@ Chuckrox8 I don’t think anyone can question your brother’s “passion” for the SEALs. It’s a matter of bad luck since it’s so easy to get injured, especially during Hell Week. Also, going through BUD/S as an officer adds another dimension of ridiculousness.
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > @ Chuckrox8 > > I don’t think anyone can question your brother’s > “passion” for the SEALs. It’s a matter of bad > luck since it’s so easy to get injured, especially > during Hell Week. Also, going through BUD/S as an > officer adds another dimension of ridiculousness. I think there were around 150 enlisted guys and only 12 or so officers including him. He said the instructors were absolutely ruthless on the officers. As an officer you are expected to adhere to an unwritten super standard. Bad luck/good luck got him to where he is. He’s going to fly some jets which I think is bad @ss.
Yeah, super standard to lead super men. Jets are badass. Probably next-to-last generation of manned military jets, with the F-35s being the last, before networked, unmanned, extreme performance ones roll out that would kill a human sitting in them.
The reason I have to question unmanned jets is their susceptibility to communications jamming and hacking. Also, they cannot adequately communicate with ground forces and can’t add subjective interpretation to what they’re seeing on the ground. More times than not, air battles aren’t won by acrobatics. It’s simply first to acquire air-air target (typically over the horizon) and first to fire.
^ I agree that the crucial aspect is communications, that’s the dealbreaker. Assuming that real time encryption, communications links, etc. are adequate… …an on-ground pilot could do a much better job since they aren’t distracted by such things as blacking out, fearing for their lives, (as much) adrenaline, and other human bodily and physiological functions. Furthermore, there could be a team of 1 to N helping the pilot, magnifying the effective attention span and decision making capabilities. Although each of the team members could each be aided by computers…it seems that the scarcest resource is attention, rather than data, information, and knowledge. So much more strategy/tactics, fascinating to think about…
Because of the economy there are alot more applicants to OCS (of all branches). That being said the Army is still hurting and the Marines still has needs. I’m out of shape anyways… but the opportunity to serve while doing “interesting” stuff that you can’t replicate as a civilain is pretty enticing. I also recommend the book Killer Elite… awesome book on Gray Fox… AWESOME. Well I’m running a half marathon in May… hopefully I’ll be in decent shape by then and will decide if I’m going to pursue it. It’ll be awhile before we get rid of pilots in the sky… albeit sometime in our lifetime.
^ Yeah, I would say 30-40 years until all military fighter planes become pilotless, after the F-35 becomes obsolete.
Skynet will become self aware.
There’s a Lockheed Martin plant in Atlanta and yesterday I saw, what I assumed to be, an F-35. It wasn’t painted and had a F-16 escorting it about. The slanted rear stabilizers are a dead giveaway. It’s a pretty cool looking plane.
Chuckrox8 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My brother graduated from Naval OCS 1.5 years ago. > He then was transferred to Special Warfare (Navy > SEALs) training in Coronado, CA. He was hurt > badly, twice, during Hell Week and was > subsequently medically rolled back each time. He > really started to question his passion for the > SEALs and starting looking into their fighter > pilot program. He just got accepted into the > March class in Pensacola. He’s pretty pumped > about it. I would trade any job paying mid six > figures for a chance to fly hundred million dollar > jets. > Cool, out of curiosity, if you know, how do they select fighter pilots? Is it as competitive and difficult as being selected for SEALs?
I’m the other way around: i was an officer in the British Royal Navy for 5 years before entering investment. It was a good few years, but not the lifestyle I wanted. I never saw any combat (I say that so you don’t think i’m going for AF War Hero status). My advice would be go for it if you have any interest. When you’re too old, you’re too old. You will make wonderful friends, and nail some good women. The whole ‘defence of freedom’ thing is in there somewhere, as well…
They get the bulk of their pilots from Anapolis and ROTC. That being said I think they have some pilot slots for civilains and prior-enlisted going the OCS route. Also… Pilots are only officers… where as the bulk of the SEAL Community is enlisted… So by comparing officers to officers… it is much more difficult to get a slot at BUD/S… and even more difficult to actually make it to the Teams. IMO.
Fighter pilots make movies. Bomber pilots make history. Helicopter pilots crash.
I went to school with a couple of West Point alums. Cool and smart dudes. If I were a US citizen I would have seriously considered going “Army strong”.
Was not saying that military is stupid to go into. I have considered it in the past. Definitely not a left leaning person myself, far right from center. Military should one of only a few things that taxpayers fund. That comment I posted was on or around the day that Obama came out with his penalize the banks BS, and I am sick of this populist idea that bankers and finance folks in general add no value to the economy and society and just suck value. I read your initial statement as being one of those people. Military does add value to society and the economy through an unquantifiable means of protecting a free society to allow transactions. Did not quite take the time to appropriately express what I had meant.
Mister Walrus expressed exactly what I was trying to say: “Obviously some sort of military is useful to have around. Even if there are no wars, you need an army for disaster relief or other stuff like that. I think what Rydex was trying to say is that it’s bad if a military is too large relative to the country. It’s just like any kind of government spending. He also seemed to be bothered by the insinuation that financial services add no value to society. We obviously need banks for a healthy economy to operate.” Favorite cartoon as a kid was GI Joe.
Yeah, I can see how my initial post would be construed like that… was certainly not the intent. I have no qualms with the IBankers and what not… and get pissed off when the ignorant try and blame everything on Wall Street… there’s plenty of blame to go around. Intent was more about anyone else feeling a call to serve… either through military service, education, Peace Corps, etc. Flipside… one can do just as much “good” working hard their entire life, focusing on their career and business, creating alot of jobs, and then giving away a lot of money in retirement or at death.
Yeah, I get the feeling more often than not that what I do has no drastic impact on anyone, it is hard to immediately see any impact or any value added. On the flid side, in the service, you get to see on a daily basis or close to, the value you add, especially if you are at a disaster area helping or rebuilding IRAQ or hunting down terrorists, the feedback is almost immediate, and therefore I imagine you feel more fulfilled, and feel like you are adding value.
Yeah… I guess I should have asked something along the lines of who is thinking about leaving finance for more job satisfaction. Most my current satisfaction comes from my paycheck… not the work.
ShintreH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Chuckrox8 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > My brother graduated from Naval OCS 1.5 years > ago. > > He then was transferred to Special Warfare > (Navy > > SEALs) training in Coronado, CA. He was hurt > > badly, twice, during Hell Week and was > > subsequently medically rolled back each time. > He > > really started to question his passion for the > > SEALs and starting looking into their fighter > > pilot program. He just got accepted into the > > March class in Pensacola. He’s pretty pumped > > about it. I would trade any job paying mid six > > figures for a chance to fly hundred million > dollar > > jets. > > > > Cool, out of curiosity, if you know, how do they > select fighter pilots? Is it as competitive and > difficult as being selected for SEALs? I don’t know the exact specifics behind the fighter pilot process but, it is extremely selective. SEALs is less selective than flying but still tough to get into. I think there are around 8 or 10 BUDs/SEALs classes per year and the size can vary but it’s usually somewhere around 150 guys per class. Depending on the time of year, weather conditions, instructors, injuries, etc… the class may end with 25 to 75 guys finishing. SEALs is 80% physical endurance & strength and 20% mental aptitude. My brother told me that over the last 10 years the SEALs program has only netted an additional 50 or so guys. You’d think that it would be a much larger program but due to injuries, transfers, wounded, age, and the occasional KIA the branch’s growth is almost flat. When it comes to flying, it really boils down to the supply of available aircraft. There are only so many multimillion dollar planes, jets, and helicopters to go around and almost everyone wants to fly. I think there are going to be around 25 to 30 folks in his class and I believe the classes gear up maybe 6 to 8 times per year. Getting in the program can depend on which branch you are transferring from or if you’re an academy grad. Because he was in special warfare I think that gave him a leg up. I suppose it would be like doing a stint in IBD for Goldman and then having your pick of what you want to do. He also has a private pilot license which I am sure helped. The fact that he was #1 in his OCS class probably helped also. When my brother applied to pilot school the transfer officer told him he wouldn’t have a chance in hell of getting in. Three months later the same guy told him he was selected for the program.