Deployment Question

robofos said:
Ian J, thanks. I maybe should have just asked where everyone is at, what they are doing, and what they think of the whole thing. I am thinking about making the biggest decision in my life right now, and Im trying to get as much information as possible. I have seen other posts on here with guys eager to give information or talk to prospective military aviatiors. I am very interested in listening to active duty guys, vets, or guys still in training cause the only thing I know of the military is what i see on TV. I have a very high level of respect for you guys and I would take very seriously anything you have to say.
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As others have said, only you can decide how you will handle the stresses of training, deployment, and finding bullet holes in your aircraft after a mission. Luckily, if you perform well during training, you get to pick the route (heavies, fighters, helo's) that you think you'll handle the best. Every aircraft has its own unique experience attached to it. Ian would be a great resource for the AF UPT heavy track (T-1's), IanJ can tell you more about Army aviation than any recruiter can/will, and MikeD and AMG can give you the straight talk on AF and Navy fighter training/ops.

Point being, seek out the people here on JC and in your local area that have real world experience with what you want to do. I wanted to be a fighter pilot since I was a kid, but after working with and asking questions of a multitude of pilots from every background in the AF and a few incentive rides that literally changed my life, I'm in UPT to fly CSAR helo's with the Reserves. It's just what I want to do. If you ask the right questions of yourself and then your sources, you should be able to figure out which route, if any, serves you best.

Just remember, you may not get your first choice so get a good grasp on what you think you'd like to do and then prepare yourself for what you might have to do instead. With the right attitude, flying anything in the military can be the most incredible experience in the aviation world. With the wrong one, i.e. "I didn't want to fly C-17's" and pouting about it can make your 10 years of service after wings the most miserable years of your life. Do the research, it pays off big time in the end.
 
Another thing that makes me somewhat reluctant is the long commitment (8-10 years). As far as I know, I have no options of leaving early if I don't like it, or want to pursue something else. On the other hand, I'm trying to think of it as job security for 10 years, which is unheard of right now in aviation. I would also imagine making some good money at the end of that 10 year commitment. A guy at 35 making money in aviation is also hard to come by right?

I will continue researching and talking to people about flying in any branch of the military. I don't want to rush making this decision. It took me a while to decide which college I wanted to go to, and what I am facing now is more serious than that!

Back to deployment.. It seems to me that guys flying (esp. guys flying heavies) are relatively safe when it comes to being deployed in a combat zone. The guys on the ground are more likely to get killed or wounded cause they are closer to all the action, am I right? I have a friend in the ARNG who told me basically everyone in the military is either in infantry or supporting infantry. Those are the guys who get stuff done. I say especially heavies cause I would imagine it would take a lot to take one of those things down. Does explaining this help when trying to convince your family not to worry?
 
robofos said:
Another thing that makes me somewhat reluctant is the long commitment (8-10 years). As far as I know, I have no options of leaving early if I don't like it, or want to pursue something else. On the other hand, I'm trying to think of it as job security for 10 years, which is unheard of right now in aviation. I would also imagine making some good money at the end of that 10 year commitment. A guy at 35 making money in aviation is also hard to come by right?
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That's the military, it may very well suck at times. No, let me rephrase that, it will very suck at times. If you don't like aviation while in flight school, you can DOR. If you pin on O-4 at the end of ten years, as an aviator, you will make $100K or so, especially with the bonus. Not great money but decent though it takes 10 years to get there.

robofos said:
I will continue researching and talking to people about flying in any branch of the military. I don't want to rush making this decision. It took me a while to decide which college I wanted to go to, and what I am facing now is more serious than that!
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Fair enough.

robofos said:
Back to deployment.. It seems to me that guys flying (esp. guys flying heavies) are relatively safe when it comes to being deployed in a combat zone. The guys on the ground are more likely to get killed or wounded cause they are closer to all the action, am I right? I have a friend in the ARNG who told me basically everyone in the military is either in infantry or supporting infantry. Those are the guys who get stuff done. I say especially heavies cause I would imagine it would take a lot to take one of those things down. Does explaining this help when trying to convince your family not to worry?
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What is the question here, you don't want to die in combat? You want something relatively safe for the family? I've known 6 aviators in the last two years die in military aviation (only 2 did I know well). There is always a risk. The fact is, there is some danger in flying, especially in the military, be it training or in the real world. To each their own in determining the reason as to why they want to fly a specific airframe but your worry seems a little weak. That's just my opinion though, take it for what it's worth. If it's a soldier you don't want to be, fine. That's why I'm an aviator, didn't want to be a soldier or drive a ship or a tank.
 
bunk22 said:
What is the question here, you don't want to die in combat? You want something relatively safe for the family? I've known 6 aviators in the last two years die in military aviation (only 2 did I know well). There is always a risk. The fact is, there is some danger in flying, especially in the military, be it training or in the real world. To each their own in determining the reason as to why they want to fly a specific airframe but your worry seems a little weak. That's just my opinion though, take it for what it's worth. If it's a soldier you don't want to be, fine. That's why I'm an aviator, didn't want to be a soldier or drive a ship or a tank.
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And to tag onto this, in Naval Aviation as a whole, we have lost aircraft and aircrew in peacetime operations this year in several communities which probably aren't considered high risk by a lot of the general public (E-2C, T-34C x 2). No platform or aircraft can guarantee your safety...everyone has bad days, and airplanes do break catastrophically as well.

@ the OP, for me, every time I arm that ejection seat prior to takeoff, I know there is a possibility that I may have to use it......I have been dodging birds in a single engine jet that can't ingest a 7 oz tweetie bird without eating itself alive for over a year now. Is it blind luck that I haven't hit one yet? Probably. Do I let it keep me from going out there and doing the job at hand? No. We have lots of ways of mitigating danger, even in very dynamic settings (ACM for example), but the risk is still there. If you don't think that you can accept this risk, then military aviation (and I'd say perhaps even civilian aviation) is probably not for you. Otherwise, recognize the risks and learn to deal with them in constructive ways.
 
bunk22 said:
If you pin on O-4 at the end of ten years, as an aviator, you will make $100K or so, especially with the bonus. Not great money but decent though it takes 10 years to get there.
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I don't know your persona, but I hope that was sarcasm.
 
///AMG said:
I have been dodging birds in a single engine jet that can't ingest a 7 oz tweetie bird without eating itself alive for over a year now. Is it blind luck that I haven't hit one yet?
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Just remember the student sits up front so that they can take the bird in the face and keep the IP safe. Got that friendly reminder from that IP I flew with on one of my form flights when we flew through a huge flock of birds and he was hiding below the console with my big head shielding him.
 
rpfeif said:
Just remember the student sits up front so that they can take the bird in the face and keep the IP safe. Got that friendly reminder from that IP I flew with on one of my form flights when we flew through a huge flock of birds and he was hiding below the console with my big head shielding him.
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Just saw the pics of that one the other day....scary stuff! Are you already in forms.......in KROCK????!!!!! I could have sworn it was just a couple months ago that you were talking about selection.......how time flies. Congrats if so man, you are moving much faster than the krock guys in my timeframe did!
 
bunk22 said:
How so? Not bragging as military pay can be found on the internet. That's what an O-4 with the bonus makes, BAH depending.
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Not great money though? What are you comparing O-4 pay to? Hell I am an E-5, with all the added benefits (medical, dental, tax free shopping, etc)I consider myself well off. Saying $100,000/year is "not great money" is laughable.
 
Mikey_G said:
Not great money though? What are you comparing O-4 pay to? Hell I am an E-5, with all the added benefits (medical, dental, tax free shopping, etc)I consider myself well off. Saying $100,000/year is "not great money" is laughable.
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It's just perspective, that's all. Your perspective of what constitutes good money changes as your career progresses.
 
Ian J said:
It's just perspective, that's all. Your perspective of what constitutes good money changes as your career progresses.
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Especially if you make O-4. :laff:

I didn't join the military to make money and get rich anyway. Regardless where you are in your career, saying that $100K/year isn't that much money especially with the amount of benefits and job security we have is a slap in the face to those struggling to even find a job.
 
Mikey_G said:
Especially if you make O-4. :laff:

I didn't join the military to make money and get rich anyway. Regardless where you are in your career, saying that $100K/year isn't that much money especially with the amount of benefits and job security we have is a slap in the face to those struggling to even find a job.
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Ah - I wrote out a lengthy explanation and deleted it. I was an E-5 once too and know where you're coming from. It's all good.
 
Ian J said:
Ah - I wrote out a lengthy explanation and deleted it. I was an E-5 once too and know where you're coming from. It's all good.
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I knew what you were getting at as well, I am just hard headed. :)





(Not to be confused with thick headed)
 
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