Best route to become a naval aviator

candidate3256

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I know i’ve made clear in previous threads - but maybe someone has a cookie cut answer. Are my chances of becoming a naval aviator greastest at USNA, USMMA, or going NROTC at VT. If anyone has some insight on this, that’d be great. Thank you!
 
I’m not sure about NROTC, USMMA, or VT but I can speak for USNA.
The olds of becoming a Naval Aviator out of USNA are pretty high assuming you make decent grades and stay out of trouble. The biggest road block to Naval Aviation out of the academy seems to be medical issues.

In summary, if you take care of business in Annapolis you will be highly competitive to fly. About 250 get selected for Naval Aviation every year and another 80 or so go Marine Aviation.
 
Here is the cookie cutter answer: Graduate from any of those sources you listed and earn your commission as an officer. It is the commission that is important. No commission=No Naval Officer. A commission puts you in position to become a Naval Aviator or Surface Warfare Officer or Submarine Officer or any other officer designator. A whole lot of things can happen in your college years. Focus on the commission.
 
Commission is a prerequisite to becoming a naval aviator, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider which route offers the best chance of earning a pilot slot. It is certain that a much higher percentage of USNA grads become aviators than USMMA grads. USMMA’s primary goal is to produce merchant mariners but also offers the option of a military commission. However it is also possible to become an aviator through KP, it’s just not the norm. I do not know how competitive it is there, but at USNA most people who want to be aviators get

I have heard that NROTC grads are more likely to be assigned SWO than aviator but I’m not sure how true that is today. One advantage of USNA is the mentors from each service community and extracurricular activities dedicated to each one. Free ASTB classes are offered throughout the year, as an example.

You’re definitely in the right to be researching this question IMO. The people who don’t put any thought into the pros and cons of each comissioning source are typically the ones who end up unhappy where they go.
 
Firsts, you should also recognize that the primary objective should be serving as Naval Officer, not limited Naval Aviator. This entails a lot more than flying an aircraft, and many things can happen along the way --changed priorities, medical NPQ, needs of the Navy, etc,, that can affect your Service Selection. The great thing about the USNA (and NROTC) is the opportunities available if you can't serve a a Naval Aviator.

Second, any one of the options you list lead to the Commission and prepares you to serve as a Naval Officer. Beyond that, your service selection really depends upon performance --it you are a top perfomer, and physically qualified, your "chances" of gettng your choice of service selection is much greater than the lower performer. (Not just grades, but overall academic, professional and conduct performance). Service selection ( ...oops "Assignment") at USNA is kind of like a 3 1/2 year job interview now -- do well, and be that person the Aviation Community wants to be part of their team, and you will get aviation out of USNA.
 
It's great to want to be a USN (or USMC) pilot but you must be prepared for that not to happen. Most of the time, it's for medical reasons. During the pre-com physical, all sorts of things can be discovered -- including that certain measurements (i.e., those required to ensure you will do ok in an ejection seat) aren't within spec or some other condition that wasn't caught or wasn't an issue when you applied. Also, things happen while you're a mid. When I was at USNA, one of the 2/C in our company blew out his knee in the Notre Dame football game. His goal of becoming a pilot evaporated.

The above said, if you want to be a pilot, stand in the top half of your class, do okay on your 1/C aviation cruise, and aren't a major screw-up, you probably will get it. What isn't guaranteed is what platform you'll fly -- that comes once you get to flight school. So you might fly jets off carriers, you might fly P-8s, you might fly helos, etc.
 
The best route is the one where you will succeed at the most. As mentioned, landing in the top 50% of your class, pass your commissioning physical, pass the ASTB and you will be in good shape to get pilot from either route. In my personal opinion I think USNA does have some advantages... the amount of Naval Aviators on the yard to speak with, Aviation club opportunities, Power Flight summer training opportunities, ASTB training, etc. The other thing I see from USNA is if the Marines interest you in any way, that door is open. If you go NROTC, the chances of moving to the Marine side are much more difficult. I am not saying as an ROTC Mid you would not get opportunities, but it depends on the Det and also who is in charge. VT is a great school, how many officers are detailed there? How many pilots? ASTB studying from officers (not just your peers)? What about flying clubs and powered flight? There are dozens of aviators on the yard. Powered Flight is a few miles from USNA. Kings Point is a great school, but its focus is producing Merchant Marines. Most who request active duty Navy out of USMMA get it from my understanding. But remember it's always the needs of the Navy. Also, what if you don’t get pilot? Maybe you are medically disqualified. That could change at anytime. There is always the risk that for that year, there would be no openings.
 
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there is one way to get a guaranteed pilot spot, and that is to go OCS. you apply to a specific warfare community and you don't sign a contract and take the oath until you know what path you are chosen for.

there is still the very real risk of the NAMI whammy (med dq) once you get to flight school , but the aviation physical exams (anthro measurements, aviation vision, etc) are all initially done before you sign up.

the upside is that you know for sure where you will end up when you commission, the downside is that you don't get a free college education
 
Much good advice above. Here is what I would add and why. Go the ROUTE you really desire and make sure you’re ok with being a line Navy officer as others have said.
Here’s why. The “truth” changes.
OCS. Usually a guarantee but... after Desert Storm the Navy was over strength pilots. Some OCS pilots were shown the door right after graduation. I can’t remember if this was just voluntary or if some were involuntarily released or sent out as SWO’s. But it happens.
USNA. In the past there have been occasions where midshipmen did TOO well academically and were drafted into Nukes. My brother graduated in this time frame and had to walk a line between doing well enough to get flight school but not well enough to get Rickover’s attention. Doesn’t happen now, but it doesn’t mean it can’t.
NROTC. As pointed out above there are many more variables when dealing with ROTC. Most years it can be very competitive. I was Army ROTC not Navy but my year I got lucky. Not enough ROTC cadets applied for or were qualified for flight school and they needed a bunch of us to plug the Fulda Gap. So they scraped the bottom of the barrel and got me. If I’d gone to West Point I wouldn’t have gotten flight school with my GPA.
It’s great to have being a pilot your goal. But the journey is as important as the destination. There is no “right” way but there’s a right way for you.
Good luck.
 
the downside is that you don't get a free college education
And that there is no guarantee that there will be OCS Aviation slots when you've finally got your degree and are applying. Generally, when OCS slots get limited, they start increasing the GPA requirements as a way of increasing selectivity and that has happened to OCS SWOs in the past few years. Whereas it was often, have a degree ad reasonable fitness and you were in, it became much more competitive so that a successful candidate really needed a STEM degree with a 3.4 to get a SWO slot.
 
And that there is no guarantee that there will be OCS Aviation slots when you've finally got your degree and are applying. Generally, when OCS slots get limited, they start increasing the GPA requirements as a way of increasing selectivity and that has happened to OCS SWOs in the past few years. Whereas it was often, have a degree ad reasonable fitness and you were in, it became much more competitive so that a successful candidate really needed a STEM degree with a 3.4 to get a SWO slot.
Good point.
The services generally use OCS as a means to immediately throttle the need for JOs back and forth. With SAs the military pretty much locks in the numbers 4+ years out. Same with ROTC, though there is more flexibility with bringing JOs on active duty or leaving them in the reserves. My wife’s year she thought she was going into the reserves from ROTC and going to graduate school. SURPRISE! She was forced active duty and had Korea as her first assignment. A few years later it was the opposite and was tough to get active duty much less the branch you wanted.
OCS is relatively quick, however. If the service sees they will be fat such as during a drawdown they can increase the requirements for OCS and immediately throttle back the number of O-1s coming into the service. Something like WWII happens and the requirements really decrease.
 
My DS, USMMA 2013, is a Navy pilot, so I can speak from his experience. You can apply for a flight spot for any of the five services out of USMMA. He applied for USN and USMC, and got pilot offers for both. He spent his sea year internship at NAS Key West and had a blast. He has friends who got flight spots in CG, AF, and Army also. All the initial physical screening is done before you commit, so if you fail there, you can reassess your choices. Of course you can still get bumped out medically during your full flight physical, but you can at least make it through the initial DQ phase before committing. DS had a classmate who wanted a pilot slot, but was only offered NFO. He elected to sail on his license rather than go AD. Nearly everyone who wants an aviation slot out of USMMA gets it, but not always your first choice branch and not always pilot vs. NFO.
Be advised though that before you select USMMA in your quest to be a pilot, you should have an interest in learning about things maritime. It is primarily a maritime school. If you do not have that interest in addition to your ambition of being a pilot, do not take the USMMA route. The curriculum is tough, the fields of study are very limited, and you will likely fail. For those who do have that dual interest, it is a great option. My DS had no regrets. Good luck!
 
My DS, USMMA 2013, is a Navy pilot, so I can speak from his experience. You can apply for a flight spot for any of the five services out of USMMA. He applied for USN and USMC, and got pilot offers for both. He spent his sea year internship at NAS Key West and had a blast. He has friends who got flight spots in CG, AF, and Army also. All the initial physical screening is done before you commit, so if you fail there, you can reassess your choices. Of course you can still get bumped out medically during your full flight physical, but you can at least make it through the initial DQ phase before committing. DS had a classmate who wanted a pilot slot, but was only offered NFO. He elected to sail on his license rather than go AD. Nearly everyone who wants an aviation slot out of USMMA gets it, but not always your first choice branch and not always pilot vs. NFO.
Be advised though that before you select USMMA in your quest to be a pilot, you should have an interest in learning about things maritime. It is primarily a maritime school. If you do not have that interest in addition to your ambition of being a pilot, do not take the USMMA route. The curriculum is tough, the fields of study are very limited, and you will likely fail. For those who do have that dual interest, it is a great option. My DS had no regrets. Good luck!
One of my flight students in the early 1990's was a USMMA grad who went NOAA and got a flight slot. Talk about a rare bird.
 
I am not an academy graduate nor a retired vet. 2 years AD as a pediatrician.. DD USMMA 2017. So I am not an expert on becoming a naval aviator or even becoming a RS- real soldier. I am, however, an expert on reading people. My experiences, observations, and sense of the matter (mostly gleaned from this site) lead me to tell the candidate that there is no sure nor easy path to his goal. Even if his father is an admiral. Along each rocky road one will have to convince some very demanding people that he meets the physical, mental, and emotional requirements first to be trained and then to be trusted with a very expensive machine, operating in an extremely hostile environment in the "easiest" of times. Can his wing and those on deck trust him. Pick your path and follow your dream. No easy answer.
 
Commission is a prerequisite to becoming a naval aviator, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider which route offers the best chance of earning a pilot slot. It is certain that a much higher percentage of USNA grads become aviators than USMMA grads. USMMA’s primary goal is to produce merchant mariners but also offers the option of a military commission. However it is also possible to become an aviator through KP, it’s just not the norm. I do not know how competitive it is there, but at USNA most people who want to be aviators get

I have heard that NROTC grads are more likely to be assigned SWO than aviator but I’m not sure how true that is today. One advantage of USNA is the mentors from each service community and extracurricular activities dedicated to each one. Free ASTB classes are offered throughout the year, as an example.

You’re definitely in the right to be researching this question IMO. The people who don’t put any thought into the pros and cons of each comissioning source are typically the ones who end up unhappy where they go.
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Commission is a prerequisite to becoming a naval aviator, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider which route offers the best chance of earning a pilot slot. It is certain that a much higher percentage of USNA grads become aviators than USMMA grads. USMMA’s primary goal is to produce merchant mariners but also offers the option of a military commission. However it is also possible to become an aviator through KP, it’s just not the norm. I do not know how competitive it is there, but at USNA most people who want to be aviators get

I have heard that NROTC grads are more likely to be assigned SWO than aviator but I’m not sure how true that is today. One advantage of USNA is the mentors from each service community and extracurricular activities dedicated to each one. Free ASTB classes are offered throughout the year, as an example.

You’re definitely in the right to be researching this question IMO. The people who don’t put any thought into the pros and cons of each comissioning source are typically the ones who end up unhappy where they go.
really appreciate the reply. I heard that the maritime schools like KP get whatever’s left over from USNA, ROTC, and OCS, so would NROTC be my best route over KP? In short - go to NROTC instead of KP for a better chance to become a pilot. I know a lot of this is relative, and nothings a guarantee.
 
Firsts, you should also recognize that the primary objective should be serving as Naval Officer, not limited Naval Aviator. This entails a lot more than flying an aircraft, and many things can happen along the way --changed priorities, medical NPQ, needs of the Navy, etc,, that can affect your Service Selection. The great thing about the USNA (and NROTC) is the opportunities available if you can't serve a a Naval Aviator.

Second, any one of the options you list lead to the Commission and prepares you to serve as a Naval Officer. Beyond that, your service selection really depends upon performance --it you are a top perfomer, and physically qualified, your "chances" of gettng your choice of service selection is much greater than the lower performer. (Not just grades, but overall academic, professional and conduct performance). Service selection ( ...oops "Assignment") at USNA is kind of like a 3 1/2 year job interview now -- do well, and be that person the Aviation Community wants to be part of their team, and you will get aviation out of USNA.
Essentially, if I work my tail off either way, I should have a good shot at achieving this and will have to accept the fact that if it doesn’t work, that’s life and i’ll still commission as an officer.
 
The best route is the one where you will succeed at the most. As mentioned, landing in the top 50% of your class, pass your commissioning physical, pass the ASTB and you will be in good shape to get pilot from either route. In my personal opinion I think USNA does have some advantages... the amount of Naval Aviators on the yard to speak with, Aviation club opportunities, Power Flight summer training opportunities, ASTB training, etc. The other thing I see from USNA is if the Marines interest you in any way, that door is open. If you go NROTC, the chances of moving to the Marine side are much more difficult. I am not saying as an ROTC Mid you would not get opportunities, but it depends on the Det and also who is in charge. VT is a great school, how many officers are detailed there? How many pilots? ASTB studying from officers (not just your peers)? What about flying clubs and powered flight? There are dozens of aviators on the yard. Powered Flight is a few miles from USNA. Kings Point is a great school, but its focus is producing Merchant Marines. Most who request active duty Navy out of USMMA get it from my understanding. But remember it's always the needs of the Navy. Also, what if you don’t get pilot? Maybe you are medically disqualified. That could change at anytime. There is always the risk that for that year, there would be no openings.
Very true. There will always be that “what if” that I have to prepare for. If I want to go to USNA, my best bet is from VT. Do I take the VT route, try again, and still commission if I don’t get in? Or try from KP? I don’t expect you to know that answer, just something that’s been the burning question. What path to pursue.
 
Much good advice above. Here is what I would add and why. Go the ROUTE you really desire and make sure you’re ok with being a line Navy officer as others have said.
Here’s why. The “truth” changes.
OCS. Usually a guarantee but... after Desert Storm the Navy was over strength pilots. Some OCS pilots were shown the door right after graduation. I can’t remember if this was just voluntary or if some were involuntarily released or sent out as SWO’s. But it happens.
USNA. In the past there have been occasions where midshipmen did TOO well academically and were drafted into Nukes. My brother graduated in this time frame and had to walk a line between doing well enough to get flight school but not well enough to get Rickover’s attention. Doesn’t happen now, but it doesn’t mean it can’t.
NROTC. As pointed out above there are many more variables when dealing with ROTC. Most years it can be very competitive. I was Army ROTC not Navy but my year I got lucky. Not enough ROTC cadets applied for or were qualified for flight school and they needed a bunch of us to plug the Fulda Gap. So they scraped the bottom of the barrel and got me. If I’d gone to West Point I wouldn’t have gotten flight school with my GPA.
It’s great to have being a pilot your goal. But the journey is as important as the destination. There is no “right” way but there’s a right way for you.
Good luck.
All good things to consider. There’s no one path to get to where I want to go, and I can’t predict the future. As of now, i’m thinking i’ll go NROTC at VT, try to get into USNA, and if I don’t get in i’ll give it my best shot to get a pilot slot out of college. I can’t look back and think I would’ve had a better shot from KP, because the same could happen the other way.
 
My DS, USMMA 2013, is a Navy pilot, so I can speak from his experience. You can apply for a flight spot for any of the five services out of USMMA. He applied for USN and USMC, and got pilot offers for both. He spent his sea year internship at NAS Key West and had a blast. He has friends who got flight spots in CG, AF, and Army also. All the initial physical screening is done before you commit, so if you fail there, you can reassess your choices. Of course you can still get bumped out medically during your full flight physical, but you can at least make it through the initial DQ phase before committing. DS had a classmate who wanted a pilot slot, but was only offered NFO. He elected to sail on his license rather than go AD. Nearly everyone who wants an aviation slot out of USMMA gets it, but not always your first choice branch and not always pilot vs. NFO.
Be advised though that before you select USMMA in your quest to be a pilot, you should have an interest in learning about things maritime. It is primarily a maritime school. If you do not have that interest in addition to your ambition of being a pilot, do not take the USMMA route. The curriculum is tough, the fields of study are very limited, and you will likely fail. For those who do have that dual interest, it is a great option. My DS had no regrets. Good luck!
I’ve only heard good things about KP and the options coming out. Everyone who’s gone never regretted that decision. Like you said, what holds me back is if whether or not I want to study the maritime curriculum for four years.
 
Take a look at the USMMA website under the Academics tab. You can pick one of the five majors and see the curriculum you would have at Kings Point. Not for everyone, but the curriculum is very hands on if you are interested. Good luck with your future plans.
 
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