I am a new Navy Parent whose son is at GL in Boot Camp and things seem to be going well for him. He is enlisted for Naval Aircrew and will be going to Pensacola after PIR in early August. Providing he passes the training in Aircrew Candidate School and Rescue Swimmer School I am curious about the effect of the new AW rate merger on new Sailors?
I understand the new rates effective in October of 2008 are AWR, AWS, AWO, AWF, and AWV. This is a large departure from the standard AW rate he was interested in during enlistment. I fully understand the "needs of the Navy" and have communicated this to my son but I still have questions for folks who may have educated guesses on the long term affects of this rate merger.
How are the new rates filled by prospective Sailors who complete the NACCS and RSS pipeline? Will they still get to complete the older AW pipeline including SERE and other schools? How is the choice of these new rates determined and does the Sailor have any ability to manage this effort with the the knowledge and understanding of the needs of the Navy?
How do you see this rate merger affecting what the Sailor gets to do while serving? What do each of these new rates actually do and how is this different than the older AW rating? He is off on this grand new adventure for the next five years and I want to provide some input from others who have been there and done that and also those who are doing it now. Please understand that I realize he is his own man now but a parent can't help but try to make sure he has all the information he can while he is serving our country.
I found this forum by reviewing posts at Navy-Parents.com regarding the new GI Bill. Imagine my surprise when I found out my son had already registered back in December when he was reviewing info regarding military service. All the updates and monthly emails were going to our SPAM filter but I have fixed that now.
College did not work out for my son right now and I always told him that if you don't know what you want to do - the military is a great option. We are very proud of his decision to join the USN and his choice of rate. My Father was a CMSgt in the USAF with 28 years of service and was former Aircrew in the Army Air Corp in WWII in England. I have Dad's old Aircrew wings to give to my son if he can complete the training at Pensacola.
Thanks in advance for your service and I look forward to reading your replies.
My Father was a CMSgt in the USAF with 28 years of service and was former Aircrew in the Army Air Corp in WWII in England. I have Dad's old Aircrew wings to give to my son if he can complete the training at Pensacola.
Thanks in advance for your service and I look forward to reading your replies.[/QUOTE
USAF and Army Air Corps Aircrew wings are different than Navy Aircrew wings and your son will not be authorized to wear them on his Navy uniform.
My husband is an Aircrewman. He said that this only effects those who are Aircrew that do not currently hold the AW rating. My husband is an AT and will be transfered to the rating of AW(V). As a Swimmer, your son will still be an AW(R) which is explained in the link that Mr. William provided.
I am well aware the the wings are not to be worn on his uniform....they would be his for a keepsake since those old Army Air Corps wings from the bombing campaign of Europe are a special thing to have and if he completes the training he is the only one in the family who has earned the right to keep them for himself.
Thanks to everyone for the link and info provided.
Thanks to all for the links provided. I am still unclear as to the various difference between the rates AWR and AWS. Do the other rates such as AWO, AWN, AWV and AWF still provide the opportunity to be an E4 after A school?
Also, what is the difference in work detail between the AWR and AWS rates?
Well, to answer your question, the rating merger is nothing but a name change for your son. SERE school, and AW "A" schools, and any paygrade increase that he has in writing will still be there. The biggest change is for AWF and AWV's. We began our flying careers as aircrewmen with maintainer ratings. As such we competed for promotions with the maintainers, even though we did completely different jobs. So now if the Navy needs more avionics technicians they will promote AT's and if they need more in-flight technicians they will promote AWV's. Just so you know, the E-4 when training is completed is meaningless because the training takes so long. By the time I was a qualified IFT I was an E-5 by the normal method of promotion. While this is not typical, E-4 is absolutely the norm.
I know the AW rating (or is it rate, I forget) has undergone numerous changes over the last few years but I'm curious to know if acoustic analysis is part of the A school curriculum for all students or only those in the 'awa' program?
MaddogK and fourth rowe - thanks for resurrecting this thread.
Thank you for clarifying the different sub ratings. I was unaware of the AT vs. in flight tech which are the AWF's and AWV's. I posted a thread on another website - Airwarriors.com - and got a lot of info on the various pipelines.
Maddog - from my research I don't know the answer to your question. There seems to be some changes regarding acoustic analysis and I have not found a complete answer. I guess the AWS and AWR schools are still being sorted out. I have learned that the AWS school has a brand new cirriculum and is only six weeks long...there must be tons more training at the Fleet Replacement Squadrons. I have no info on what is involved in the AWR school or how long it is now. One lady whose son is in the second AWS school that will graduate on Oct. 24 has posted some information. I have done searches on the AWR A school with no success.
My son has graduated NACCS and is on hold for RSS. I guess we will know more soon because he wants AWS but understands the "needs of the Navy.
