Don't they still do "stash jobs" while waiting to start? I was an early April commission from AOCS and didn't start VT-10 until June. In the meantime people had to stand duty, work at the pool etc. I taught sailing (and worked) on a 44' Morgan Out Islander that AOCS candidates got a day of seamanship training on. Not a bad job while waiting to start.

Congrats too - you're in for a great ride.
 
Pugs said:
Don't they still do "stash jobs" while waiting to start? I was an early April commission from AOCS and didn't start VT-10 until June. In the meantime people had to stand duty, work at the pool etc. I taught sailing (and worked) on a 44' Morgan Out Islander that AOCS candidates got a day of seamanship training on. Not a bad job while waiting to start.

Congrats too - you're in for a great ride.
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Yes, they still do stash jobs. I haven't been assigned one yet, but the ones that I'll pry end up with don't sound as cool as teaching sailing. We get to work the photo booth or administer **** tests (watch people pee) typically. And I stood duty already, and pry won't have to again!

I've been keeping myself busy on the beeches and doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Will probably go do a BFR here soon and brush up on some piloting skills... or just wait for them to pay for my flying. We'll see.
 
calberto said:
Currently looking at the military right now. Finishing up my senior year of college with a degree in finance and another in aviation.

Are there any military, past or current, on here? If so, what is your advice for starting out? I'd love to hear from you.

Currently in contact with the Marines, and am actively pursuing all the branches' recruiters.
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I loved my 24 years in the US ARMY and NG as an Aviator, Commissioned Officer [Infantry, Aviation and Armor branches]. All Armed Forces' Branches' are GREAT and I have worked with all of them in combined events!! It comes down to your personal preference and opportunities available to you. My best wishes!!
Col Bob Garner [retired]
 
Glad to hear you survived...rabbit tastes like chicken to me. :)
 
calberto said:
I went through SERE in February and am finally starting API (ground school) in May.
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Wow. I didn't get to go to SERE until I was in the fleet. In fact, left a Red Flag after a week to fly to San Diego. To be fair, I'd only been in the fleet about 3 weeks.
 
Yeah, that is some seriously protracted training flow. I think my 6 year old might be in his flight school class the way this is going :D
 
Was wondering how things were going. Glad to hear still progressing.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Yeah, that is some seriously protracted training flow. I think my 6 year old might be in his flight school class the way this is going :D
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To be fair, this was 1990 and there were a lot more of us then! :D (thank you President Reagan)
 
Pugs said:
To be fair, this was 1990 and there were a lot more of us then! :D (thank you President Reagan)
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Even when I did it much more recently than 1990 (you old fart), I was in the FRS, which seemed to be the norm back then. In my last active duty squadron, we had JO's showing up who still hadn't done it and had to go TAD, that being only a year or so ago.

Congrats to OP though! Keep it up
 
hindsight2020 said:
Yeah, that is some seriously protracted training flow. I think my 6 year old might be in his flight school class the way this is going :D
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Yeah they drag it out. Some of my IFS students I solo'd as a new CFI are just now finishing t6s and getting their track. In the meantime I instructed 1200 hours spent a year and 750hours in the airlines and am waiting for daddy United to shut us (expressjet) down so I can get my first furlough/closure out of the way lol. :D While my old students still have another year or so before they even hit their 1st unit.
 
Pugs said:
Wow. I didn't get to go to SERE until I was in the fleet. In fact, left a Red Flag after a week to fly to San Diego. To be fair, I'd only been in the fleet about 3 weeks.
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Yeah, I guess Marines haven't been the best about getting us to SERE so they experimented with sending a few of us before any flight training started. I had a blast.
 
It goes in spurts. I signed up for SERE C in anticipation of a 3 month wait for Black Hawks. Ended up being only a 2 week wait and had to pull out of the SERE C course. Years later as an IP, students were waiting for 3-6 months for any advanced airframe course. Waist of taxpayer dollars.

This is just the beginning. Wait til you get to your first squadron and you’re spending more time on PPT presentations than flying. The BS is mind boggling but don’t fret. I always say, you don’t join the military to rack up hours, you join for an experience that can’t be compared to in any civilian capacity. When you do start flying, deploying and possibly fighting, I assure you, you’ll look back on it as the best years of your life. You’ve already become a Marine Officer. Just that alone is saying something.
 
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calberto said:
Yeah, I guess Marines haven't been the best about getting us to SERE so they experimented with sending a few of us before any flight training started. I had a blast.
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It was always hit and miss. My whole RAG class hit it after we were in the fleet. However, after "soft wings' in VT-86 I got a chance to go to El Centro and fly back seat in TA-4's with instructors who were taking studs out on their first bombing hops (when asked "who wants to" my hand was up vey quickly despite August in El Centro!). Some of those students went right from their bombing get to SERE and then back to Beeville to finish up. Weird.
 
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