Flight School wait steady at 2 years

Since the Navy wings about 1k pilots a year, I don’t see the pool getting drained anytime soon. It is so deep and the program is so mismanaged, it will have ripple effects for career paths for years to come. What a disaster for all these motivated Ensigns waiting to start.
 
Steady at two years? Is there reliable data now stating the wait is two years between commissioning and NIFE, or is that just exaggeration for effect? It’s NOT what I was advised from an O4 from Pensacola three weeks ago. Weather and maintenance can delay flight training timelines. But, It’s not the timeframes the future ensigns are being told in at least some communications. Please be specific if what you reference is new, confirmed.

This summer, new ensigns May assist at NSI, May assist at Cortramid, they will receive orders on where to report and follow them. They’ll report to Pensacola in waves this summer and early Fall. They’ll be paid and have full benefits, and depending on orders. Some may also report to USNA or a NROTC unit. They are getting ready to move quickly if needed. As noted above some will complete a junior officer course after a grad certificate program. A select few will earn a masters degree as noted above before reporting to Pensacola. None will start their six (NFO) or eight (SNA) year commitments until after earning their wings. But they all knew about a significant delay before putting aviation roles on their service selection preference sheet. Aviation is not a five and dive path.

They’ll also enjoy adulthood, work on their golf handicaps, tans. Those who are pilots will continue to teach flight lessons and build hours in their spare time. Maybe master a new sport like curling or bocce.

Hope that helps clarify.
 
My son told me his aero friends that are going pilot are being sent to california for their master degrees for two years because of the backlog. 2o of them.

My son has to go to california for four months for an engineering school and will be near them.
 
Marine aviators-to-be have one thing to keep them busy between commissioning and flight school: TBS. Those who just finished TBS are about 11 months removed from USNA and now “real Marines,” with a couple I know of heading to Pensacola in August and September. So less sitting around and killing time for Marines, I suppose.
 
A1Janitor said:
My son told me his aero friends that are going pilot are being sent to california for their master degrees for two years because of the backlog. 2o of them.

My son has to go to california for four months for an engineering school and will be near them.
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Thanks for sharing this. My understanding is that the masters degree program is one year not two before they report to Pensacola. “there is a rare opportunity to attend the Naval Post Graduate School for several different graduate specialties. These new Ensigns will spend a year getting their Masters degrees and then head to their Aviation NIFE school” and that also is what was communicated to at least some units.” (Copy pasted part of that from a prior gwupns post).
 
Lol I have trouble remembering what is told to me. I am old.

As I recall - the masters is a year and a half - starts in June? And they are doing this because the wait for flight school is 2 years?
 
The wait is not steady at two years. All 2023 year group ensigns will begin NIFE within 12 months of commissioning, with the wait improving every week.
 
A1Janitor said:
Lol I have trouble remembering what is told to me. I am old.

As I recall - the masters is a year and a half - starts in June? And they are doing this because the wait for flight school is 2 years?
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Depends on the program, and the qualifications of the individual. Most programs that are offered to officers are between 18 and 27 months. Programs start year-round, but are generally either Jan/June or March/Sept.

The accelerated one-year program is for students with the right prior qualifications (BS into an MS in the same field of study). To make a two-year program into one year, a student must be able to validate the first half of a program matrix based on previous coursework or via exam. Those that cannot may still be offered NPS but will do a "normal" program.
 
nuensis said:
Depends on the program, and the qualifications of the individual. Most programs that are offered to officers are between 18 and 27 months. Programs start year-round, but are generally either Jan/June or March/Sept.

The accelerated one-year program is for students with the right prior qualifications (BS into an MS in the same field of study). To make a two-year program into one year, a student must be able to validate the first half of a program matrix based on previous coursework or via exam. Those that cannot may still be offered NPS but will do a "normal" program.
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My son did say they were aero engineer majors and will be getting the master’s degree in aero - so this makes a lot of sense.

My son is still trying to decide what he should get his master degree in. He isn’t sure aero helps him as a seabee. Maybe mechanical. I don’t think he has an interest in electrical.
 
I believe that the pipeline into NPS directly from the Yard is through the Shoemaker scholarship, which is analogous to the Bowman for subs. That is a one year accelerated MS, so I would guess it is the same for Shoemaker
 
MidCakePa said:
Marine aviators-to-be have one thing to keep them busy between commissioning and flight school: TBS. Those who just finished TBS are about 11 months removed from USNA and now “real Marines,” with a couple I know of heading to Pensacola in August and September. So less sitting around and killing time for Marines, I suppose.
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My nephew was 5 years from commissioning to finishing RAG including TBS. FA-18s. He would disagree.
 
UHBlackhawk said:
My nephew was 5 years from commissioning to finishing RAG including TBS. FA-18s. He would disagree.
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I have also heard that the wait is long, especially for USMC aviation. That's the problem - That 8 year commitment is now 13 years. My DS is going USMC aviation and this is a huge concern for him.
 
UHBlackhawk said:
My nephew was 5 years from commissioning to finishing RAG including TBS. FA-18s. He would disagree.
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EEBTTF said:
I have also heard that the wait is long, especially for USMC aviation. That's the problem - That 8 year commitment is now 13 years. My DS is going USMC aviation and this is a huge concern for him.
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I can’t speak to total time from commissioning to wings. My post simply addressed the OP’s question about what future SNAs are doing while waiting for flight school. For Marines, one thing is TBS. As for what happens after…🤷🤷🏿‍♂️🤷‍♀️
 
DS is applying for Shoemaker next year and it is a one-year master's program at NPG school in Monterey. If he is selected for aviation, that one year will be about right timing-wise to then head to FL. Of course, things can change and nothing is set in stone.
 
MidCakePa said:
I can’t speak to total time from commissioning to wings. My post simply addressed the OP’s question about what future SNAs are doing while waiting for flight school. For Marines, one thing is TBS. As for what happens after…🤷🤷🏿‍♂️🤷‍♀️
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Agreed - you can almost add a year on for TBS. Assume you have a few months off prior to TBS and a few months off after and you are already in at least 1 year before you even get to Pensacola - best case scenario.
 
Marine SNAs are facing somewhat of a wait to start NIFE after TBS down in Pensacola. After finishing BLADE which can take several months on its own, they're usually waiting between 4-6 months to class up for NIFE. Slightly less than Navy but still not great.

In other news, the wait between NIFE and primary is around 2 months now for SNAs at Milton and Corpus Christi! However, some are waiting over 6 months between primary and intermediate if they have selected jets...
 
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