In article ,
Charlie Wolf wrote:

Well - in keeping with the recently posted NG charter for this joint,
I offer this up:

Do group members here think this is a good idea?? My days as an AW
(S-3A's & B's) concentrated on sub-hunting and aviation acoustic
analysis, ISAR RADR, MAD, et al. But merging the rating with mechs
and metal smiths seems to me is kinda broad-based.

What are the rating exams going to look like?

In my day, we had AW's in the following specialties:
- acoustic
- non-acoustic
- helo

You do know that us helo AW's go through basic and advanced acoustical
training as well as do airborne acoustical analysis in the fleet...right?


This article would leave one thinking that the AW rating will now have
numerous sub-specialties; none of which are related to any of the
others, except that they all have gold wings and draw ACIP.

I have to wonder what this will do to ranks of traditionally
ground-pounder ratings merged (AMS, AO, AE, AD, PR, etc.) of the HS/HSL
community. I'm not sure if things have changed or not, but when I was
in, if you were helo aircrew; you had to be SAR qualified. I seriously
doubt even 1/3 of the people filling those rates in the squadrons I was
in or worked around could have made it through SAR school.

I have to wonder what percentage of those other rates can even make it
through the training pipeline...much less qualify for the security
clearances traditionally required of the AW rating.


It sounds to me that they may soften up and dumb down all requirements
across the board. That certainly will give them the numbers (the Navy
always seems to be short of SAR people), but I have to believe the human
element of helo ASW will be much less effective.



--Mike