Hello,

I was thinking of what my dream sheet was going to include after A school and i couldnt decide between Jacksonville (to catch some cutter action) or a usually non deployed unit. I was thinking being 24 y/o and unattatched would be a good time to be on a cutter. Plus i was at a small boat station prior and have never been on a cutter. Any thoughts?
-Danielle

Go to Alaska!

Yeah... um.... Alaska sounds cold. Whats in alaska?! Penguins? Besides isn't Alaska hard to get out of A school?

Helos65,
First, penguins are in Antarctica, Alaska has bears.

Next, Jacksonville probably will not be an option out of A-school (Detailers want experienced Flight Mechs in HITRON).

With that said, many Air Stations do deploy. Just ask anyone at AC, Clearwater, San Fran, Kodiak, etc. 65's are a heckuva lot easier to fit on a cutter, though (size, weight, etc.).

Pick somewhere that you want to go with an airframe that interests you. If you do not get your top pick, big deal. Learn, get qual'd, and have fun. Your interests and picks might change after you've got some experience. After all, it's all aviation.

I want 65's. I know 4 AET's straight out of school that got HITRON. I guess as long as i dont get stuck somewhere as a BM i should be gratefull Thanks

Barbers Point C-130s rock for deployments

If you want HH-65s, your best bet is to put down HH-65s ONLY units. Putting down Miami or Corpus leaves you open to the dreaded Dark Side (ie. Falcons). A lot of people really enjoy Kodiak, and the upside with the West Coast units is that you'll go to Advanced Rescue Swimmer School. Once you've got some time in as a Flight Mech, it's a little harder to justify switching you airframes (though it does happen).

If you want ship time, I would probably pick the southern 65 units. If you're single, try Borinquen. When I was there (2 tours) they were deploying alot and there is always something going on. Plus you get assignment priority when your tour is up.

quote:

Next, Jacksonville probably will not be an option out of A-school (Detailers want experienced Flight Mechs in HITRON).

That is not really accurate. HITRON is taking quite a few guys from school. The unfortunate thing is that as a junior mech out of school you run the possibility of not getting FM qualed. As with everything, things can change but there are too many people and not enough flying to get everyone qualed. That's a little off topic though. From what i've heard deployments there are jsut a boat riding experience not a flying/riding experience. The flying is left to the AG's.