So my dad's been worried that I'm not fully aware of what I'm getting myself into with the Marines, and so he had me call a friend of his who knows a little bit about what's really going on with the Marines.
That friend said that he knows a guy with a flight contract who has been to OCS and TBS, and he was waiting to go to flight school. Well, because flight school was so backed up, they just sent him to Afghanistan as an Infantry officer. What this friend wanted me to get out of that story is that you're a Marine first, and then a pilot, and that basically it's not what your contract says.. it's what they need you to do.
What can anyone tell me about this?
How often do you think this happens to air contracted marines?

 

The marines really do have the attitude that you are a marine first, an officer second, and a pilot third.

In all branches, if the flight training pipeline is backed up you can be assigned to do something else in the interim. My roomate (navy) was sent to a ship (CVN) for three years as a surface officer before being allowed to go to a squadron. But the ship-driving experience helped him out in the long run...he will take command a carrier next year.

In the marines it only makes sense to get some ground experience since marine pilots exist to support ground troops. If that's not for you, better try another service.

Also any flight contract is nowhere near as airtight as a civilian contract...they basically offer a good chance that you will be granted the opportunity to prove yourself in flight training. Exactly when, well who's to say...

 

This applies to every branch of service. I'm sure he'll eventually get back to flight school, but production pipelines are backed up everywhere, rather than have you work on your alcohol tolerance in Pensacola, they'll put you to work if needed.

I've never heard of guys getting yanked from training to go do an operational tour like that, but a 2ndLT fresh out of TBS with a potential for no movement in the aviation pipeline for 6 months is an ideal candidate to fill an infantry officer billet in the short term.

 

It is exactly what your contract says.
You are a Marine.
We had newly trained Hornet pilots show up at their first FMF unit and their assignments were held up because they weren't needed in fleet squadrons right away and were sent to Individual Augment (IA) billets - often in Iraq or Afghanistan.

You've heard that you are an Officer first and pilot second is primary, and it is true in every service, but somewhat even more so in the Marines!
They are the only service that trains you as a *basic* Infantry Platoon Commander before you start training for whatever your specialty is going to be in the Corps (Pilot, Motor Transport, Air Traffic Control for example) - -Now that I said the above - I started thinking about Army Officers and WOs going through the WOFT. Do you consider yourselves trained as basic infantry officers? I would think so.

Grumble is right though - he was a perfect candidate. I knew a lot of pilot candidates chose to go to IOC (Infantry Officer's Course) to get even more Infantry experience. A student would be unlikely to be pulled from training to fill a position like that, but in between training............

USMCFLYR

 

To reiterate what USMC said about the Marines I'll give an example.

In the Navy, to go through the TOPGUN course infers a two year commitment as a training officer after your shore tour (whatever unit sends you through). I know of Marines that have gone through the course (which is 10 weeks and about $2 million in training, depending on who you ask), to only be then sent on a 10 month IA as a JTAC or some other ground job. They come back a year out of the cockpit having lost all that training.

Similar to that is the way the Marines move guys around, at least within the Hornet community. It seems to be a total crap shoot as to how your career plays out. From the same squadron I've seen guys go through the full three years, get a full division lead qual, go to the RAG and instruct. Then another guy gets pulled half way through his first tour, sent on IA, come back to the squadron only long enough to get recurrent and never finish his division lead (4 ship) qual. This makes him totally unattractive to any follow on flying tours outside of the training command, and pretty much ends his Hornet career.

Obviously these are only a few cases and not an absolute, but really goes to show that you really are a Marine and a rifleman first, and everything else second.

 

I had guys calling me looking to get into the RAG with only a section lead and around 500 hrs in T/M/S

That strange career path has only been around for the last couple of years. Even back in 2006, most were still on track with the **usual** career path, though I know of one squadron that spent most of its' time training 2 of the pilots to the deteriment of the other half dozen who deserved qualifications; and yes, it is a mark that needs explaining when you start to look at other flying jobs. The status quo qualifications after a 2.5-4 yr tour have to change and that means old guys with a certain mindset have to realize that times have indeed changed.
It is a tough road that is still being challenged from what I know.

USMCFLYR

 

I guess my point being that there are no absolutes in any branch, but it seems (lately) even more so with the Marines. Barring a DUI, fishing from the company pier, or FNAEB, big Navy really tries to keep it's pilots in a career path to Command, anything else is frowned upon. The Marines, not so much.

 

You need to understand why the Marine Corps has aircraft. First and foremost, the USMC is built to be an expeditionary, rapidly deployable, and combined arms (infantry, some light armor, artillery, and aviation) unit. The USMC exists to be a "first responder" and figuratively knock down the enemy's front door, establish a US military presence, and enable follow-on sustained operations to be conducted by the Army.

Because of the Marine's unique mission, they have a different culture. They're light and lean... and since tanks and artillery are heavy and hard to transport, the USMC doesn't have a lot. Instead, the USMC relies upon its own aviators to provide close air support.

Every Marine general officer understands how to blend infantry, logistics, command and control, and aviation. As a Marine pilot, you might fly an F-18 or JSF, but your reason for existing is to support the Marine's expeditionary fighting package - typically the MEU.

Are Marines good pilots? You bet they are. But they don't have the same "mission" as the USAF or USN guys. So if you want to become a pilot, then become a pilot. But if you want to be a Marine who happens to fly airplanes, then pursue a USMC aviation career.

The problem is the past 9 years in Iraq & Afghanistan. We don't have enough Army folks to hold the terrain, so the Marines have somewhat morphed into America's second land army. That's the subject of another post, so I won't open up that can of worms beyond what I already said.

 

The only thing you can get guaranteed is that you will be sent to flight school. No guarantee of when. If you finish TBS, and PCola is backed up, you might go to a flying squadron to take out the trash, or you could go to IOC, since you're already in Quantico. Once your done with flight school, you will go to a fleet squadron, but for how long is a game day decision. As a Marine aviator, you will spend time away from flying squadrons. Like the previous post, if you're not down with that, the AF is the place for you.

 

The other possibility is an interservice transfer. This was popular in the mid 80s (Marine to Navy after TBS) and early 90s (Navy to Marine after flight school getting sent to TBS). It just depends on who has openings. As to being guaranteed flight school... sort of. After the fall of the Soviet Union, many students were told you can leave or complete as an NFO, but we're not going to keep you as an aviator. Needs of the Navy and all that jazz.