Naval Aviation

Farm Kid

5-Year Member
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Jul 15, 2011
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My main goal in life is to become a pilot for the U.S. military, in any branch. I think that is where I would be best suited to serve for our country. But I'm more determined to actually serve in the military than to just fly for the military, so I'd be willing to do almost anything. That being said, my first choice of service academy is the USAFA, and I have been working hard on a nomination to the AFA for quite some time now. But now everybody I talk to says that I should apply to all of the service academies.

So now my question is, what kind of aviation programs (if any) does the USNA have?
 
Well, the Navy and Marine Corps both have massive air forces of their own, and are some of the best pilots around. My BGO's son is currently in flight school through USNA, and as I intend to follow a similar path, I've gotten as much information as possible - see if you can find your own area's BGO and ask for Naval Aviators in your area for a personal Q&A.

For the first couple of years, your focus is on school. I believe you can try to get into summer cruises centered around aviation (but I haven't gotten all the summer cruise information that I can). Beginning your 2/C year, you start to show your occupational interest. I believe it is also this year that you take the ASTB and can receive eye correctional surgery.

I don't know all that much about the path to a pilot for the Air Force, but I do know Marine Corps and Navy pilots follow a similar path. It's just that most of the path is after the Academy.
 
Short answer: not as many as Air Force.

Long Answer:

I don't know the details on how exactly it works because I haven't done it, but there's a soaring summer training available for mids. Basically, before your 1/C (or sometimes 2/C) year, you take ground school classes for a couple weeks and get some time flying gliders. The consensus I've gotten from people who have done it is that it's a good deal.

Over PROTRAMID (before 2/C year) you WILL fly in at least a T-34 (training turboprop) during Aviation week as well as possibly helicopters during aviation and Marine weeks.
During 2/C year, you can also get PRK or LASIK free-of-charge from the government. They prefer PRK because it doesn't limit your service selection. It's a very simple process: you get an email asking if you're interested, you pop down to Bethesda for a screening, go back for the surgery, and are back in your rack heavily medicated by lunchtime.

Before 1/C year, you can go on an aviation cruise. An aviation cruise is a GOOD DEAL. You are assigned to a squadron with a couple other mids (one of my friends just had one other mid with him at his squadron) and basically hang out and fly with the pilots. My friend was at a VR squadron (transport) and got to fly almost every day. His squadron also set up opportunities for him to go and fly with helicopter, prowler (electronic attack jet), and growler (new electronic attack jet based off of the F/A-18) squadrons.

VT-NA, USNA's aviation club, gets lots of aviation related speakers to come and in the past occasionally took people out to the gliders. I'm not sure if they will still do this in the future ($$).

Naval Aviation is not an extremely hard service selection to get. The biggest hurdle is passing the ASTB, which is pretty easy (seriously: I fell asleep during every testing section and still passed). You can take the ASTB whenever you want, but the catch is you can only take it three times and your most recent score is the one that counts, not your highest.
I'd have to check my numbers, but I think Navy Air (SNA and NFO) was either largest or second largest for the class of 2011 with ~240 or 250 pilot slots and ~70-80 NFO. Generally speaking, if you keep your nose clean (no major honor/conduct offenses) and do okay in school, you can get Navy Air.

If you're interested in Naval Aviation (or military aviation in general) check out Airwarriors.com. It's a site dedicated to Navy/Marine/USCG aviation with a LOT of good info and run by aviators. If you do go over there, take the time to read a lot and search for your questions before you post, though.
 
Class of 2011 assignments are as follows:

A. 225 Navy Pilot
B. 58 Navy Flight Officers
C.179 Surface Warfare
D. 29 Surface Nukes
E. 15 Surface/EDO
F. 5 Surface/IPO
G. 3 SWO/Oceanographers
H. 3 SWO/Info Warfare
I. 3 SWO/Intel Warfare
J. 133 Subs (including 12 females ... a first for firsties!)
K. 30 SEALs
L. 14 Explosive Ordnance Disposal
M. 260 USMC
N. 9 Med Corps (Medical School)
O. 1 Dental School
P. 3 Supply Corps
Q. 2 Intelligence
R. 2 Information Warfare
S. 3 Oceanography
T. 6 Civil Engineering Corps
U. 1 U.S. Army
V. 1 U.S. Coast Guard
W. 1 U.S. Air Force
 
WP- Great stats, thanks.....how many of the 260 new 2 Lt.s that went Marine Corps had an MC aviation contract ?
 
Not sure, I was wondering same thing. I'll see if I can resurrect that number. I THINK it was about 70, but do not hold me to that one. One must first and always be a Marine. Aviation is coincidental. lol Semper Fly!:confused::rolleyes::thumb::wink:
 
WP- Great stats, thanks.....how many of the 260 new 2 Lt.s that went Marine Corps had an MC aviation contract ?

According to my Leatherneck SPC, there were 75 Marine Air contracts (77 put Marine Air first).
This year (again, according to my Leatherneck SPC and Company Marine Mentor) there will likely be more than 75.
 
There you go! Thanks Hurricane!

btw, there were 7 others awarded degrees and no commissions of 1,006 total. 6 were international students (of 9 who started, I think) and 1 who became medically inelegible final year. Got a GREAT job, thanks to connections w/ USNA mates.
 
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