Calling All Crew Chiefs

[AZTony]

Hello Marines,

I recently have made my final decision to sign an AG contract, which is Enlisted Aircrew. By early next week I will have met with my recruiter to sign the papers and continue the waiting process for Boot Camp.

I made this post because I felt it would be a great way to hear about your opinions and experiences with your aircraft to find out what it is like to be a Crew Chief in the Marine Corps.

I have searched the forums many times on this topic but felt it would be great to have an organized thread where Marines may answer questions pertaining to their chosen profession and career as a Crew Chief. I feel this will help my fellow Poolees as well as other civilians who wish to find out more about this profession.

Here goes:

1. What aircraft are you a Crew Chief of?
2. How long have you been Crew Chief of said aircraft?
3. In general, what has been your overall experience with being a Crew Chief of the aircraft? Fun? Not fun? Wish you chose a different aircraft? If so, which one?
4. In your squadron, what is a typical day like NOT on deployment? Hours worked per day/week?
5. In your squadron, what is a typical day like ON deployment? Hours worked per day/week?
6. What are your Pilots/Co-Pilots/Naval Flight Officers like? How close would you say you are with them?
7. Do you plan on re-enlisting as a Crew Chief? If so, will it be the same aircraft or a different one? If a different aircraft, which one?
8. Do Crew Chiefs have an easier time meeting hot babes than other MOS's? :banana:
9. What made you decide to become a Crew Chief?
10. If you do not plan on re-enlisting, what are your career goals for the next 5, 10, etc. years?
11. Has your schedule allowed you to take any sort of higher education courses such as online college courses?
12. What did you do to prepare for Boot Camp, MCT, NACCS, etc.?
13. How would you describe the overall feel of your specific squadron? Tight-knight group? Like family?
14. Has becoming a Crew Chief ever caused you to consider becoming a Pilot?
15. What else would you like to tell myself and everyone else about your profession?


Hopefully this helps others who are interested in signing an AG contract to find out more about the life of a Crew Chief.

Thank you Marines,

Poolee Le Claire
:usmc:

[TL Cunningham]

Wow, you're like a string of blackcat fireworks but I'll do my best brah.

First off, you are never guaranteed your contract so keep that in mind.

Also, you are not enlisting with a Crew Chief guarantee. AG is Enlisted Aircrew job field which encompasses Crew Chief/Aerial Gunner/Loadmaster/Flight Engineer/Flight Mechanic. (The latter 3 being part of the 6276 Crew Chief designation and FE and FM only available on legacy model C-130s)

Once you get to Pensacola and class up for Aircrew you will go through a flight physical where they will determine if you are even able to perform duties involving flight status. If you pass you have to have basically 20/20 uncorrected vision to be assigned to Helos/V-22s. Otherwise you're going C-12s/C-130s. If you go to Helos you will either become a crew chief or an aerial gunner. If you go C-130s you will either become a CrewMaster which is a combination of of the Crew Chief and Loadmaster job which recently merged at the end FY 2010. Keep in mind if you are assigned to a reserve squadron you will be on the legacy model C-130 and can also be assigned as a Flight Engineer or Flight Mechanic and if you are assigned to C-12s you will just be a glorified Flight Attendant. In NACCS (Naval AirCrew Candidate School) you will be tested to make sure you are even allowed to join AC. There is somewhat strenuous PT and a rather difficult swim qualification if you are a weak swimmer or are afraid of the water.

As for me. I'm a Loadmaster on C-130s and I have been since March of 2010. Being a Loadmaster is the best AC job there is IMO, as most AirCrew will agree. Being on helos sounds really cool because most Marines think to themselves "OMFG I GET TO SHOOT A GIANT ****ING .50 CAL!!!!!" But in reality you will spend most of your time sitting on an ammo can staring out the door if you are flying, and when you're not you're fixing the aircraft or handing out tools in the tool room if you are a **** bag. For me, a typical day not on deployment is spent cleaning and inventorying the interior of the cargo compartment. On deployment? I wouldn't know since I have not been deployed. The pilots and crew chiefs are really cool and we are pretty amiable and familial on the aircraft and on the road. I do not plan on re-enlisting due to the fact I want to go to college but if I did I would definitely be re-enlisting to stay as a Loadie because we have the best job in the Marine Corps. MY schedule has indeed let me take higher education but they have all been online due to the flight schedule. My squadron I feel is pretty tight-knit. Even though we are in Japan we have one the absolute best squadron in the entire Marine Corps, (AWARD TO PROVE IT) and in Japan all us Nonrates have are each other.

As for my profession, I basically load the aircraft and calculate the weight and balance to make sure the aircraft doesn't fall out of the air. In flight refueling observation and airdrop as well.

[AZTony]

Wow, you're like a string of blackcat fireworks but I'll do my best brah.

First off, you are never guaranteed your contract so keep that in mind.

Also, you are not enlisting with a Crew Chief guarantee. AG is Enlisted Aircrew job field which encompasses Crew Chief/Aerial Gunner/Loadmaster/Flight Engineer/Flight Mechanic. (The latter 3 being part of the 6276 Crew Chief designation and FE and FM only available on legacy model C-130s)

Once you get to Pensacola and class up for Aircrew you will go through a flight physical where they will determine if you are even able to perform duties involving flight status. If you pass you have to have basically 20/20 uncorrected vision to be assigned to Helos/V-22s. Otherwise you're going C-12s/C-130s. If you go to Helos you will either become a crew chief or an aerial gunner. If you go C-130s you will either become a CrewMaster which is a combination of of the Crew Chief and Loadmaster job which recently merged at the end FY 2010. Keep in mind if you are assigned to a reserve squadron you will be on the legacy model C-130 and can also be assigned as a Flight Engineer or Flight Mechanic and if you are assigned to C-12s you will just be a glorified Flight Attendant. In NACCS (Naval AirCrew Candidate School) you will be tested to make sure you are even allowed to join AC. There is somewhat strenuous PT and a rather difficult swim qualification if you are a weak swimmer or are afraid of the water.

As for me. I'm a Loadmaster on C-130s and I have been since March of 2010. Being a Loadmaster is the best AC job there is IMO, as most AirCrew will agree. Being on helos sounds really cool because most Marines think to themselves "OMFG I GET TO SHOOT A GIANT ****ING .50 CAL!!!!!" But in reality you will spend most of your time sitting on an ammo can staring out the door if you are flying, and when you're not you're fixing the aircraft or handing out tools in the tool room if you are a **** bag. For me, a typical day not on deployment is spent cleaning and inventorying the interior of the cargo compartment. On deployment? I wouldn't know since I have not been deployed. The pilots and crew chiefs are really cool and we are pretty amiable and familial on the aircraft and on the road. I do not plan on re-enlisting due to the fact I want to go to college but if I did I would definitely be re-enlisting to stay as a Loadie because we have the best job in the Marine Corps. MY schedule has indeed let me take higher education but they have all been online due to the flight schedule. My squadron I feel is pretty tight-knit. Even though we are in Japan we have one the absolute best squadron in the entire Marine Corps, (AWARD TO PROVE IT) and in Japan all us Nonrates have are each other.

As for my profession, I basically load the aircraft and calculate the weight and balance to make sure the aircraft doesn't fall out of the air. In flight refueling observation and airdrop as well.

Hello LCpl. Cunningham,

Thank you for your reply I enjoyed reading it a lot because I am very interested in working on the C-130's as either a Crew Chief or a Loadmaster/Airborne Radio Operator.

I understand that the contract includes about six jobs if I remember correctly. To be honest with you, I have researched each job and I know for a fact I will enjoy each one just as much as the other so I am very excited for what the future holds.

I noticed you said that Crew Chiefs on C-130's are now also acting as Loadmasters in a position known as Crew Master. Would this mean that every person coming out of all of the MOS schools that is assigned to C-130's will be a Crew Master, or just some people?

The reason I ask about C-130's is because for some reason I think I would enjoy working on a C-130 very much and am curious to find out a lot about the life on that type of aircraft.

On the C-130, how often are you flying in a 7 day week?

I heard that when you land at your location that there are, "Rest Days" where you get to kick back for a few days, is this true? What about the Crew Chiefs, are they given these rest days or do they spend that down time working on the C-130?

Do the Crew Chiefs on the C-130 seem to enjoy working on that aircraft? How do they spend their time during flights and when not flying?

If you are unable to answer these questions about the Crew Chiefs I will understand, but would you happen to know a Crew Chief I could speak to regarding these questions?

Thank you LCpl.,

Poolee Le Claire
:usmc:

[PhrogDoc]

Tony,

I'm a CH-46 Crewchief and have been for the last 8 years. I personally love my job. Some people in my field really hate what they do. I, on the other hand still can't believe they pay me to have fun. As far as choosing what aircraft you want to fly on is not really an option. They will ask you for a wish list of you top 3 that you would like. However, the Marine Corp will put you where they need you, even if you don't like it.
As far as daily routine not on deployment, its going to depend on the flight schedule for the day. In the rotary wing community all crewchiefs are attached to the flightline division. We are all mechanics first. So the average work day will be from 0645 till whenever all the work is done. Unless your on the night schedule than it will be whatever your showtime is to preserve crewday, until all the work is done.
While on deployment the routine is usually a little more predictable. You can expect to work a min. of 12 hours, all the way up to 18 hours a day, depending on the operational tempo. Everyday for 6-9 months.
As far as shop dynamics, the maint. dept is a very tight knit group of people. Crewchief and pilot interaction is basically the same, they know they have to trust us since crewchiefs inspect all the aircraft before they fly, the other side of the coin is they are the ones at the controls and we are at their mercy.
For educational opportunities, online courses are the only thing that you would be able to do. Our work schedules are a little to unpredictable to actually go to a classroom.
I am actually going to re-enlist this month, and going to the H-46 Crewchief school so I might actually be seeing you there as a student.
In general, it takes a lot of long hours and hard work to become good at your job in the crewchief field. It will suck at times but it comes with its own set of benefits that will make it all worth it.
I hope this post will be helpful for you. As a fellow AZ boy I am always open to answering any specific questions that you have for the rotary wing community.


SSgt Bilky
FRC EAST

[Gunny G]

Do Crew Chiefs have an easier time meeting hot babes? LMAO No, because they are always working their asses off! It may sound like a glorious thing but, being an enlisted flier is a ton of work. Keeping aircraft flying is ton of man hours. If you don't want to be working your butt off all the stinking time and want lots of time to chase Babes. Don't go aviation. http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee387/gwdaddio/Interest%20Pics/OohRah/USMCGunnyPressConferences_zps1ubgreof.jpg (http://s1225.photobucket.com/user/gwdaddio/media/Interest%20Pics/OohRah/USMCGunnyPressConferences_zps1ubgreof.jpg.html)

[josephd]

4 year old thread Gunz

[Marine1011]

oh joseph they don't know the threads are old, they didn't notice. hahahahahahaha

[PJones64]

great profile too, per site rules