ziploc158 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Hey! I got picked up as a CSO and what I really wanted to do was be a WSO the bad news for me is that for FY09 I hear no one is getting strike nav. I was wondering if anyone knows of any special programs going on that would put me at P'cola? My Det commander said he is trying to put me into a accelerated nav program (not sure what that means). Also is there a way you can cross train into a B-1 or F-15E from a slick, Spec Ops, or the Buff? Also anyone know any news when the new CSO training program is going to stand up, the last I heard was Oct 2010. btw I put on my bars in May '09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afthunderchief16 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Hey! I got picked up as a CSO and what I really wanted to do was be a WSO the bad news for me is that for FY09 I hear no one is getting strike nav. I was wondering if anyone knows of any special programs going on that would put me at P'cola? My Det commander said he is trying to put me into a accelerated nav program (not sure what that means). Also is there a way you can cross train into a B-1 or F-15E from a slick, Spec Ops, or the Buff? Also anyone know any news when the new CSO training program is going to stand up, the last I heard was Oct 2010. btw I put on my bars in May '09 Chances are probably good that you will go to PCola rather than KRND. Last I heard, dudes that graduated in Dec are already being given a PCola class date. As far as a accelerated nav syllabus, there is no such thing. Right now there is the Nav/EWO syllabus at KRND and the joint WSO syllabus with the Navy at PCola. The class that just started here at KRND just started a new syllabus (10-02??) that is supposed to be more similar to this 'CSO' pipe dream. The only difference is that there is going to be a bigger emphasis on intro EWO stuff (9 or 10 weeks compared to the 4 we have now). They claim that there is going to be a seamless transition from the last graduating class here at KRND and the first graduating class at PCola, I kinda doubt that happening. From the sounds of it, they want to try and open the new schoolhouse in April/May '10. As far as cross-training, there really isn't many ways to get in to a WSO spot from Nav/EWO training but thats not to say things won's change when everyone is a 'CSO' or the needs of the AF won't change down the road. You will find that almost everything in the AF has an asterisk next to it because there is never one answer that will remain true for more than a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afthunderchief16 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Also, where did you hear that there will be no WSOs for FY09? Is that implying that they aren't doing the whole JSUNT thing or implying that everything is going to the same place in PCola... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziploc158 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 A buddy of mine is there right now and he said that the Navy is so backed up in training (about 9 to 10 months) the air force is not going to send anymore people through the pipeline at P'cola until they open up their doors. My cadre even confirmed that a few months ago saying that there is nothing on the books to send people to P'cola for WSO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rosiel Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I guess I am fortunate to be commissioning next June. If all goes according to plan, the new facility at Pensacola should just be opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08Dawg Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 All you guys worried about WSO slots that I guess are graduating in 2010, don't sweat it. You'll most likely be sent to the new program in PCola, where instead of being picked up for a WSO slot direct out of ROTC, you compete with everybody else for what track you want, and you go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziploc158 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 All you guys worried about WSO slots that I guess are graduating in 2010, don't sweat it. You'll most likely be sent to the new program in PCola, where instead of being picked up for a WSO slot direct out of ROTC, you compete with everybody else for what track you want, and you go from there. I'm graduating in May 09 and I would love the chance to go to P'cola, I guess all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope the big blue decides to send some of us there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08Dawg Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I'm graduating in May 09 and I would love the chance to go to P'cola, I guess all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope the big blue decides to send some of us there Well, don't knock Randolph. It's not a bad place to be, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wh4tig0t Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Well, don't knock Randolph. It's not a bad place to be, either. Randolph isn't too bad. Its stupid they are moving Nav school to Pcola anyways. For one the Navy is no longer participating, so AF Nav schoolis on a Navy base for no reason. Two they are moving from a place that has weather probably 95% of the year to go flying to a place on the beach where im sure the percentage is much lower. Another good idea like putting IFS in a place 4000' above sea level with crappy flying weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQZip01 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Randolph isn't too bad. Its stupid they are moving Nav school to Pcola anyways. For one the Navy is no longer participating, so AF Nav schoolis on a Navy base for no reason. Two they are moving from a place that has weather probably 95% of the year to go flying to a place on the beach where im sure the percentage is much lower. Another good idea like putting IFS in a place 4000' above sea level with crappy flying weather. Navy will still have some students, but certainly nothing like the quantity of AF Navs (If you've heard anything else, it's news to me). Weather there is fine, but the afternoon storms tend to sock in afternoon flights in general. As for IFS...what were they thinking...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wh4tig0t Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Navy will still have some students, but certainly nothing like the quantity of AF Navs (If you've heard anything else, it's news to me). Weather there is fine, but the afternoon storms tend to sock in afternoon flights in general. As for IFS...what were they thinking...? Last I heard at the 562nd last summer was the Navy backed out, guess that could change. My point about the weather is I had one flight delayed for an hour I think because of fog at RND, I can't see Pcola being that reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziploc158 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Well, don't knock Randolph. It's not a bad place to be, either. I'm not knocking it at all I was just really hoping for a F-15E, but I'd settle for the BUFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Weaver Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm not knocking it at all I was just really hoping for a F-15E, but I'd settle for the BUFF We'll be waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter14 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I had orders to Pensacola, but at the last minute they pulled them and sent me to Randolph instead. That was right after I got comissioned. ...in 1995. In the past 18 years, they moved nav school from Mather to Randolph, RIFed all the navs, realized the RIFed too many, pumped a bunch of navs through, moved strike to PCola, started classes at PCola and shipped heavy guys to RND, moved EWO to PCola (Corry Station), handed out BUFFs out of Randolph, moved them to the strike track at PCola, moved them back, moved EWO back to the 563rd, moved it all back to RND except strike, changed the names to protect the innocent, and are now moving it all back to PCola, like it's some fresh new idea. The same stuff goes on forever, the rumor mill is huge. "Hey, you hear we are deploying to Base X?" "I heard we are deploying to Base Y because of (insert reason here)." "Nope, my buddy from pilot training knows this guy at AMC, and he walked into a briefing and saw we were going to Base X!" "Boy, I sure hope we go to Base X, Base Y Sucks!" <stepping off of plane at Base Y two weeks later> Yep, should have known it was too good to be true. Don't believe anything until you are "boots on the ground" in said location on training day one. That's when you will have at least half a chance of knowing what will happen to your training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQZip01 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm not knocking it at all I was just really hoping for a F-15E, but I'd settle for the BUFF If you're going to be a nav, we're going to have to work on your tact. E-mail sent. (BTW, I'm a BUFF guy...I know what you meant, but watch it! Us aircrew are a fickle bunch...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziploc158 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 We'll be waiting. Just to clear it up I'm not knocking the BUFF, I think it would be cool to be apart of the global strike command and have a nuclear mission If you're going to be a nav, we're going to have to work on your tact. E-mail sent. (BTW, I'm a BUFF guy...I know what you meant, but watch it! Us aircrew are a fickle bunch...) Thanks for the e-mail! If you don't mind I'd like to send it to some of the other guys who got CSO (One guy who just got it the other day seems to be a little upset it my help him settle a bit). Are you up in Minot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Just to clear it up I'm not knocking the BUFF, I think it would be cool to be apart of the global strike command and have a nuclear mission I specifically wouldn't wanna touch that can of worms with a 10 foot pole. If the CSAF wants to "reinvigorate the nuclear enterprise," it sounds great at the strategic level. But when you're working in a squadron with a nuclear mission, it just means inspections up the a$$ and a lot of puckering. No thanks, props are too sexy to deal with nukes anyways :) Other than nuke stuff though Buffs rock, she's a good ole bird that we'll be flying till the wings fall off (unless we can get it to fly w/o wings, in that case we'd fly her forever) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQZip01 Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Just to clear it up I'm not knocking the BUFF, I think it would be cool to be apart of the global strike command and have a nuclear mission Thanks for the e-mail! If you don't mind I'd like to send it to some of the other guys who got CSO (One guy who just got it the other day seems to be a little upset it my help him settle a bit). Are you up in Minot? Fire it to whomever you wish, but try to bring him to the website. Camaraderie helps when you feel like you've been sucker punched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C/Prince Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Hopefully I didn't miss this topic on other threads, but as a ROTC cadet who is really interested in being a Nav (preferably a WSO- sooooo bada**!!!) and after seeing a lot of feedback from other WSOs, do you all see a future demand for WSOs? Does anyone have an idea of how long we're going to be using Bones and Strike Eagles? Basically, if I am blessed enough to get a WSO slot, will I get to use it very long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperWSO Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 (edited) Hopefully I didn't miss this topic on other threads, but as a ROTC cadet who is really interested in being a Nav (preferably a WSO- sooooo bada**!!!) and after seeing a lot of feedback from other WSOs, do you all see a future demand for WSOs? Does anyone have an idea of how long we're going to be using Bones and Strike Eagles? Basically, if I am blessed enough to get a WSO slot, will I get to use it very long? Opinions may vary, but WSO/CSO is undeniably a career field in decline. With that said, I am confident that you could serve out a full career in the Bone or F-15E. The AF does not even have replacement platforms on the horizon for either aircraft. The F-35 (sans WSO) is supposed to replace the F-16, A-10, and Strike Eagle, but it won't have the same legs or many of the Strike Eagles capabilities. Besides, the F-15E is one of our newest fighter airframes - it should have lots of hours left. Navs may start to phase out of the traditional Nav airframes in the next decade, but WSO platforms were designed for two or four bodies, and pilots won't ride around behind other pilots, so I think your odds are pretty good. Edited December 24, 2009 by SuperWSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 It's wasn't quite your question but the outlook for AFSOC navs/ewos/csos/whatever is good as well. Not any plan to get rid of them anytime in the future and we get to employ some pretty sweet weapons and aircraft. Good luck going for WSO but don't lost that excitement if you don't get picked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alarm Red Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Opinions may vary, but WSO/CSO is undeniably a career field in decline. With that said, I am confident that you could serve out a full career in the Bone or F-15E. The AF does not even have replacement platforms on the horizon for either aircraft. The F-35 (sans WSO) is supposed to replace the F-16, A-10, and Strike Eagle, but it won't have the same legs or many of the Strike Eagles capabilities. Besides, the F-15E is one of our newest fighter airframes - it should have lots of hours left. I'm not in a position to know much about the future of WSOness, but talking about the Strike Eagle vs. JSF, what exactly can't it do that the Strike Eagle can? Also I'm not sure many people consider the Strike Eagle to have remarkably long endurance. I don't know when the last F-15E was made either, but last time I was through BAF there were some with 7,000 hours on them - that's old as shit to most people. ...pilots won't ride around behind other pilots, so I think your odds are pretty good. F-4, F-100F Misty FAC, OV-10 all show this to be incorrect. Has there ever been a fighter before the Strike Eagle with a WSO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhistory Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 F-4, F-100F Misty FAC, OV-10 all show this to be incorrect. Has there ever been a fighter before the Strike Eagle with a WSO? Bristol Beaufighter, P-61, F-82,F-89,F-94,F-100F,F-105F/G(EWOs,not WSOs) F-4C,D,E,G(ditto EWOs), F-111/EF-111 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilEagle Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I'm not in a position to know much about the future of WSOness, but talking about the Strike Eagle vs. JSF, what exactly can't it do that the Strike Eagle can? Also I'm not sure many people consider the Strike Eagle to have remarkably long endurance. I don't know when the last F-15E was made either, but last time I was through BAF there were some with 7,000 hours on them - that's old as shit to most people. If you haven't gotten the gouge yet - the F-35 is shaping up to be quite the POS. It will be able to carry less than a Viper - that alone should tell you it can't replace the strike pig. The Strike Eagle has legs longer than most fighters - def longer than other fighters carrying bombs. AND the gas it carries doesn't mess with it's ability to carry lots of iron (in most cases). Strikes are not all that old, I flew a C model back from Langley to LN in 2004 with 2 brand-new strikes - they had less than 5 hours on them. The Panthers got 15 or so new jets in 04. The F-15SG line is still open, so we could actually buy more if the money was there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brabus Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I'm starting to think each community is getting drastically different F-35 briefs. I've seen quite a lot of completely wrong info posted here about it...at least wrong compared to the info/briefs I've seen. I'm not in the know, but I do know what I've seen on powerpoint presentations and SIPR, and it doesn't correlate to things on this site. I expect wrong info posted by those without the access, but surprising to see those with the access. I don't really care, just an observation. And like superwso said, with no real replacement for either the Bone or Mudhen on the near horizon, I think WSOs have a good amount of time left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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