Question about Aviation Rate (Aircrew)

[lisa813]

Hello everyone , my name is Michal and i have a quick question regarding aviation.  Ok so i'm leaving at the end of this month (June) but im still a little confused on what i want to do.  My contract says that i will be an Aviation Electronics Technician and i signed of for four years.  I was told that i could volunteer for aircrew but after doing a little research im not so sure that i can because i keep seeing that minimum is six years enlistment for it.  But even if its possible to volunteer i'm still not positive that i want to volunteer.  I'm kind of stuck in the middle because i think it would be awesome to be up in the air , but at the same time i don't want my job to take up all my time in the navy because i'm not sure how long i want to be in for, and i saw on here that the schooling for Aircrew is ridiculously long.

 

I want to enroll in a college and im scared that the schooling will take away from my time to do classes (on top of the job itself).  Plus i want to be able to explore some of the ports that i visit (By the way does anyone know an average amount of ports i would visit on a single tour).  Basically i'm really looking forward to getting out of Florida and having alot of fun while at the same time be in a position to take advantage of the benefits that they're offering.  Well any comments (even random ones) would be appreciated.  Thaankss

[ChrisAmo]

Because Aircrew takes a lot of training they want you for 4 years. The other 2 are Reserves. At leat that's what my son's contract states. 4 years active duty, 2 years reserves. I'm not sure what you mean by not wanting the job to take up all your time in the Navy.....you do your job, as long as it takes, and if/when you have time off, you have time off. This isn't high school where you go to class for a few hours and then spend the reat of the time having fun. Sounds to me as though you're clueless about the way the military works.

[BunkerQB]

LOL (Lord Oh Lord).

[Anti M]

Murrbat, good on the preparation, very impressive. You've just talked to a potential shipmate. The Nay gets all kinds, and amazingly, lots of them come through when the pressure is on.

You know, there are days when A school is like summer camp or high school. So many young people, all learning and living together, supervised, but only to a certain extent, and with paychecks. That's where a prepared and motivated sailor will feel most frustrated, when his shipmates are being idiots. You'll see. Some sailors take longer to get it than others.

[Anti M]

Oh dear. Michel, you don't know how the military works day to day, do you? You're going active duty, not reserves? I was in the Navy, let me explain how it works.

First, your "job" isn't nine to five. The Navy is your job, full time. You'll get liberty, which is normal time off, like weekends, but you might also have duty. Or the ship's schedule may require you to work. Training is not only to teach you your "job", but to teach you to be a sailor, to live and work safely on a ship, to follow orders no matter where that takes you. You realize America is at war? And even sailors go into harm's way? Start thinking about what you're preparing for realistically, not how much "fun" you can have.

The Navy does provide tuition assistance for school. I used it, for night classes in Japan. Most of the time I had to drop my classes because I missed so many, I had to work unexpectedly. It was called duty technician. I was an ET, similar to AT. When the systems went down, I worked. I also worked day shifts and duty days, which involved staying over night in the duty bunkroom. My husband was on a ship, and he worked far more hours than I did! I did finish my degree, after I finished my obligation and was discharged.

How many ports? That all depends on the operational schedule. Also, "exploring", sure, depends on how long the ship is there, how much liberty you get, if you have duty, and if no one else screws up and gets liberty secured (cancelled) for the entire crew. You will earn leave days, 30 a year, but the ship's schedule will dictate when you can take them.

Your recruiter either didn't paint the real picture, or you weren't listening. Your life is the Navy's now. You are serving your country, doing your duty. That comes first and foremost, before school, before fun, before benefits. Start wrapping your mind around the words of your oath. Those words have meaning and import. Listen well. I'd say rescue swimmer is a bigger commitment, lots of time and physical training. You'd be saving lives, real lives, not playing around in the air. Personally, at this point, I wouldn't want a kid who was looking for fun to be the one I was depending on. I'd much rather gamble on murrbat!

I hope you do become a good sailor and learn to enjoy your time in the Navy. Just don't be too surprised when it isn't what you picture! Because that's not the way it works at all.

Have fun, because you can, it isn't all work. Just that the work first pays for the fun later.

[lisa813]

Ok first of all i'm sorry if that's the way my post came of as, i know (sort of) what i've gotten myself into and i'm immensely proud of making this decision. I have prepared myself physically i just took the PFA (Personal Fitness Exam) with my recruiter and i did the 1.5 mile run in 9.49 , i did 47 pushups , and i did 62 sit ups , so i am in pretty decent shape, and i scored an 80 on the ASVAB. I said i didn't want my job to take off all my time simply because it seems more likely that you have far more responsibilities; probably have to take tests to ensure that you can fly, and stuff like that. Probably fun wasn't the exact word i should have used, but it's more about just having personal time just to do stuff that i want to do. I guess i should have just asked what are the pro's and con's of joining Aircrew (And i didn't mean aircrew wet, i meant dry). But again i apologize if i came off as a whiny little brat because that was not my intention, but thanks for the replies though.

[Anti M]

Hey, it is the internet, I wasn't trying to read a lot into it... but yeah, it did come off as naive.

My dad was in aviation, he was with squadrons and went out on carriers a lot. He did so well with the Navy I joined also. It has been a wonderful experience. Maybe not exactly the way you picture it, but very worthwhile and fulfilling.

Time off in the Navy, that varies so much it is hard to explain. You'll have days or even weeks where you're doing so little you volunteer for extra work, and other times you'll be logging in 12 hour++ days! The leave is nice, although scheduling takes some thought.

[lisa813]

Well thank you for the thoughtful reply. But honestly i really don't know what i've signed on for since neither me or any of my family has served in the military, or even graduated from high school for that matter. So i don't have a true first hand account of what to expect. That's why i came on here to try and get a few answers, because all i have to go off of is from what my recruiter has told me. But again i apologize i am in no way joining the Navy solely for the benefits, i honestly think it's one of the smartest decisions i've made and im thrilled to be able to serve my country.

[Anti M]

Cool.

Boot camp is weird, so bring your sense of humor. Learn to shut up and and do what you're told, listen and learn, pay attention to detail. Heck, I made it through, and I'm not very physical.