AirCrew Opportunities
 

Hi everybody!

I signed my AIRC contract a few weeks ago and still have some unanswered questions. From the small amount of information I could find online, I'm under the impression that all the high speed, door gunning, rescue swimming, survival training, freedom fighter stuff I was face fed at MEPS is looking to be a crock. Since I'll be a reservist is it true that I won't have the opportunity to choose what sub-rate I would like? I understand the whole "needs of the Navy" but I was sold on AIRC the second they said shoot stuff from helicopters and C-130 gunships. I would really love to be an AWS dry-helo but from what I've read I won't even make it to SERE school. Any AW reservists that could give me a run down of the difference between the Active Duty and Reserves pipeline?

Thanks in advance!

bump for interest.

Well really the crux here is that you went reserves instead of active. The Navy isn't going to dump a huge sum of money into you if they can't use that investment on a regular basis. Getting someone through the Aircrew pipeline, plus SERE, and any other training you might need for an eventual billet costs hundreds of thousands of dollars when it's all said and done. So if you're only going to be available a couple weeks a year then that's not an investment they're going to be keen on making.

Most reservists end up at VR squadrons from what I've seen. While it's not blowing up terrorists, it's still a badass gig in it's own right. Those guys travel ALLLLLLL over the place. All kinds of weird nooks and crannies around the world that most people will never get to. So don't get too beat up about it if that's where you end up. A few FTS folks I know have also found themselves at one of the few reserve VP squadrons as well.

If you wanna be Billy Badass and come help chase bad guys on a regular basis then I would recommend looking at your options for active duty down the line. You're significantly more likely to get where you want to go and do what you want to do when you're here full time. I always tell people that if you invest in the Navy then the Navy will invest in you.

/r
CTT1

Edit: Also even Active Duty AIRC guys aren't gunning shit out of helicopters or C-130s (the Navy doesn't have AC-130's, for the record). The vast majority of AD AIRC guys end up in the P-3/P-8 community. A small minority will go AWS dry; but that's definitely the minority.

Thanks CTT1! Although it doesn't sound as exciting as I was initially lead to believe, I still feel as though AIRC is something to take pride in.

Regardless of what I'm doing I'll be doing it with pride and to the best of my ability.

I understand my opportunities will be much broader had I enlisted AD but my life goals and current endeavors just don't coincide with that as I'm working my way through simultaneous careers in Law Enforcement and Military with a focus on doing my part as a Drug Task Force member. I get plenty of action on a daily basis here, the Navy is just for fun!

Thanks for the information! I feel much better now that I have a straight honest answer as to what to expect.

Any tips on how to best prepare for ACCS?

Absolutely no shame in that at all! The Reserves are an AWESOME route and I'm glad you're focused on your long term goals.

In terms of prepping for NACCS, you want to build endurance. For everything. Don't worry about hitting the gym and putting up a ton of weight because nobody cares how much you can bench; you'll be evaluated on number of push ups, number of sit ups, run time, etc. So that's where your focus should be, on pumping up those numbers. You'll be doing PT pretty much every day, so having the muscular endurance to keep up will be your biggest asset.

A good place to start would be to check out some of the Spec War workout plans. You don't need to be in SEAL shape or anything, but those work outs are designed to do exactly what you need to in terms of upping those numbers and building real endurance. If you're doing the right stuff then you're gonna smoke your competition at Candidate School.

As always I'll be around on here if you need anything!

/r
CTT1