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Old 07-15-2012, 10:16 PM   #1
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Default Aircrew Breakdown

I've been scouring the internet for as much information as I could find on the ATF/AIRC Naval Aircrew Program, and wanted to cross-post this very helpful write-up from another forum for all the members here who are going Aircrew (Which, at the moment, is myself and Debo15, LOL). This was dated 20110214:

Quote:
HI!

I am currently working my way through AWF 'A' School, and since I trawled extensively through this site and NKO (Navy Knowledge Online) before I went to Boot trying to find out just what to expect, I thought I’d give back a little with some very up-to-date in depth info.

First, a little info on the rating:

All Aircrewmen fall under the general AW (Aviation Warfare Systems Operator) rating. The AW rating is further broken down into five series ratings, or sub-ratings, if you will - AWF, AWO, AWV, AWR, AWS.

AWO: Operator. Basically, you operate radios, sonar/ radar equipment. What you do depends on if you are Acoustic or Non-Acoustic.

AWV: Technician. Wire chaser. You fix the electronics/systems while in flight.

AWS: Helo Dry. You operate sonar/radar etc. in helos on anti-sub missions; go on SAR missions, etc. This is not a rescue swimmer rating. You stay in the helo; hence the “dry”.

AWR: Helo Wet. Rescue Swimmer. Same as above, only you jump out of the helos and have extensive training in the water to save lives. All of the above ratings go through the AW 'A' school house for A School.

AWF: Mechanical. Flight Engineer. This is the one with the longest A School. You go through the AE school house for A School, followed by FRAC, which is basically our C school from how I understand it. Flight engineers sit up front with the pilots. They have to know all the systems on the plane: avionics, electronics, and mechanical. If something goes wrong in-flight, they have to know the what, why, and how to fix it or work with it. They are responsible for preflight checks. They are the enlisted crew leaders on board; the pilots and other crewmembers look to them for guidance. If you are active duty, you can do the actual full flight engineer job. FTS (Full Time Support) personnel generally end up as loadmasters, etc.

I’m obviously an AWF myself, I only know the basics of the other ratings through friends who are also aircrew, but if there are questions, I can answer them or ask one of them for the answer. For all these ratings EXCEPT AWR (Rescue Swimmer), you pick your series rating during class at NACCS. You just pick Aircrew (AIRC) at MEPS, the general rating. Rescue Swimmers actually select Rescue Swimmer (AIRR) at MEPS because they go through Boot camp with the 800 divisions, which are the SEAL/SWCC/EOD candidates, and they do much more intense PT. For any of these ratings, do as much PT and swimming as you can before boot camp to prepare for NACCS (Naval Aircrew Candidate School). Everyone goes through NACCS straight out of boot camp, and it’s straight-up PT/swimming the whole time.

NACCS Week 1 & Backlog:

Upon arriving at NACCS, everyone is promoted to E2 automatically if you are an E1. You immediately start the 1st week of class, which is just indoc and a PRT (PFA). The PRT In is normal Navy standards, but the PRT Out is Aircrew Standards. The Aircrew standards are a bit lower/ higher for this than the Navy Standards. For instance, Navy says for a Bravo female, the 1.5 mile has to be run in 15:15. For NACCS, it’s 14:15. Make sense? You will also take a Class II swim test to evaluate your proficiency at the breast stroke, crawl stroke, and side stroke. Don’t worry if you fail this, you will just be put on Swim Hold. Swim Hold is not a big deal – just two weeks of extra training at the strokes, survival swimming, and endurance. This actually gives you a jump on what you need to do in class, since you don’t do any other swimming until then. They used to do PT hold as well for those that failed the initial PRT, but they did away with it towards the end of my stay there. I believe it came back though. If you pass everything and are not put on Swim/PT Hold, you go to Backlog. Keep in mind you have already finished Week 1 of the 4 week school. However, you then have to wait to class-up for the rest of the course.

Backlog is where you wait. Basically, you PT in the mornings for a few hours, then go to the gym or team sports after chow. Your day is usually done by 1300, but it starts at 0500/0600, depending on the season. Personnel from Backlog get pulled to stand watch during working hours and go on Working Parties. While at NACCS, and throughout your Navy career, you will be assigned a Duty Section. There are three, and they rotate duties. Duty Weekend is Friday-Sunday. Duty Section is in charge of watches during liberty, both during the week and on weekends. Watches are now 2-4 hours long, as opposed to 6 hours while I was there. You will stand watch in the barracks, on one of four hallways, or as OOD or MOOW on one of two quarterdecks for both the aircrew barracks and the rescue swimmer barracks. Watch goes on 24/7. Duty Section also cleans the barracks. Backlog can last anywhere from two weeks to two months on average. Once you class-up, you pick up where you left off at the beginning with Week 2.

NACCS Week 2:

This is commonly known as “hell week”, but it’s not too bad. It’s your PT/Swim Week. You spend your mornings with some fairly intense PT (You should be used to it by now though), and your afternoons are spent passing swim-quals. This is what makes the week so hard; doing both PT and quals all day wears you out quick. I’m not going to go much into detail about the swim tests here, but basically you have to swim/tread/float in anything from your swim suit all the way up to full flight suit, boots, vest, helmet, and gloves. Be comfortable floating prone and having your face in the water. You go through your 1 mile swim in flight suit on Friday during Week 2, and that’s all you do that day – you’re done by 0900ish.

NACCS Week 3:

Week 3 is "Disney week", where you go on all the fun rides. You go through the Spin-and-Puke, some parachute ground training if you’re fixed-wing (AWF, AWV, or AWO), survival on land, first-aid, CPR, shooting quals, hypoxia chamber, etc. It’s a fun week. You end the week with your PRT Out.

NACCS Week 4:

Week 4 is survival swimming and the helo dunker. Everyone does this, and it’s a lot of fun. You graduate on Thursday, and usually are sent directly over to the other side of base to begin (Or wait to begin) your A School.

Rules & Regulations:

NACCS is its own command; the NATTC side of base, where all the A schools are located, is under another command structure, at least through the lower levels.

The NACCS barracks are pretty awesome – two-to-three to a room, with your own head, and two big walk-in closets (The 3rd person has a cabinet). Main thing to remember is no food in the barracks other than in the main lounge, and they'll secure the lounge if it gets too messy. Water only in the rooms, and drink plenty of it. Room inspections are every Friday at 1000, followed by a liberty briefing at 1130. The instructors are all pretty awesome; strict, but hilarious. There is also an AW corpsman stationed in the barracks during duty hours.

Phases:

Everyone starts at Phase One; you have three days to get watch qual’d, and thirteen days to get uniforms, Seabag, and three room inspections done. If you finish those early, you phase up early. Phase One has to be in by 2200 on weekends. During Phase one, you’re not allowed to have any civilian clothes in your possession, nor any electronics other than a cell phone and MP3 player.

In Phase Two, you get civvies, electronics, and can stay out until 2400 on weekends.

No one gets Phase Three (overnight liberty) until they graduate NACCS, so no one really gets it unless they are put on hold after graduation. After graduation, you are sent to the other side of the base, where you are sent back to Phase One until you are watch qual’d, and then advanced directly to Phase Three. During Phase One at NATTC you can own civvies, just not wear them, and have any electronics.

All the Aircrew ratings go through SERE School right after A School.

AWR, Rescue Swimmers, go through another school after NACCS but before A School - Rescue Swimmer School (RSS). They are still living on the NACCS side of base though for this. It’s about five weeks long.

At any point during Candidacy School or RSS while classed-up, you can be rolled back for failure to achieve requirements or injuries. You can also be dropped at any point during your time there, classed-up or not. This can either be through a Drop on Request (DOR), or at the instructors’ discretion for repeated failures or rule infractions/ breaking the law. If you’re not 21, don’t drink. So many people lose their rating because of that.

So basically a long, but still basic, Aircrew overview; hope it helps!

-Gard
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Old 05-19-2013, 06:47 PM   #2
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How bad was your hell week haasino?
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Old 05-19-2013, 07:11 PM   #3
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How bad was your hell week haasino?
It was hard, but not impossible...

Thursday was "Shock & Awe" day - we did 2 stress-sets, followed by a 3mi formation run, followed by a 3rd stress-set... all the while there were about 15 instructors ranging from PO2s to Marine SSgts and Senior Chiefs screaming at you and telling you you're a piece of shit, that you should just DOR, that they're not gonna let you graduate anyway, etc. They're just trying to weed out the weak ones, and it worked on 2 candidates. This is also the day they make their judgments on whether or not they want to see you graduate in 3 weeks... if they don't like you, you'll become their Pvt. Pyle and they'll do what they can to make sure you don't make it to graduation. The key is to show determination... watch the instructor leading the PT and, when one walks past you, look at them and sound off loud and proud... they seemed to swarm the ones who were quiet, struggling, or afraid to make eye-contact.

Friday was a 5mi formation run at about an 8min/mi pace... then, after lunch, we went to the pool and did our WS-3 and WS-4, which was 2min tread/7min float in swimsuit, then again in flightsuit and boots. After that we did a 15min endurance swim in flightsuit and boots.

Monday we went down to the seawall and did the equivalent of 3 stress-sets, with 200m sprints between... then the WS-5 after lunch, which was 2min tread/8min float in flightsuit, boots, gloves, and vest. After that we did a 20min endurance swim in flightsuit and boots.

Tuesday we went to the Aircrew track and did 3 stress-sets, with 2 laps in-between which were timed... then the WS-6 after lunch, which was 2min tread/9min float in flightsuit, boots, gloves, vest, and helmet. After that we did a 25min endurance swim in flightsuit and boots.

Wednesday we did another 2 stress-sets, followed by a slightly slower 4mi formation run... then the WS-7 after lunch, which was jumping off the tower in flightsuit and boots, and swimming submerged for ~15m without any part of your body breaking the surface. Then we did some synchronized swimming where they taught us how to flail our arms and swim through burning surface oil/debris.

Thursday we watched a few episodes of "The Pacific" with the graduating class, while everyone shock & awed the new class outside... then the WS-8 after lunch, which was a 75m swim in flightsuit, boots, gloves, vest, and helmet... followed by demonstration of the 4 ways to use your clothes as a flotation device.

Friday wrapped-up Hell Week with the 1mi confidence swim in the morning, followed by liberty at 1100... easy day. Mast annoying part of the mile swim was fighting boredom, and getting kicked by other people in your lane.

The easiest way to get through Hell Week is to only do it once! Remember that when you're struggling on your Water Survival evolutions and want to grab the wall.
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Old 05-20-2013, 12:18 AM   #4
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Great info Haasino!
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Old 05-20-2013, 12:39 PM   #5
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Going to hijack this for a second but I am interested in the inflight aspect for CTIs... I know you mentioned something about it vaguely in another post. About how many have you seen go through in your time down there? Mostly males or are there more then just a few females? And I am assuming they have to go through all the training you've listed above, correct? There is little enough info on CTIs on the web let alone anything about inflight or sub! Since I can't do sub as of now I figured I'd explore this aspect! Am I completely off basis with what little info I have or no? ha just wondering!
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Old 05-20-2013, 02:27 PM   #6
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The vast majority of fleet returnees at NACCS were some form of CT rating... my class alone had a CTT1 and CTR2... I personally knew two CTIs from other classes as well; one was a CTI1, and the other was a CTI3 fresh out of DLI. You would pick up orders to go to NACCS from DLI I believe, and would be assigned to a VQ or VPU squadron... VQ-1 is based out of NAS Whidbey Island in northern Washington... VPU squadrons are in a few locations... I'll leave it at that. As a CT, you would not re-class to an AW rating... you'd stay a CTI and just o though the Aircrew Candidate School portion of the pipeline before moving on to your squadron/command.

As far as what exactly you'd do as an Aircrew CTI... what little info I know, I can't discuss. I'd highly recommend it though if you're fit and determined enough for the NACCS curriculum. Let your instructor know when you get to Monterey that you're interested.
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Old 05-20-2013, 07:49 PM   #7
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sweet! thanks! thats actually all I need to know!
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Old 07-01-2015, 02:32 PM   #8
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Default AWV

Just an input on the AWV rating. you don't just fix electronics. There are different jobs you can do in the AWV rating. Although you may not be able to choose your job, you can also be an operator of the equipment aboard the various aircraft. You get a brief knowledge of fixing the electronics but it is not your main job to do that.


very informative post though!
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Old 07-01-2015, 03:29 PM   #9
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Just an input on the AWV rating. you don't just fix electronics. There are different jobs you can do in the AWV rating. Although you may not be able to choose your job, you can also be an operator of the equipment aboard the various aircraft. You get a brief knowledge of fixing the electronics but it is not your main job to do that.


very informative post though!
Depends on your squadrons. Our Vs operate and fix equipment
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Old 07-01-2015, 04:53 PM   #10
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Just an input on the AWV rating. you don't just fix electronics. There are different jobs you can do in the AWV rating. Although you may not be able to choose your job, you can also be an operator of the equipment aboard the various aircraft. You get a brief knowledge of fixing the electronics but it is not your main job to do that.


very informative post though!
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Depends on your squadrons. Our Vs operate and fix equipment
Yup... P-3 vs. EP-3 vs. E-6 AWV's are all going to have a dramatically different job. Looking back, I need to revamp and update just about all of that info... I wrote that as a DEPper... now I'm an AWO2, haha!
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Old 07-01-2015, 05:15 PM   #11
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Haasino you were a depper once?! *Gasp* Was the turtle still in use then? ;)
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Old 07-01-2015, 05:47 PM   #12
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Haasino you were a depper once?! *Gasp* Was the turtle still in use then? ;)
No, the USS Holland was the new hotness. That was back when we didn't get these new-fanged iPads or tennis shoes at RTC... and women had to cut their hair... and we liked it that way!

#SaltSaltSalt
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Old 07-01-2015, 05:59 PM   #13
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No, the USS Holland was the new hotness. That was back when we didn't get these new-fanged iPads or tennis shoes at RTC... and women had to cut their hair... and we liked it that way!

#SaltSaltSalt
Can feel my arteries hardening already from all that salt.

I thought the the hair cut thing was just a myth. They actually don't have to cut anymore? What a shame. Same for males?
The hair cuts are one of those memorable things you don't forget. Ever. lol
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Old 07-02-2015, 10:36 AM   #14
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Graduated RTC last Friday. Males still get their haircut but females have the option not to. I did get the "go-fasters" and boot rotation for the first few weeks. I was never once given nor did I see an iPad at RTC lol. My RDC did say something about RTC testing the idea on future divisions though.
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Old 07-02-2015, 01:22 PM   #15
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Graduated RTC last Friday. Males still get their haircut but females have the option not to. I did get the "go-fasters" and boot rotation for the first few weeks. I was never once given nor did I see an iPad at RTC lol. My RDC did say something about RTC testing the idea on future divisions though.
Select divisions get them. Just like the go-faster divisions. Started out with only 2 divisions having them and then they slowly expand. I talked to someone that had them in their division.
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Old 07-02-2015, 07:45 PM   #16
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Gotcha. Lol that would definitely not have fit in my AB drawer.
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Old 07-02-2015, 08:09 PM   #17
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Gotcha. Lol that would definitely not have fit in my AB drawer.
I don't think they kept them in there since it's sort of a issued item, but I don't know. I heard about them through a person on here that recently graduated. I went through basic before all these changes :P
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Old 07-02-2015, 09:08 PM   #18
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I went through basic before all these changes :P
#SaltSaltSalt
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Old 07-02-2015, 10:40 PM   #19
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#SaltSaltSalt
Hey now Mr. Flyer... I'm not too salty just yet! Give it time lol enough TACAMO bs and I'll be there soon enough
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