Hello. I'm a pfc at NAS Brunswick waitin to start SERE training tomorrow. I have orders for ch-53s and when i got them i questioned my aircrew school instructor because i have bad vision. He said it was fine so i rolled with it and didnt say anything else because i really want to be a 53 crew chief. Turns out i checkout my med record up here and it says fixed wing only in it. I got my annual flight physical coming up in december in the middle of my flight training. I'm being told that it will prolly screw me over. I was wondering if anyone on here has some advice for me or have heard of this situation before. Would they allow me to do the prk laser eye surgey thats allowed by natops? It seems unlikely to me even tho they would have almost finished training me. Would they allow me to just be a c130 crew chief? Make me a grounded mechanic and completely screw me outa flying? ANyone with any experience with this kind of situation would be a big help. Thank you
I can't understand why your medical records would say fixed wing only. If you are at least half way through training and lets say they raise the issue, (and assuming you are progressing well) then you should raise the facts that your training is progressing well, so why not let me finish my training and become the H53 crewchief that the Marine Corps wants me to be.
Maybe it will work, and maybe it won't, but whatever happens work hard.
It happens! There was a Marine at NACCS when my son was there and this fellow got all the way to his squadron (he was on the osprey), just to be turned around and sent back to Florida because his orders also said fixed wing only. It was an over sight I guess. Needless to say he was not a happy camper.
I haven't dropped in here in a long time but for what it's worth......... If you really want the 53,I would suggest you ask about the discrepancy as soon as possible.
It would be a real bummer to get most of the way through training only to be blind sided because of a records snafu. It will be what it will be. As soon as it is clarified, you may have a modicum of control over where you go and what you will be doing.
It's been about 17 years, damn 18 years+, anyway, how do you go through SERE first? Have you been to flight phys yet? It sounds like the new corps is a little different than the old corps. Used to be that you went to your basic helo school and the took swim qual, most of the weak sucks failed there, and they didn't have to spend squadron money on a dumba$$ that could fix an aircraft. What good is it having a crewman that doesn't know anything about his plane? I know it's not your fault kid, but back in the day, you'd be pulling fuel samples for 2 years before you even spoke of flying. Things change, not always for the better, but outline the process for me, so I understand how you got to SERE school, when you may not even be on skins(flight orders).
that's a good question.. i went through the motions back in 2002/2003. i didn't go to sere because there simply wasnt enough spots.
iirc, my roommate went after pesacola, but before mechanics course.
these days- crew chiefs are made right out of boot camp. you're designated a crew chief and plane captain before you even get to your squadron... you have to do it all over again, several times when you're a boot, to regain your plane captain designation.. but yep.. nugget crew chiefs with wings and everything right out of school... there are no more "home-growns"... which is what im sure you are referring to. pete
I knew a guy that had this same problem. He was a CH-46E MEAT student at HMMT-164. He made it halfway through training when they pulled him for bad vision and sent him back to Pensacola to retrain as C-130 aircrew.
Yes it is a problem. SERE dont care, but when you get to FRS point it out. Hopefully if you want to fly they can get you into C130's.
Yes the Marine Corps has changed and for the better. Good Mech's dont always make good crew chiefs. But trainning good crew chiefs from a school is the right way of doing it. I agree as a CC who is a CDQAR you should know your aircraft better then anyone else in the Squadron. But your Primary MOS is crew chief so before doing the mechanics job you should really know your own first. I.E our manuals, flight profiles, systems, weapons, ASE gear, threats ect...
