Originally Posted by CargoBob
I fly into challenging areas in Central and S America & SW Asia...like CAL. I find the C-17/C-130 guys particularly sharp! They have been there before and are used to flying places far from "Mom & Dad" (dispatchers). They are able to make decisions w/ out calling home.
The "challenged" ex-mil FOs you have probably fall into several categories:
1. Pass themselves off as ex-mil AVIATORS/PILOTS when in reality they were enlisted MPs and got their ratings/degrees at ERAU online.
2. Screw up a radio call and you roll your eyes at them...then, they roll their eyes at you because you attempt to land on the wrong runway after setting your instruments up incorrectly.
3. After flying F-16s the past 10 years the nuances and extreme difficulty of flying pax around EWR and IAH gets the best of them.
Just a guess, what did you fly in the service?..or do you fall into category #1 above.
THERE ARE SHARP PILOTS FROM BOTH CIVILIAN AND MILITARY AND DIRT BAGS FROM EACH...
Cargobob,
Aside from the airlift guys that fly into lots of different fields, I can see ex-military pilots having a not-so-easy adjustment period flying 121. In the tanker, we just about NEVER fly into busy airspaces/airfields and when we do, it shows. Thinking back over the past two years, the only "busy" fields that I've flown into in the tanker were KHNL, KBNA and TJSJ and when we did go into those fields, I remember the crew (at least the other pilot and I) adding a not so common discussion to our approach briefing about being "prepared" for the arrival because it was going to get busy. Each and every military pilot does his/her specific mission and we do it better than any other military in the world. Lots of people respect that. However, you know flying 121 has it's differences and should not viewed as a rip to ones ego when god for bid someone says an ex-military guy/gal had some growing pains in the transition.