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  1. #1

    DEP to PLC?

    Hello Marines,

    My name is Sebastian Camargo and I Signed the initial DEP contract in October, with a ship date to Paris Island due on April 25th 2016.

    That being said, I am currently in my first semester of college, and I decided to follow through with my dream of becoming a Marine. I got an 80 on my asvab and my recruiter told me I qualified for any MOS. After my initial signing at MEPS, I met with my recruiter to choose an MOS, only to find out that I did not qualify for Air crew or aircraft mechanic because of my mechanical score (91). I asked my recruiter if I could take the asvab again and he said its not possible since I already signed my initial DEP contract.

    I've had aspirations of becoming a pilot or even working on aircraft for a while now and I am kind of disappointed that I would not be able to do that.

    So after being told I wouldn't be able to work on aircrafts, I asked my recruiter if it's possible to become a pilot. He told me to choose a contract and from there I would have to apply to MECEP and then be selected for OCS.

    Reading through the forums, I came across programs such as NROTC and PLC. What I'm wondering is if I am able to apply for PLC even though I'm currently in DEP? If it is possible, how would I go about doing that? Would that be through my recruiter? He didn't sound so happy when I asked him about becoming and officer and was really pushing me to do th enlisted MECEP route.. Doing research I found that MECEP is very competitive to get into, and if my ultimate goal is to become a pilot, doing the direct route would be more convenient. I appreciate any input from Marines that are knowledgeable on this subject or any input at all. Thank you Marines.


  2. #2
    USMC 2571
    Guest Free Member
    This is NOT strictly on point with your exact questions, but pm djj34 and see if he can offer any specific ideas...meanwhile, here is a post djj34 made some time ago and authorized me to repeat it any time someone asked about pilot training. I know it doesn't answer your precise questions, but take a look anyway. The main body of the text is djj34 speaking, but another pilot chimes in at the end too. Will post it in a second, let me locate it


  3. #3
    USMC 2571
    Guest Free Member
    Here's my aviation post. After mine is UMDStudent24's post about strike training.






    Quote Originally Posted by djj34



    Long answer - a Marine is a Marine, no one really cares what you do before you earn any credibility. With respect to getting into flight school, your commissioning source doesn't really matter. The criteria you mention definitely helps getting that commission, whether it be from OCS, USNA or NROTC. By the time you've commissioned (with few exceptions) you will already have that "guarantee" to go to Pensacola. First, you will receive orders to The Basic School which is almost analogous to MCT for enlisted guys/gals. You'll go through six months of working on strengthening your leadership skills. You will qualify on the M16 and M9, read and write more orders than essays you wrote in college. You'll go over doctrine ad-nauseum, as well as tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) ranging from the fireteam up to leading a company sized element. That's really it in a nutshell. I'm sure this is that "other assigned position" you mentioned.

    Flash forward six months and you're checking in to MATSG-21 at NAS Pensacola. If you do not already possess an FAA private pilot certificate, you'll get a class date for a screener called IFS - Introductory Flight Screening. You'll get civilian ground school shoved down your throat in a matter of 2-3 weeks, and then you'll fly 12 flights in a small single engine airplane with a civilian certified flight instructor. You'll take a checkride and complete a pattern solo in as little as 11 days. It's a good time.

    The next step is to begin Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, or API. This is the beginning of your professional aviation training. It has changed since I went through in May 2013, but its mostly the same firehose course of aerodynamics, meteorology, turbine engines, basic aircraft systems, navigation, flight rules & regulations, as well as completing a mile swim for time, and doing various land and water survival requirements. Fail two tests and you can kiss aviation goodbye. It does happen, I have plenty of friends in logistics, finance, admin, comms, and maintenance... Stay in the books and give a damn, and you'll be OK.

    After API you will receive orders for primary. Here there are two options. You could go up I-10 to scenic Milton, FL and fly the T-6B Texan II with VT-2, 3 or 6 out of NAS Whiting Field. Or... you can take a 750 mile drive and burn dead dinosaurs around South Texas with VT-27 or 28 at NAS Corpus Christi. You'll go through a ground school syllabus with 5 exams in 3 weeks as well as preparatory simulation rides before going to the real plane. Everything comes hot and heavy, very quickly, and you are expected to be an adult officer and know your sh*t from day one. You'll learn to fly the plane during the day. You'll learn to manhandle it up to 5g's, as well as fine tune it, through some aerobatics. You'll spend quite a bit of time doing this awesome thing called radio instrument navigation, and you'll do a few formation flights with another student 10 feet off your wing at 270mph. All in all, you'll fly about 75 hours, solo 3 times, and learn more than you thought you could. Your confidence as a professional should skyrocket. It's a good time.

    At the end of primary you will put our four advanced pipelines in an order of preference. I requested Multiengine, Tiltrotor, Rotary, Strike, in that order. I got Tiltrotor. I won't go into super detail on the advanced phases because that's so far away, and some things are changing soon.

    Tiltrotor - you'll go to South Whiting and get some helicopter action. Once again, quick, hot and heavy. Then you'll go to Corpus Christi and learn how to fly a bigger plane with two engines and more complicated systems. You'll learn to fly it, land it, and be safe with an engine out. You'll get really good at using a co pilot. Then you'll move on to the MV-22B Osprey with duty locations at MCAS Miramar, Camp Pendleton, MCAS New River and MCAS Futenma.

    Maritime - you'll pack your bags (or stay) and head to Corpus Christi and do the exact same stuff I said above, just without the sexy helicopter stuff, and a smaller, less-powered aircraft. Mission is the same. You'll move on to the KC-130J Hercules with duty locations at MCAS Miramar, MCAS Cherry Point and MCAS Iwakuni. These are very rare and very coveted.

    Rotary - helicopter action at South Whiting! Lots of it. Lots of emergencies. Lots of navigation. Lots of studying. Flying a very fun aircraft for 6-8 months and moving on to the AH-1W/Z, UH-1Y, or CH-53E is a hardly a bad deal. Locations include MCAS Kaneohe, MCAS Miramar, Camp Pendleton, MCAS New River and MCAS Cherry Point.

    Strike - not really sure what these guys do much of other than look pretty. Joking aside, they go through a very long, very intense syllabus which has you landing on an aircraft carrier as its pinnacle. Over 100 flights and many of them are solo. My two best friends are in this track and they're working their butts off. They describe it as having an instructor in the plane only to make sure the plane doesn't dig nose first into the dirt. Very single pilot minded, jet pilots have to be self reliant. They can select the F/A-18A/C/D, the AV-8B and beginning this summer, the F-35B. Locations include MCAS Iwakuni, MCAS Miramar, MCAS Yuma, MCAS Cherry Point and MCAS Beaufort.

    I know that was WAY more than you asked for, but I figure I could put the info down on here since pilot training info is severely lacking on here, and what is on here, is pretty outdated. Maybe now it can be a reference.


  4. #4
    USMC 2571
    Guest Free Member
    Now, about PLC etc please PM 03mike for info about his insights into that.


  5. #5
    USMC 2571
    Guest Free Member
    Quote Originally Posted by UMDStudent24


    I will give some info about the strike pipeline and the F/A-18 specifically, since that was my route.

    Strike is very much built to be single piloted. You have, I think about 125 syllabus flights in the T-45C and about 40 of them are solo. That doesn't seem like a lot of solos, but in the aviation community at that point, it is a ton. You have 3 solos in Primary in around 50 flights.

    In the Hornet FRS you have about 86 syllabus flights and 62 of them are solo (and only about 4 of the dual flights actually require another pilot in the jet. The rest can be a WSO configured jet with a WSO in the back. I.e., only the front seat can actually fly.) Once you get to the Hornet, the assumption is that after your first 4 or 5 flights, you will forever and ever afterward be the only pilot on board, so you better be able to fly the damn thing. Additionally, flying the Hornet is easier than the T-45C and pretty easy in general. It is doing everything else in the Hornet that is difficult.

    Strike seems tough when you go through it, but looking back, it was incredibly easy in scope. You get introduced to a lot of difficult concepts and difficult things to do in formation, but it is all watered down. The entire syllabus really is just exposure. You will have a blast if you go through it. Landing on a carrier makes you feel awesome, orange and white jet or not. You'll have done something that very few others have done. The first time you do section engaged maneuvering you'll think that you're as cool as the dudes on Top Gun. (Even though the entire flight is scripted, and the bandit follows scripted moves, haha.)

    It is a lot of work and takes a very long time to get through. You also owe the Marine Corps a very very very long portion of your life so keep that in mind. The contract for fixed wing pilots is 8 years from the date of your winging. I was in the Marine Corps for 3 years and 11 months when I winged. So, essentially, the Marine Corps will own me for at least 12 years before I get the opportunity to make a choice for myself again.


  6. #6
    Thank you very much for the informative post, Marine USMC2571. It does sound like a very long commitment, but one that is definitely worth the time. To clarify something: how long would the whole contract be? It would be 8 years for fixed wing Pilot after already becoming an officer and going through the API plus all the other training mentioned? So we're looking at roughly 12 years as you mentioned, correct?
    I Pmed Marine 03mike about the DEP to PLC question and I am waiting on a response. Any Marine with further input, feel free to respond with any additional information on Pilot training, OCC, PLC, or anything related. Thank you again Marine.


  7. #7
    USMC 2571
    Guest Free Member
    Glad to pass along any info I have, but I can't answer those questions. PM not only 03mike, but djj34 also and ask them to take a look at your thread. They'll be glad to help, they are some of the most knowledgeable people on the site.

    And they have posted re OCS, PLC, The Basic School------ look at 03mike and djj34 "most recent posts" on their respective profiles and you'll probably find their input on OCS, PLC, etc and which is better for certain people and their situations. The last posts by them along these lines was within the last couple of weeks, I think.


  8. #8
    To be eligible for MECEP, one must be at least a Sergeant. Average Marine isn't a Sergeant till near the end of their initial enlistment (around 4 years of service).

    Your recruiter is reluctant to lose your enlisted contract because he is working hard to meet mission (quota). He can care less about your aspirations to become a pilot or work on planes.

    Some people who retake the ASVAB see their test scores go down. Be careful what you ask for.


  9. #9
    I am currently looking through djj34's posts, thank you for the suggestion Marine USMC2571. Tennessee Top, thank you for the reply. That was what I had been reading, that MECEP would not be realistic in my situation. My direct question would be: Am I obligated to stay in the DEP contract under enlisted, or is it possible to join the PLC program or an NROTC program even though I already signed my First contract for DEP? Thank you Marines for any additional input. I just reached out to my recruiter via text and I am waiting to see what he says about moving from enlisted DEP to any of the programs offered by the USMC to become and officer. Thank you Marines again, and any additional information or comments from any other Marines would be greatly appreciated.


  10. #10
    Drop out of the DEP, go contact an OSO, get your PLC package started. The recruiter will be ****ed of course, but there is no penalty for dropping from the DEP. Don't depend on MECEP; it's a longshot. You want to be a pilot, go talk to an OSO, point blank, period.


  11. #11
    If you're squared away and ready to put all your effort into the officer route, the OSO will gladly work with you. Your recruiter is ****ed because he put in time to contract you into the DEP, and now he's losing a contract. He took a step forward towards making mission, then takes a step back when you drop from the DEP. So, don't expect for your recruiter to be receptive towards your aspirations to go the PLC route.


  12. #12
    Thank you very much Marine LCPL1341. I contacted the OSO and he seems more than happy to help me out with the process. Update: Scheduled a meeting with the OSO on Monday, hopefully all goes well. Now I just have to notify my Enlisted recruiter about the change. Thank you Marines very much, you have all been very informative.


  13. #13
    Good to go. Keep us posted, make sure to also let the OSO know you dropped from the DEP. I'm not saying this in a negative way, I'm just saying that full disclosure is the best policy. It does suck that the recruiter is losing a contract, but its your life and career and no one can live it for you.


  14. #14
    USMC 2571
    Guest Free Member
    The usual good advice from LCPL1341. Good information.


  15. #15
    Sebastian - I replied to your PM earlier today before seeing this thread. These Marines have given you good advice. I would recommend waiting until you have things secured with the OSO before burning any bridges with your recruiter - just in case things don't go as planned.


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