Kingsville or Meridian?

BAMCIS

BAMCIS

Well-Known Member
I select next Thursday out of Corpus, and while it may be a bit presumptious, should I be leaning more towards Kingsville or Meridian? I have heard an old axiom about Wingsville and Attritian, but heard that's not the case anymore. I've also heard that Meridian has better sims in greater availability. Meridian seems like a small town far from anywhere, while at least Kingsville is reasonably close to Corpus. Any gouge anyone has on either place would be most greatly appreciated.

Again, maybe it's presumptious, but it occurs to me that should I get C-130's, helos, or tiltrotor, then my location will already be determined.
 
No need to worry, that choice is made for you thanks to big Navy / Marine Corps. Either way would work out great for you, or whatever is open during this selection period.
 
T6Marine said:
No need to worry, that choice is made for you thanks to big Navy / Marine Corps. Either way would work out great for you, or whatever is open during this selection period.
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Yeah, I agree with this. You will have little to no say in where you go, beyond maybe jets in general. For the sake of discussion though, there are goods and bads about both. I've never personally been to Kingsville, but I do know a lot of guys who went through there. Experience sounds somewhat similar. You can do practice sims in Meridian, while I don't think they allow that in Krock. On the other hand, some of the Meridian sim instructors are really intense, while I heard Krock's were more laid back and younger. I think that may be changing, and it honestly isn't a big deal once you get used to being yelled at constantly. Whenever we ran into Krock guys on det, it always seemed to me that they were maybe a little bit tighter knit, both between the students as well as the students and instructors. There is an oclub in Krock, while there are nothing but crap bars in Merids. Both are about an hour from anything worth doing, and I'd say the big places to go in Meridian were NOLA and Pcola.....which are cooler than Corpus, but not as cool as Austin/SA. In the end it is really a toss up....you will like some things about each, and hate some things about each. The whole "attritian vs wingsville" thing is a load of crap, and I think most people will admit that this is relatively dated "gouge". Both places are supposedly on MPTS grading now, which seems like it will make for a pretty weird and confusing time, but you shall see I guess.
 
///AMG said:
Yeah, I agree with this. You will have little to no say in where you go, beyond maybe jets in general. For the sake of discussion though, there are goods and bads about both. I've never personally been to Kingsville, but I do know a lot of guys who went through there. Experience sounds somewhat similar. You can do practice sims in Meridian, while I don't think they allow that in Krock. On the other hand, some of the Meridian sim instructors are really intense, while I heard Krock's were more laid back and younger. I think that may be changing, and it honestly isn't a big deal once you get used to being yelled at constantly. Whenever we ran into Krock guys on det, it always seemed to me that they were maybe a little bit tighter knit, both between the students as well as the students and instructors. There is an oclub in Krock, while there are nothing but crap bars in Merids. Both are about an hour from anything worth doing, and I'd say the big places to go in Meridian were NOLA and Pcola.....which are cooler than Corpus, but not as cool as Austin/SA. In the end it is really a toss up....you will like some things about each, and hate some things about each. The whole "attritian vs wingsville" thing is a load of crap, and I think most people will admit that this is relatively dated "gouge". Both places are supposedly on MPTS grading now, which seems like it will make for a pretty weird and confusing time, but you shall see I guess.
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You young whippersnappers......

You're lucky you didn't have NAS Beeville/Chase Field as an option for Intermediate/Advanced Jets. You really want to talk middle of nowhere? Town of about 15,000 or less and around 6 square miles in area. Made Kingsville look like a Metropolis. About the same distance from Corpus that Kingsville is.

You youngins have it easy.........
 
My bet is you go to Kingsville. Both places suck I'm sure but I have not been to Meridian to make that call but being an IP in Kingsville means I know how bad K-ville sucks! The flying doesn't! All studs now checking into K-ville are on the MPTS grading system.
 
bunk22 said:
My bet is you go to Kingsville. Both places suck I'm sure but I have not been to Meridian to make that call but being an IP in Kingsville means I know how bad K-ville sucks! The flying doesn't! All studs now checking into K-ville are on the MPTS grading system.
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Out of pure curiousity, how is MPTS working out from an IP perspective?
 
They are not out of BI sims yet. I hear there has been some issue at the sims but I don't know why. I was an IP in primary and it's a simple system to use, I prefer it over the old system. I think for phase 1, it should work well. I will say though, I don't know how accurately it reflects a studs performance as we are seeing students with performance issues.
 
bunk22 said:
They are not out of BI sims yet. I hear there has been some issue at the sims but I don't know why. I was an IP in primary and it's a simple system to use, I prefer it over the old system. I think for phase 1, it should work well. I will say though, I don't know how accurately it reflects a studs performance as we are seeing students with performance issues.
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My personal opinion is that it will help out the average type folks, but will also make dealing with really low performers challenging. I'm no IP, so that is just from a former stud's perspective, but that seemed to be the difference between the 2 systems in my experience.
 
///AMG said:
My personal opinion is that it will help out the average type folks, but will also make dealing with really low performers challenging. I'm no IP, so that is just from a former stud's perspective, but that seemed to be the difference between the 2 systems in my experience.
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I've always like the grading system but I assume that the Navy could have taken the old system and assigned or defined what Average or AA was. I think more than anything, the MPTS system is more designed for cost effective management of students. When you get a stud with a 70+ NSS who is now in the 25-30 NSS range with many more other 50-60 types in the 20 NSS range, makes you think. Then again, could be the same with the old system as well.

I'm also finding that there is no difference between the new T-6B studs and T-34C types except in instruments. No difference from what I've seen in other areas.
 
bunk22 said:
I've always like the grading system but I assume that the Navy could have taken the old system and assigned or defined what Average or AA was. I think more than anything, the MPTS system is more designed for cost effective management of students. When you get a stud with a 70+ NSS who is now in the 25-30 NSS range with many more other 50-60 types in the 20 NSS range, makes you think. Then again, could be the same with the old system as well.

I'm also finding that there is no difference between the new T-6B studs and T-34C types except in instruments. No difference from what I've seen in other areas.
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Yeah, that was my only rub with the above/below/avg system.......not only was average not defined, but AA was avg, and IP's had differing opinions about this re: grading. I think the RAG does it much better......average really is the true average, and those above and below flights really are warranted. That being said, as you know as a former RAG IP and current tracom IP, I'm sure the competition for platform thing plays into the difference in grading style @ the VT's. Other than that, I think the old system probably did a better job of weeding out the non-performers early on. I know at least a couple winged folks who truly should never have gotten past primary, but they were passed through the cracks of the MPTS system in other communities....
 
///AMG said:
Yeah, that was my only rub with the above/below/avg system.......not only was average not defined, but AA was avg, and IP's had differing opinions about this re: grading. I think the RAG does it much better......average really is the true average, and those above and below flights really are warranted. That being said, as you know as a former RAG IP and current tracom IP, I'm sure the competition for platform thing plays into the difference in grading style @ the VT's. Other than that, I think the old system probably did a better job of weeding out the non-performers early on. I know at least a couple winged folks who truly should never have gotten past primary, but they were passed through the cracks of the MPTS system in other communities....
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That was a big complaint not so long ago from some of the helo FRS's...the quality of students was below par. MPTS allowed for those types to get through the program. We will see how it affects the tailhook community though Meridian has been using MPTS for some time now.

There is certainly subjectivity with this grading system. Not so long ago, I gave a kid 2 aboves on a Form-6 and had the gradesheet sitting on the table. Another IP saw it and said he never gives two aboves for anything. I though to each their own but I don't limit the number of aboves I give. I am more leniant in the early stages of any phase. This kid go two aboves as he was able to stay in an appropriate parade position throughout 90% of the flight without IP input as well as do 6 B&R's without any input. That is rare from what I've seen as 60% of what I fly are forms. Now as they progress, a student should be able to stay in parade or perform a B&R without IP input and thus it's more difficult to get those aboves. Go on a Form 15 or 16 and stud can stay in position over the top...that's an above in my book but it may not be in someone elses. So having a criteria that states what an above or MIF is will be good I believe.
 
As for location, I spent about 2 months in the Meridian area recently.... loved it! I had a blast.
I hear folks go through there that say "this place sucks",... but there are always folks that would rather stay in their room, watching "Leave it to Beaver" reruns rather than going and making a good time happen.
Modern Outfitters on Hwy 39 has a great store, and a fine selection of guns.
Meridian Aviation rents a Cessna 152 for $60 per hour.... wet!
Lots of top name concerts in Philadelphia, MS, about 45 minutes away.
Gulf Coast only 150 miles away. Easy road trips.
Some real good restaurants in the area.
The locals are great.
Very good CrossFit gym in town(Caustic CrossFit). The new gym and pool at NAS should be open this month.
All-in-all, no complaints.
 
HuggyU2 said:
As for location, I spent about 2 months in the Meridian area recently.... loved it! I had a blast.
I hear folks go through there that say "this place sucks",... but there are always folks that would rather stay in their room, watching "Leave it to Beaver" reruns rather than going and making a good time happen.
Modern Outfitters on Hwy 39 has a great store, and a fine selection of guns.
Meridian Aviation rents a Cessna 152 for $60 per hour.... wet!
Lots of top name concerts in Philadelphia, MS, about 45 minutes away.
Gulf Coast only 150 miles away. Easy road trips.
Some real good restaurants in the area.
The locals are great.
Very good CrossFit gym in town(Caustic CrossFit). The new gym and pool at NAS should be open this month.
All-in-all, no complaints.
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When you're older, you have slightly different interests than when you're 22 and fresh out of college.
 
All I know, as the OP knows, Crapus Crusti sucks. Kingsville is worse. At least San Antonio and Austion are within a few hours drive.
 
bunk22 said:
All I know, as the OP knows, Crapus Crusti sucks. Kingsville is worse. At least San Antonio and Austion are within a few hours drive.
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As a Corpus guy when I selected, all I knew was that I had gotten my fair share of the above, and wanted to see something else....and maybe someplace with some trees or other scenery aside from dirt.....hence why I chose Meridian. I have no complaints, and there were some really awesome IP's there who made the experience a good one. I'm sure the same could be said for Kingsville as well...I mean bunk is there, and he's handing out 2 aboves like santa claus apparently so it can't be all bad :)
 
///AMG said:
As a Corpus guy when I selected, all I knew was that I had gotten my fair share of the above, and wanted to see something else....and maybe someplace with some trees or other scenery aside from dirt.....hence why I chose Meridian. I have no complaints, and there were some really awesome IP's there who made the experience a good one. I'm sure the same could be said for Kingsville as well...I mean bunk is there, and he's handing out 2 aboves like santa claus apparently so it can't be all bad :)
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LOL, I am a Santa Clause!! I hate giving downs but I've given two in 4 months so I'm not all good. Believe me, if it's deserved, it's a comin!!
 
bunk22 said:
LOL, I am a Santa Clause!! I hate giving downs but I've given two in 4 months so I'm not all good. Believe me, if it's deserved, it's a comin!!
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As it should be. I downed my first safe for solo in the -45, and although the guy I flew with had a reputation for handing out pink sheets (he had a 50% pass rate according to other IPs lol), I most definitely earned it. It sucks, but I learned a lot from it, and I still got those shiny gold things, so in my mind he wasn't doing anything more than just trying to make us better and learn from our mistakes. He was a COD guy too, maybe it runs in the blood :)

Seriously though, if I ever come back to the VT's as an IP (which is pretty high on my list of 1st shore tour gigs), I think I will probably be like you. I was a little more boneheaded than some of my friends, and I think because of it, I learned a lot more about how to teach from those good IP's who really understood. Fair and honest grading is really important, whether it be a double bone, or a down. Averages or courtesy bones do nothing for quality feedback and learning IMHO.
 
///AMG said:
Postal or Flying Harv depending on when you knew him
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Doesn't ring a bell. Everyone had those IP's who were known for giving downs. I remember our guy in advanced, even his name, an S-3 pilot who just handed them out for various reasons. I only flew my OCF with him so I was lucky. Won't matter much now as the down system will be gone soon enough.
 
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