The Three Stages Of Your Marine Corps Pilot Career

As a Marine Corps Pilot you'll have three distinct phases to your career.

Phase I -Proving Your Worthy Of Being A Marine

Believe it or not but out of the three this phase is the most important simply because if you're not successful here you have absolutely no chance of success later.

This is the phase where you must show the Marine Corps that you have what it takes to not only be a Marine Officer but also a Marine Pilot.

You'll prove yourself in a number of different ways. Competition for pilot slots is fierce so if you are offered the chance to earn a commission you're already ahead of most people.

Once you get that chance you need to perform. Regardless of what commissioning source you choose, you'll need to perform to the best of your abilities each and every day.

After your commissioned you'll do something that is unique to the Marine Corps. You'll attend The Basic School (TBS). At TBS you'll learn the finer points of leading Marines in combat. Every Marine Officer Attends TBS.

Only after you've successfully finished a commissioning program and TBS will you be ready for Phase II of your career.

 

 

Phase II- Earning Your Wings

This phase starts at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Every Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard pilot gets their start at NAS Pensacola.

Before you start flying you'll go through a six week ground school called API (Aviation Pre-Flight Indoctrination) where you'll learn academics, water survival and land survival.

Academic subjects will be in aviation related areas such as aerodynamics, aviation physiology, metrology etc.

The swim survival portion of your training will encompass several training evolutions which include learning the survival strokes, drown proofing, swimming 1 mile in a flight suit, and riding the dunkers.

In land survival you'll learn how to build shelters, find fresh water, make animal traps and snares, and other things that will help in a survival situation.

After API you'll head to one of three places. For the most part primary is held at two bases. NAS Whiting Field (about 20 minutes outside of Pensacola) and NAS Corpus Christi (in Corpus Christi Texas). Some students will go to Vance AFB in Oklahoma on an exchange program with the Air Force.

When you finish primary you'll select the type of aircraft you'll fly operationally in the fleet. Choices are jets, props, helicopters and tilt-rotors. Selection is determined by class rank and needs of the service.

If you select Jets you'll go to NAS Meridian (in Meridian Mississippi) or NAS Kingsville (in Kingsville Texas).

If you select props you go to NAS Corpus Christi.

If you select helicopters you'll go to NAS Whiting Field.

The tilt-rotor program is a combination of the prop and helo programs.

Once you successfully complete advanced and earned your wings you'll have completed your second phase of your pilot career.

 

Phase III - To The Fleet and Beyond

Now that you've earned your wings you are an official Marine Corps Aviator. You're journey as a student is over but you still have a lot to learn. Your first stop will be a Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS).

At the FRS you learn to fly the aircraft you'll be flying operationally in the fleet. When you complete the FRS you'll head to your first "fleet" squadron where you'll deploy and support Marines on operations around the globe.

The Marine Corps Pilot Career Guide can help you with all three phases of your career. We give you strategies and techniques that you can use to get to flight slot. We give you a rundown of the commissioning programs available and tell you the advantages and disadvantages of each. We tell you what the most important things the Marines are looking for in an officer and a pilot.

The guide also gives you strategies that you can use once you get to flight school. You'll study less and retain more information.

Your instructor will wonder why he can't rattle you. Only you'll know that you've used the flight school techniques in the Marine Corps Pilot Career Guide to give you the confidence a of a seasoned aviator.

The information in this guide is valuable to your Marine Corps flying career.

Make a small investment in yourself that will pay big dividends in your future career.

Get your copy of the Marine Corps Pilot Career Guide today.