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Old 01-13-2015, 01:24 PM   #1
Haasino
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Default For the Prospective AWS/"Dry" Helo Guys...

Okay...

So this is something that I've been hesitant to discuss for a while now. Not to say there's a cover-up, or that this is the Navy's dirty little secret... it's just a harsh reality that's not really discussed too openly outside the Aircrew community. I'm talking about the MH-53E Sea Dragon and the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadrons... specifically the horrendous safety issues the fleet is suffering.

Last January, I was on a training flight out of Jacksonville when we were rerouted North toward Norfolk to assist in the search for the crew of a Sea Dragon that had burst into flames and gone into the water. As we flew low enough to pick up occasional spotty cellphone reception, I was in the back sending out the "Are you okay?" texts to my AWS buddies from Candidate School who were going through training in HM-14. Nobody I knew was on the aircraft that day, but it opened a window to an issue none of us were really aware of... these series of reports from the Virginian-Pilot, bluntly titled Sea Dragon Down, outline the issue better than I could...

As I said, I've been hesitant to post about this issue... Naval Aviation in inherently dangerous; that's why aircrew gets payed an extra $150 a month starting the moment their boot touches the inside of an aircraft. I had two civilian instructors in VP-30 who still remember the day in 1991 when they came to work and learned that 24 of their friends and colleagues had died in a midair collision the night before... it's rare, but it happens. I don't want to sound like I'm actively discouraging anyone from going a specific route... or give the impression that I'm bagging on a specific community to make others look better. The Helicopter Mine Countermeasures squadrons are a critical part of Naval Aviation... that's essentially why they're having these issues - we can't get rid of them, even when parts are becoming nonexistent and maintenance is struggling to keep them airworthy.

AWS "Dry" billets aren't generally assigned at random during NACCS... they find out how many, if any, Sea Dragon billets are available during the first week of class, and they ask for volunteers among the AIRC Candidates. With very rare exceptions, nobody is randomly assigned an AWS "Dry" billet at NACCS... you specifically request it. The point of this thread is not for me to tell you, "Don't request it!"... nor is it an implication that, if you go Sea Dragon, you're going to die. That would be like me telling a SpecWar candidate, "Don't do it; it's too dangerous!" Where SpecWar and Sea Dragons differ, however, is that everyone knows the risk associated with being a SEAL... It was a conversation I had with my buddy, and former NACCS roommate, who recently graduated Sea Dragon FRS training... we were talking about the safety issues, and I asked him if he would have still requested AWS had he known about these issues. He told me he probably would have, but he knows a few other aircrewman who wouldn't have... and they all wish they had at least been aware of what they were agreeing to be part of.

The purpose of this site is to provide information to prospective and Future Sailors so they can make informed decisions on what they want to do in the Navy. That's why I'm putting this information out there... not to critique the Sea Dragon, or criticize the Navy's maintenance program... but to let you, as potential Aircrew Candidates have the best information available when the time comes to give your rating input at NACCS.

- Haasino
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Old 09-24-2016, 05:56 PM   #2
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How often are these billets available? Do you still have to go to RSS with this billet? And is there anything you should do to make yourself more likely to get this billet.
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Old 09-24-2016, 10:55 PM   #3
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How often are these billets available? Do you still have to go to RSS with this billet? And is there anything you should do to make yourself more likely to get this billet.
Basically NACCS is handed quotas throughout the year based on how many people the community will need in training to maintain the mandated manning levels in the Fleet. That being said, the community itself isn't that big to begin with; so they aren't anywhere near as common as AWO or AWV for example. Out of my class of around 25 we 2 guys go AWS Dry. One had requested it and the other was just selected as they needed to fill the spot.

The only thing you can really do to give yourself a shot at going that route is voicing your request (they may or may not have a spot though), and doing well at NACCS. Good scores and zero discipline issues (including things like inspections and such) will give you a better shot.

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Old 09-25-2016, 02:30 PM   #4
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Thank you CTT1,
Did the guys who got the AWS(dry) billets have to go to rescue swimmer school?
Also at what point in training would you request or find out what kind of aircraft you would be assigned to?
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Old 09-26-2016, 02:49 AM   #5
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Thank you CTT1,
Did the guys who got the AWS(dry) billets have to go to rescue swimmer school?
No they will not attend RSS. Hence the "dry" aspect of their duties ;)


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Also at what point in training would you request or find out what kind of aircraft you would be assigned to?
I would just mention it to your instructors when you start class. They don't have any control over how many quotas there will be, but before you graduate they will hand out rates/A-schools and, if applicable, will ask for volunteers for things like AWS dry.

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Old 09-26-2016, 12:53 PM   #6
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Is AW a hard program to get? When I went to MEPS and all they had was MM(subs) and PACT SN,so I took PACT SN and have been putting in DARS trying to get AW.
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