prior service retread

[bigirongunner]

they can waive the USMC swim qual. they did for me because the pool was out of commission when i went to boot only got 4. Im not sure about if your trying to get back in. As far a Pensacola ACCS first week you'll run a PFT to see where your at and you'll be introduced to your swim instructors. The school is combined Navy Marine Corps, your the minority. as in there were 10 Marines out of about 80 canidates. in the mornings you'll PT until chow then you will swim in the afternoon all afternoon. you'll start in just pt shorts learning to do the breast stroke, side stroke, front crawl, and back stroke. once they are satisfied with those you'll move on to treading water. first in pt gear and then they will start adding things. flightsuit, then they add boots those are heavier then the standard combat boots due to the seel insert and heavier leather. then they'll add an airsave vest, then the helmet. the helmet is the only gear that floats and that has to stay out of the water. you have to tread for 2 min and drown proof for 3. once you can tread with all the gear they make you swim with it. After that you have to jump off a 12 ft platform and swim either 25 or 50 m under water without coming up for air. im pretty sure its 25. WHen your done with the swim quals (level 9) is a 1 mile swim. Once you have passed those you'll go on a 7-9 mile beach run. Perfect time to sing any cadence you know. you'll go to the dunker once you pass your flight physical. they strap you in a helicopter fuselage drop it under water and turn it upside down. you have to unstrap and egress said aircraft. you will do this a total of 7 times 3 of them you will be blindfolded. you will be shown how to properly hook up a rescue hoist to your vest and be hoisted out of Penscola bay. you'll also be given introductory aircrew classes.

[badass79cj5]

they can waive the USMC swim qual. they did for me because the pool was out of commission when i went to boot only got 4. Im not sure about if your trying to get back in. As far a Pensacola ACCS first week you'll run a PFT to see where your at and you'll be introduced to your swim instructors. The school is combined Navy Marine Corps, your the minority. as in there were 10 Marines out of about 80 canidates. in the mornings you'll PT until chow then you will swim in the afternoon all afternoon. you'll start in just pt shorts learning to do the breast stroke, side stroke, front crawl, and back stroke. once they are satisfied with those you'll move on to treading water. first in pt gear and then they will start adding things. flightsuit, then they add boots those are heavier then the standard combat boots due to the seel insert and heavier leather. then they'll add an airsave vest, then the helmet. the helmet is the only gear that floats and that has to stay out of the water. you have to tread for 2 min and drown proof for 3. once you can tread with all the gear they make you swim with it. After that you have to jump off a 12 ft platform and swim either 25 or 50 m under water without coming up for air. im pretty sure its 25. WHen your done with the swim quals (level 9) is a 1 mile swim. Once you have passed those you'll go on a 7-9 mile beach run. Perfect time to sing any cadence you know. you'll go to the dunker once you pass your flight physical. they strap you in a helicopter fuselage drop it under water and turn it upside down. you have to unstrap and egress said aircraft. you will do this a total of 7 times 3 of them you will be blindfolded. you will be shown how to properly hook up a rescue hoist to your vest and be hoisted out of Penscola bay. you'll also be given introductory aircrew classes.

right on, i started doing some searchs on it when i posted that earlier

i qualed as a ws4 in bootcamp, wish i would have tried for higher now but i didnt cause they said it was an option and i didnt really feel like swimming anymore at the time. sounds like for the most part all of the beginning stuff sounds just like bootcamp such as the platform, swimming in full war gear, staying afloat for a given period of time etc.

im really looking forward to it if it all works out but who knows what the true chances of that really are since i have to make a top 5 wish list of mos's to get back in. i asked if i could put all crew chief mos's but he said no, ive been tryin to toss around a few other mos's that i wouldnt mind doing but it just really sucks when you really only want to do 1

[bigirongunner]

For your wish list you can also use mechanic, airframes, avionics, flight equipment. all of which you can become an AO (Aerial observer) in the squadron your stationed in. you can complete the AO syllabus. An AO assists the crewchief in flight. I dont know if 22s have AOs but i know for a fact 53s and hueys do. your not officially a crewchief but you fly just as much. not a bad backup choice. if your a flightline mech, avionics, airframes are your best bet but just about any aviation related MOS you can become an AO

[badass79cj5]

i buddy that was a 46 mech was tellin me about homegrown crew chiefs but when i read up on it there is conflicting info. some say its a thing of the past since there is now specific crew chief mos's for the heuy, 46, 53 and osprey. some say it still can happen just not as often. anyone really know?

[AAV Crewchief]

im in no way a poolee but i had no idea where else to really place this thread and this is my first time posting. this forum seems like it is visited it quite a bit but if there are any moderators that think there is a better place to place this thread please do.

heres a brief run down, spend 5 years active duty as a 6217 (F-18 plane captain) enjoyed it but got out after my first enlistment. here i am just over 5 years after my eas and im bored and currently jobless. im thinkin about goin back in but id like to go in as a 6176 (osprey crew chief)

while ive been out i bounced around to some odd jobs at first, worked at a 4 wheel drive parts store making a whopping 8 bucks an hour, got my cdl and drove trucks for a while, got a job as a millwright in a wood production plant where i was mostly a welder, then i got a job as a civilian job as a crew chief on the osprey when it was in flight test phase and really enjoyed it. dont get me wrong i enjoyed working on f-18's as they were really cool and simple for the most part. (by simple i mean removing an engine in 20 minutes with an experienced crew) working on the osprey i got much more enjoyment out of it and i couldnt ever really pinpoint why, i assume cause it was a plane but yet it was a helicopter. i started as your run of the mill mechanic, worked my way up to a crew lead position and then full crew chief over the aircraft. different world though in civilian life as a crew chief you dont go along for the ride you just control everything once its on the ground.

when the flight test phase of the osprey ended we were all laid off and i decided to start my own small business of auto wholesaling where i buy, fix, then resell cars for profit. its got its perks but it is not steady income and i have 0 benefits. i often find myself thinking back on what in the world i could have possibly been thinking when i decided to get out of the Marine Corps to begin with. i joined at 19 so i could have retired at 39 with full benefits for life, but here i am at 29 complaining about it instead.

the downsides - i feel like im old and fat and the chances of getting 6176 could be out of my reach. my max weight for my height is 208 and im roughly 222. i ran yesterday for the first time in 3 years and i made it about 3/4 of the way around my block before i thought my heart was gonna explode. ran again tonight and made it about 7/8's of the way around my block before i had the same issues. that being said thinking about trying to achieve a w2 swim qual and sere school is quite the rough idea. im not any sort of boot and i do know what to expect but thinking about the possibility of going back in as a 29 year old lcpl is a pretty crappy thought as well as basicly signing up for another 15 years from the start cause im not going back just for another enlistment, gonna be for the long haul or im just not gonna do it at all.

the good - for some reason i have defied nature and the older i get the better my vision has got, in middle school i was prescribed reading glasses, when i went into the Marine Corps i had 20/20, and about 3 months ago i had my eyes checked and ive now got 20/10, the eye doc told me he has been doing this for 40 years and im only the 13th person he has seen with that good of vision. i feel that i have the knowledge and experience to make a good crew chief as ive done the job as a civilian but on that same note we are talkin about maybe 3 sorties a day compared to a fully functioning fleet squadron.

any retreads out there that can share your experiences with me on going back in?

anyone think im kidding myself by thinkin i could make it at this age and stage in my life?

any osprey crew chiefs or crew chiefs in general that can tell me what you like and dont like about the mos?

thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts as i need all the motivation i can get if im going to take on this challenge

semper fi till i die

Marine here who went AF reserves (AFSOC to be specific). Gonna catch HELL from my brother Marines who are one branch and one branch only, but ever thought of Air National Guard or AF Reserves? We are dying to get prior service folks into our little club and as we know you are already "battle tested and ready". You will more than likely keep your rank unless you have totally effed up circumstances like a bad conduct discharge etc. We have the Osprey in AF as well and since Spec Ops is EXPANDING like leaps and bounds, well now is the time to get in. PM me if you are interested.

[bigirongunner]

They used to do homegrown crewchiefs, but now they have an actual MOS. for example a 53 mech is a 6113 where as a crewchief is a 6173. but in reality a crew chief is a flying mechanic. The hpmegrown crewchief is an AO now you still fly the same missions but i dont think you can give flightcodes

[badass79cj5]

good info, i didnt know that, i did try and read about homegrown though but i couldnt find much, as far as the AO goes i read that you are still at the mercy of the crew chief, not that its a big deal or anything. also that there are only so many slots available per squadron so its pretty hard to become an AO, only because everyone wants it.

[bigirongunner]

well at the same time they are always hurting for crewchiefs, i know my platform is you should be able to get it

[badass79cj5]

Marine here who went AF reserves (AFSOC to be specific). Gonna catch HELL from my brother Marines who are one branch and one branch only, but ever thought of Air National Guard or AF Reserves? We are dying to get prior service folks into our little club and as we know you are already "battle tested and ready". You will more than likely keep your rank unless you have totally effed up circumstances like a bad conduct discharge etc. We have the Osprey in AF as well and since Spec Ops is EXPANDING like leaps and bounds, well now is the time to get in. PM me if you are interested.

ive always been one branch and one branch only especially since my dad is a Marine, both times my mom remarried was to Marines so being a Marine has always been in my blood. i honestly dont know what ill do if for whatever reason i am not able to get back in the Corps, it might come down to me entertaining other branchs but i dunno.

[badass79cj5]

well at the same time they are always hurting for crewchiefs, i know my platform is you should be able to get it

thats what im really hoping for, especially since the osprey is "fairly" new to the fleet and alot of the die hard 46 guys really dont want to convert over. 6176 is gonna be my first choice fo sho

[badass79cj5]

actually lemme rephrase that, id love to be a crew chief for any bird but the osprey is my priority. so if i could find out if one bird has more slots open then another bird then i wouldnt mind shooting for that perticular bird as i know i would still be completely satisfied

[bigirongunner]

Im pretty sure they replaced all the 46s already i think the only ones left are the SAR 46s sin Cherry point. there aren't any left in new river they're all 22s now. so im pretty sure there will be enough sots for you to get one. Also they just started getting the UH-1Y, AH-1Z, and the 53Kwill be out within the next couple of years. But a 22 slot should be realitivly easy to get

[FistFu68]

O.K. BIRD MAN NOW IT'S TIME TOO FLY AROUND THA BLOCK ON THOSE FEET OF YOURS AND GAIN SOME PAIN.REMEMBER NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!SEMPER FI THAT

[Petz]

This is intended for SNCOs who are thinking about getting back in and would like information geared towards the hurdles that are thrown at the Senior Enlisted ranks to reenlist.

Sgts and below, this information would not entirely apply to you. Please goto the "how do I get back in... (redux)" thread to get your answers.


Semper Fi.

[JMoe]

SSgt Petzold,

My info first...

I enlisted in June 1989 and left active duty in Jan 1996 as a Sgt(Re-enlistment code 1A). I enlisted in the reserves in Jun 1996, picked up Staff in '98 and stayed in til Jan 2002 (Selected for Gunny). While I was out, I went to college and received my BS degree in Comp Sci. No problems with the law since I have been out. My MOS was 2531 but switched over to 4066 while in the reserves (Data). PT wise, height and weight...I am good to go. Can still knock out a high 1st class PFT.

Not married but I have 1 son. I also have a good job but have been thinking about going back in on Active Duty for the past few months now bcuz I miss the Corps!!

Questions...
1. Would I go back in as a SNCO or lower rank?
2. What are the reenlistment yr packages? (4, 6)
3. Would I go back into my MOS field?
4. Would there possibly be a choice of duty station, if it was available?
5. If approved, I would have to get new cammies, uniforms, etc, would i have to pay for the uniforms?

Thanks in advance for the info..


SEMPER FI..