There are a lot of exciting opportunities in the Navy Air Crew program. If you enlist and sign up for tactical duties with this program, you will be exposed to job opportunities with some of the most advanced machinery and systems in the world. Working with helicopters, jet aircraft, and turbo prop aircraft, along with some of the most physical training in the world will be your lot. If you sign up and receive a guaranteed school, you will receive the finest training at Aircrew class “A†technical school. If you choose, you can also be cross-trained as a rescue swimmer.
Serving on board ship is almost a guarantee if you succeed in graduating aircrew schools. Some billets are available on shore based air stations, but the majority of aircrew graduates are assigned to stations on board ship. This may mean on board a large aircraft carrier, where you will have nearly five thousand shipmates. Or you may be assigned as an aircrew member on board a smaller ship that has helicopters.
When you graduate flight training, you will receive an added bonus – air crewmembers are able to receive “flight pay†because of the hazardous nature of their assignments and duty. Signing up for an aircrew billet in the Navy is for at least a five-year enlistment. This is a regular four-year enlistment with an additional year because of the need for such long advanced training.
Duties that an air crewmember is likely to engage in after Class A school training:
-In flight maintenance and operation of mechanical and electrical gear.
-Using and operating various sensors, communications, and weapons gear.
-Operating various types of tactical weapons and aiming machinery.
-Acting as an air crewman while in flight, or performing as an aircrew loadmaster.
-Using systems to detect and explode mines from aerial platforms.
-Search and rescue of downed pilots, ships at sea, and other rescue operations as directed.
-Perform emergency first aid on those people encountered as required.
-Pre flight system and equipment checks.
Applicants for flight crew and aircrew billets should be high school graduates, and eligible for advanced (SECRET) security clearances. Strong physical and mental ability is needed, as is possessing normal 20/20 or better eyesight, or correctable to 20/20 for certain applications.
Applicants should not have any speech impediments and normal hearing. Volunteer aircrew applicants should have excellent physical dexterity, and be used to working with equipment tools and machinery.
