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New Opportunities for Sailors to Sit in the Cockpit
Story Number: NNS060301-08
Release Date: 3/1/2006 8:58:00 AM
From Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs
PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- A new trial program to expand opportunity within the Navy’s officer and enlisted ranks is being implemented as part of Adm. Mike Mullen’s, Chief of Naval Operations, “Strategy for Our People.”
According to Vice Adm. John C. Harvey's naval message in January, the new program is called the Flying Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Pilot program and is “designed to harness the strengths of our Sailors today and shape the Navy of tomorrow.”
The Flying CWO Pilot program will select 30 highly-qualified E-5 through E-7 Sailors over the next two years, commission them as CWO2 prior to Limited Duty Officer/CWO indoctrination, and subsequently place them in flight training as student pilots or naval flight officers (NFO). As newly winged aviators, they will receive fleet replacement squadron training and then report to the fleet.
“The CWO program is intended to create flying specialists unencumbered by the traditional career paths of the unrestricted line (URL) community,” continued Harvey in the message.
URL junior officers who are already in targeted communities will benefit from an improved chance of selection as a department head and commanding officer. Historically, junior officers have overpopulated these communities to the extent competition for promotion is keenly fierce, leaving many highly qualified officers with limited career opportunities.
The Flying CWO Pilot program is the first in a series of new innovations being implemented throughout the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) as part of the CNO’s Strategy for Our People.
"Right now, this Strategy for Our People will be creating our total Navy force, officer-enlisted,
active-reserve, civilian-military," Mullen told Navy Times in February. "I think that if I were going to put one thing at the top of the list, [it] is to lay out an enduring Strategy for Our People that makes sense for the future."
Placing CWOs in cockpits is the first of many future Total Force Readiness innovations aimed at increasing opportunity and diversity while maximizing personnel efficiency and productivity.
“One of the key objectives of this program is to expand career opportunities for our officer and enlisted sailors through training, career development and promotion,” said Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, the NAE’s Total Force Readiness director. “This is not only the right thing to do; it also enhances our readiness and ability to compete for and retain the best talent in the marketplace today and in the future.”
The Flying CWO Pilot program targets the VP (Patrol Squadron), VQ (Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron), HSC (Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron) and HSL (Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light) communities, and will select 10 pilots and four naval flight officers in July 2006 and then 10 pilots and six NFOs in 2007.
Information Systems Technician 1st Class David Nason, who works at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., said he would jump at the opportunity – if his age didn’t disqualify him.
“When I heard about the program, the first thing I did was check to see if I was qualified,” said Nason, who turns 38 this year. “It sounded like a really good idea – I’ve always wanted to fly.”
Specific requirements for applicants include being commissioned prior to their 27th birthday, possessing an Associate's Degree or higher, and being physically qualified for aviation duty in accordance with the Navy Manual of Medicine.
Applicants must also meet Aviation Standard Test Battery minimums and eligibility requirements for a secret security clearance. Upon winging, selectees will incur an eight-year minimum service requirement for pilots and a six-year minimum service requirement for naval flight officers.
“For someone like me who didn’t have the grades in high school to get to college, this is a great opportunity,” said Nason. “It will get you to CWO much quicker – and that’s a big jump in pay.”
Lt. Cmdr. Robert Pauley is the VQ/VT Maritime Placement person for the Bureau of Naval Personnel PERS-433U in Millington, Tenn. He fields about 100 calls on the Flying CWO Pilot program per day.
“A lot of career counselors are calling, as well, so I’m thinking there are going to be quite a few applications for this program,” said Pauley. “I hear from Sailors all the time telling me, ‘The Navy is making my dream come true.’ A lot of these guys have always wanted to fly and now they have the chance to make it happen.”
The term “hard-charging” is being used to describe the Sailor this program is targeting.
“I think they’re really looking for motivated people,” said Pauley, “the kind of people that will take this opportunity as far as it will go.”
A complete listing of eligibility criteria for the Flying CWO Pilot program (beyond what is listed above) can be found in OPNAVINST 1420.1A. Applications must be submitted no later than March 31, 2006. Application instructions and answers to frequently asked questions are available at www.npc.navy.mil/officer/ldocwocommunity. Click on the news tab.
For additional information on the Flying CWO Pilot program contact the head aviation placement officer, Cmdr. Steven Knott, at 901-874-4944; Assistant LDO/CWO Assignments Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Al Wooten, at 901-874-3948; or Lt. Cmdr. Robert Pauley at 901-874-3949.
For related news, visit the NAVAIR - Naval Air Systems Command Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/navair/.
Story Number: NNS060301-08
Release Date: 3/1/2006 8:58:00 AM
From Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs
PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- A new trial program to expand opportunity within the Navy’s officer and enlisted ranks is being implemented as part of Adm. Mike Mullen’s, Chief of Naval Operations, “Strategy for Our People.”
According to Vice Adm. John C. Harvey's naval message in January, the new program is called the Flying Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Pilot program and is “designed to harness the strengths of our Sailors today and shape the Navy of tomorrow.”
The Flying CWO Pilot program will select 30 highly-qualified E-5 through E-7 Sailors over the next two years, commission them as CWO2 prior to Limited Duty Officer/CWO indoctrination, and subsequently place them in flight training as student pilots or naval flight officers (NFO). As newly winged aviators, they will receive fleet replacement squadron training and then report to the fleet.
“The CWO program is intended to create flying specialists unencumbered by the traditional career paths of the unrestricted line (URL) community,” continued Harvey in the message.
URL junior officers who are already in targeted communities will benefit from an improved chance of selection as a department head and commanding officer. Historically, junior officers have overpopulated these communities to the extent competition for promotion is keenly fierce, leaving many highly qualified officers with limited career opportunities.
The Flying CWO Pilot program is the first in a series of new innovations being implemented throughout the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE) as part of the CNO’s Strategy for Our People.
"Right now, this Strategy for Our People will be creating our total Navy force, officer-enlisted,
active-reserve, civilian-military," Mullen told Navy Times in February. "I think that if I were going to put one thing at the top of the list, [it] is to lay out an enduring Strategy for Our People that makes sense for the future."
Placing CWOs in cockpits is the first of many future Total Force Readiness innovations aimed at increasing opportunity and diversity while maximizing personnel efficiency and productivity.
“One of the key objectives of this program is to expand career opportunities for our officer and enlisted sailors through training, career development and promotion,” said Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, the NAE’s Total Force Readiness director. “This is not only the right thing to do; it also enhances our readiness and ability to compete for and retain the best talent in the marketplace today and in the future.”
The Flying CWO Pilot program targets the VP (Patrol Squadron), VQ (Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron), HSC (Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron) and HSL (Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light) communities, and will select 10 pilots and four naval flight officers in July 2006 and then 10 pilots and six NFOs in 2007.
Information Systems Technician 1st Class David Nason, who works at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., said he would jump at the opportunity – if his age didn’t disqualify him.
“When I heard about the program, the first thing I did was check to see if I was qualified,” said Nason, who turns 38 this year. “It sounded like a really good idea – I’ve always wanted to fly.”
Specific requirements for applicants include being commissioned prior to their 27th birthday, possessing an Associate's Degree or higher, and being physically qualified for aviation duty in accordance with the Navy Manual of Medicine.
Applicants must also meet Aviation Standard Test Battery minimums and eligibility requirements for a secret security clearance. Upon winging, selectees will incur an eight-year minimum service requirement for pilots and a six-year minimum service requirement for naval flight officers.
“For someone like me who didn’t have the grades in high school to get to college, this is a great opportunity,” said Nason. “It will get you to CWO much quicker – and that’s a big jump in pay.”
Lt. Cmdr. Robert Pauley is the VQ/VT Maritime Placement person for the Bureau of Naval Personnel PERS-433U in Millington, Tenn. He fields about 100 calls on the Flying CWO Pilot program per day.
“A lot of career counselors are calling, as well, so I’m thinking there are going to be quite a few applications for this program,” said Pauley. “I hear from Sailors all the time telling me, ‘The Navy is making my dream come true.’ A lot of these guys have always wanted to fly and now they have the chance to make it happen.”
The term “hard-charging” is being used to describe the Sailor this program is targeting.
“I think they’re really looking for motivated people,” said Pauley, “the kind of people that will take this opportunity as far as it will go.”
A complete listing of eligibility criteria for the Flying CWO Pilot program (beyond what is listed above) can be found in OPNAVINST 1420.1A. Applications must be submitted no later than March 31, 2006. Application instructions and answers to frequently asked questions are available at www.npc.navy.mil/officer/ldocwocommunity. Click on the news tab.
For additional information on the Flying CWO Pilot program contact the head aviation placement officer, Cmdr. Steven Knott, at 901-874-4944; Assistant LDO/CWO Assignments Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Al Wooten, at 901-874-3948; or Lt. Cmdr. Robert Pauley at 901-874-3949.
For related news, visit the NAVAIR - Naval Air Systems Command Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/navair/.
