Military/ Civilian Time from PSA CRJ-700 Thread

Why would an IP assignment have a negative career impact?

First assignment IP, is not a Major Weapon System tour (frontline aircraft). When you do get to your MWS after that first tour, you’re behind your peers in qualification/experience in that system and have a steeper hill to climb, so to speak, to reach those quals that make you competitive to promote and/or screen for leadership opportunities. Hence why it’s more “career proper” to do an IP job post-first or second operational MWS tour. However, as needs of the service drive everything as well as timing, one may not always have the choice in that.
 
Sounds like not super different from the weapon school patch model all the other services have, no? Granted we also have just standalone "production" tours where you serve as an instructor in the training command or FRS and don't ever go to a weapon school. But for those of us who did, it is a career track of sorts. I have been an instructor in some role since my class at the 'GUN graduated 10 years ago, and even a couple years before that as a mostly informal squadron level instructor of FNGs.

So the danger there is these guys are NOT at all a Patch community.

That’s been one of my hills to die on within my community as they have attempted to represent themselves as such outside the community and sort of self declare SME status.

Most guys don’t try this but they are out there. We have a few guys who have WTI graduate credit on themselves but that’s like single digits across the wider Army Aviation community.

Instructors in the Army are a sustainment and production process of a human supply asset. What they are not is any more qualified to speak on tactics than any other member of the community and frankly some of them are worse due to the focus at the leading edge of training aviators where larger planning and mission level qualification is a product of the the rest of the PICs and seniors.

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We have a few guys who have WTI graduate credit on themselves but that’s like single digits across the wider Army Aviation community.
*shudders in Yuma*. Once as a FM. Once as an augment tanker. Once as a maint controller. Once as a student.
 
@MikeD @///AMG, thanks for the replies. That makes sense. I know my dad was an IP in the AF, but not until after 4 years of being a squadron guy first.

Yeah that is still the norm at least in the USN/USMC, and as I understand it, USAF. The military is decently good administratively when you are a round peg that fits in their round hole. As soon as you become a square peg, it becomes harder to turn you back into a round peg. Though there are tools that can do that whittling.
 
Yeah that is still the norm at least in the USN/USMC, and as I understand it, USAF. The military is decently good administratively when you are a round peg that fits in their round hole. As soon as you become a square peg, it becomes harder to turn you back into a round peg. Though there are tools that can do that whittling.
I'm not 100% certain but I think my uncle was an instructor in the Navy. His last assignment was as an F-14 pilot at Oceana NAS. That was back in the mid to late 80's. I never got to talk to him about because he was involved in a mid-air collision at night down around Puerto Rico. They never recovered his body and his RIO (if that's the correct term) died in the mishap.
 
I'm not 100% certain but I think my uncle was an instructor in the Navy. His last assignment was as an F-14 pilot at Oceana NAS. That was back in the mid to late 80's. I never got to talk to him about because he was involved in a mid-air collision at night down around Puerto Rico. They never recovered his body and his RIO (if that's the correct term) died in the mishap.

Geez, that is tragic, sorry to hear that
 
Interested in your (and other instructors) thoughts - have you noticed a degradation in the manual dexterity (for lack of a better word) or just basic mechanical skill with the people generationally? Just curious about that because the kiddos can't seem to find their ass from a hole in the ground today - wonder if people drawn to flying are maybe more better and such.

What I noticed as an instructor, generally, was a lack of *curiosity*. My best students were curious - would go beyond the assignment because they read something that intrigued them and they went down a rabbit hole of imperfect understanding and brought it to me on the next lesson.

Those are the ones I’d bust my ass for.

The ones who were (competently) box-checking and doing the minimum…I’d try to inspire. Not often successful in doing so.
 
Interested in your (and other instructors) thoughts - have you noticed a degradation in the manual dexterity (for lack of a better word) or just basic mechanical skill with the people generationally? Just curious about that because the kiddos can't seem to find their ass from a hole in the ground today - wonder if people drawn to flying are maybe more better and such.
Not aviation related but I taught a robotics and programming summer camp last year and I noticed a couple things.

The level of resilience was basically non-existent and I made a couple kids cry by just saying, "I don't know, you have a computer there, and google, why don't you try to figure it out first then come back and ask me if you can't figure it out?"

The second was that some of them required instruction in how to use things like a screw driver, some did not.
 
Aren’t there mil pilots who immediately become instructors after UPT? I’ve seen videos of drop nights where people get assigned to T-6’s

FAIPS!

I’m a civilian and I even know that, LOL.

“Derg is a civilian, you do not o7 him”
 
Interesting new twist I first heard today, coming from the young guys who have recently finished up a certain CTP program conducted by a certain Air Line. Rumor being that the hiring folks have suggested (perhaps strongly) that anyone with a fighter or MV-22/RW background go get some 121 time before applying. I'm not sure if that much is really true in that exact context, but I'd bet it is a sign of the competitiveness going up a notch. I remember the old guy reservists (who weren't that old at the time in hindsight) needing much higher hours in the lost decade or the years shortly after. So my read is that 1500 hrs and a mil fighter background is probably no longer as competitive as it was in the last few years. I'd say many of us had quite a bit more than that, and continue to, but I'm sure (if true) it will catch junior guys off guard who just left active duty with 1501 hrs thinking they would get hired right away. Probably similar effect with the regional 121 guys who thought the hiring environment of 2021-2023 would continue. To be clear, I don't think any of this is wrong, just the nature of a constantly changing business. But maybe it will validate some of you guys :)
 
I'm on a facebook page for non-aviation parents who's kids want to be airline pilots. It's heavily weighted towards going to an R-ATP college to get an aviation degree so you can get hired at a regional at 1000 hrs vs 1500 for the normal ATP. I'm hearing things have slowed down since 2023 and become more competitive. Every time a newb comes on the page I suggest a non-aviation degree or no college and just get your ratings and build time. There are many who think it will ebb back the other way with retirements and such. We'll see.
 
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