Ask a Naval Aircrewman

[Haasino]

Originally Posted by bolo

Ok. Thanks again it truly means a lot, especially to someone with little navy knowledge. By any change do you know the current need for aircrew? Also what are u're thoughts on not joining if the job u want isn't available?

I'll look into the latest manning info From BUPERS and get back to you within 24hrs... as far as not enlisting if the job you want isn't available... that's honestly a personal call. I can tell you that I had a few backup options in the CT field had Aircrew not been available... but the list was short and I was fully willing to walk away if none were available. You are a bit older, and have a good job, so you need to ask yourself what it is you want to get out of the Navy. Without sounding elitist or dismissive, I would much rather recommend you walk away if what you want isn't available... rather than come in miserable and end up "that guy" who drags down the Sailors around you.

Having said that, however, I'd recommend against getting scope-locked on just 1 or 2 ratings... do your research and come up with a good 5-10 ratings that interest you. If you end up with nothing close offered... well... then it's ultimately up to you. I would never, however, advise taking PACT or a rating you know you won't like, and then relying on a DAR to get you switched down the road.

[squid.life]

My wife just reported to Whidbey after she finished A school. We are Reservists. I was informed of the wonderful news that Aircrew deserve is a long stretch of pushing brooms and papers before you even get attached to a squadron. Some guys in the AWF rate have been waiting 6 plus months already. They told her to tell me to go AWO if I have a chance but from what I've seen AWF is pretty much my only option. I know you aren't deserve but does any of that ring true to you?

[squid.life]

Reserve* not deserve. Flipping auto correct.

[BloodyPheonix]

I've been doing some looking online, and I've seen that all the PST info only lists AIRR requirements. Does this mean that only AIRR has to do a PST and AIRC does not?

Second possibly less air crew related question, BUPERS tells me that all the air crew rates have the ability to operate Unmanned Aerial Systems. Do you know anyone that actually does this or works with them at all even outside of Aircrew ? They're by far my favorite type of air craft because I'm a huge robotics geek and the best way I've seen a drone described is a 'big flying battle bot'.

[Haasino]

So it looks like BUPERS hasn't changed its manning forecast for Aircrew... it's not as open as other ratings may be, but AWO is still being held open for new candidates coming in from RTC. Beyond that, there is no way to predict if it will, or will not, be available at MEPS.

Originally Posted by squid.life

My wife just reported to Whidbey after she finished A school. We are Reservists. I was informed of the wonderful news that Aircrew reserve is a long stretch of pushing brooms and papers before you even get attached to a squadron. Some guys in the AWF rate have been waiting 6 plus months already. They told her to tell me to go AWO if I have a chance but from what I've seen AWF is pretty much my only option. I know you aren't reserve but does any of that ring true to you?

AWO as a reservist is possible... I met one. She's basically a unicorn though, and VP-69 doesn't know what to do with her because she came straight from "A" School without going through FRS or SERE. The fact remains though, there is a reserve Patrol and Reconnaissance squadron up here... it's just that 99.99% of the reservist AW's are prior active duty.

Also, every Sailor who is in a training command waiting to start class pushes brooms... it's just that Aircrew spends up to 2 years going through 4-5 training commands, and spend anywhere from a week to several months at each command waiting to start class. AW's and other aircrew ratings all do the same amount of cleaning and sweeping... the only difference I can think of between active and reservists, is that some of them weren't aware of the training pipeline when they joined and were expecting to be away from home exactly as long as their info sheets listed... 6-8 months later, they were starting to get anxious.

Originally Posted by BloodyPheonix

I've been doing some looking online, and I've seen that all the PST info only lists AIRR requirements. Does this mean that only AIRR has to do a PST and AIRC does not?

Second possibly less air crew related question, BUPERS tells me that all the air crew rates have the ability to operate Unmanned Aerial Systems. Do you know anyone that actually does this or works with them at all even outside of Aircrew ? They're by far my favorite type of air craft because I'm a huge robotics geek and the best way I've seen a drone described is a 'big flying battle bot'.

Correct... only AIRR is required to take and pass the Naval Special Warfare PST. You will take "PST's" while at NACCS... but they're just PRT's that you have to score Good in all categories for Sit-ups, Push-ups, and the 1.5mi run.

As far as UAS'... short answer is yes. AWO's and AWR's can take special programs billets for UAV operations within the Naval Special Warfare community. With the MQ-4C Triton UAS coming online and VUP-19 being established for unmanned ISR, there are going to be new opportunities coming up... however I haven't seen any of the details published yet, so I'm not going to discuss future plans. I will say that you can expect some opportunities by the time you finish your first enlistment if you go AWO.

[BloodyPheonix]

Thanks for the answers, it's cool to know I have a chance at working with/on UAVs. I'm also in a super curious mood so I might be hitting this thread over the next couple days.

This one is mostly curiosity, but I've seen on this thread that there is talk of going back to the old volunteer system the non 'O' rates had. Is it actively being considered or just an idea that people are circulating as advancement grinds to a screaming halt? If it would be reinstated, how does that work exactly? Would you go through the standard pipelines for your original rate and then volunteer for Aircrew at your first command and wait for a spot at NACCS? Assuming that's correct if you made it through the air crew pipeline would you then be sent to an aircrew command or is it possible to be 'tabbed' but not scrolled as it is in the Army Ranger program?

I'm sorry if that is a confusing mess of questions I was jumping around the paragraph doing my best to get all the questions in order and understandable.

[Haasino]

There is currently a... I'm not sure the term... study(?) going on to look at the logistics of what to do about the current Naval Aircrewman ratings. The most likely outcome is going to be a return to AWO and AWR being the only Aircrew-only rating of AW... and the Flight Engineer, In-Flight Technician, Loadmaster, and Crewchief billets being volunteers from surface aviation ratings like AE, AT, etc. If that happens, then FE and IFT billets would most likely be 2nd enlistment opportunities for AE's and AT's; with an occasional opportunity for Sailors out of "A" School to get an assignment... similar to how the Aircrew billets for CT and HM works. Non-AW's who volunteer for, and complete the Aircrew pipeline would perform Aircrew duties full-time... it wouldn't be like Rangers.