Naval aviation now offers a career opportunity to non-pilot officers in its NAO, or Naval Aviation Officer, program. No longer must an officer serving in the aeronautical branch of the Navy wear the wings of a designated Naval Aviator in order to enjoy permanency of tenure and equal opportunity for promotion. He may now wear the NAO wings, or, indeed, no wings at all. He is eligible for command of ships and shore activities, and he may reach flag rank.
Although the concept of an integrated long-term program is entirely new, there has been a growing requirement for non-aviator (Code 1350) officers for several years, a requirement created chiefly by increasing technological demands of modern naval aircraft.
Speeds, sizes, and costs of combat airplanes have doubled and redoubled during the last decade. Nuclear weapons have increased firepower astronomically. Even the simplest Fleet airplanes, as well as many of the trainers, are loaded with electronic equipment. Expert manpower to maintain and operate this complex gear has become just as important as pilots to operate the flight control systems. Requirements for pilots are decreasing, because today’s airplanes can do so much more work than their predecessors, but requirements for other types of aviation officers are on the increase.
A comparison of past and present airplanes may provide some perspective for viewing personnel requirements. The SB2C Helldiver of World War II required a pilot and one enlisted gunner in its crew, it lifted two or three thousand pounds of bombs and rockets, and it was maintained by three or four enlisted mechanics. A popular fighter-bomber of the same vintage, but one that was still in use during the Korean War, was the F4U Corsair in which the most complicated piece of equipment was the gunsight. Compare such aircraft with their modern counterparts, the jet- powered A4D Skyhawk and the supersonic F8U Crusader with their nuclear bombs, sophisticated air-to-air missiles, and many black boxes. These airplanes create a demand for a host of electronics and weapons experts in support, many of whom must be commissioned officers due to the classification and importance of their work.
Aircrew Officer Requirements
While tire additional support officers concerned with the relatively simple single-seat Skyhawks and Crusaders perform their work on the ground or aboard ship, many other modern airplanes are multi-seat and require officers in their crews.
A few years ago there was not much of a requirement for back seat officers, and this small requirement was filled with naval aviators. Patrol planes normally needed only the pilot, the co-pilot, and a navigator, who usually was a newly trained pilot. The navigator could expect to move up to the flight deck upon completion of about one-half his tour in the squadron. The Navy did experiment with commissioned navigators (nonpilot) during World War II, but the program was unpopular and these officers were retrained as pilots after the war.
So much electronics gear has been installed and the combat procedures have become so complicated in today’s ASW patrol planes that several highly skilled officers are required in the crew. The senior pilot is the airplane commander, the co-pilot is the executive officer for flight safety, and there is an ASW Tactical Co-ordinator besides the navigator in the back. The problems confronting these officers are similar to those of comparable officers aboard an ASW surface ship.
Large seaplanes and land-based patrol planes have been part of naval aviation since World War I, but today, the Navy is engaged in a new type of operation—Airborne Early Warning. Numerous WV-2 Constellation airplanes are continuously airborne on the Atlantic and Pacific radar barriers. These airplanes can be likened to flying electronics laboratories, and they require crews of 30 officers and men. The radar and fighter controller officers here perform functions very similar to those of CIC officers in picket ships on the surface.
Perhaps the most startling aircrew officer requirements are those developing in carrier aviation. Just a few years back, the only officers who went aloft in carrier-based airplanes were the aviators. Fighters almost universally were single-seaters, and the attack planes, although they may have carried a rear-seat gunner, never required more than one officer pilot. Now the single-seaters are a passing breed. The heavy attack A3D Sky-warrier and its successor, the supersonic A3J Vigilante, require a bombardier-navigator to monitor the weapons system and navigate the aircraft. He is just as vital to the role of the airplane as its pilot.
Indeed, within a few years it is foreseen that most of the Navy’s airplanes will be multiplace. The long-popular S2F Tracker antisubmarine airplane carries a crew of two pilots and two heavily-burdened rear-seat men. All of the special purpose carrier-based airplanes, such as the WF and W2F early warning types, are multi-seat. The new F4H Phantom II fighter is so complicated in its operational aspects that it requires a commissioned radar intercept officer in addition to the pilot. The new A2F Intruder light attack plane is a two-place aircraft. Clearly, the days when a fleet pilot can take an airplane into battle by himself are numbered. He will need one or more assistants, and these assistants oftentimes will be the new breed of career-minded Code 1350 Naval Aviation Officers.
Moreover, officers with aircrew experience are needed in CIC, Ground Controlled Approach, and similar billets to perform functions closely related to their airborne counterparts. Thus, the requirements for non-pilot flying officers become heavy.
In filling these rapidly increasing billets, the Navy has improvised as best it could. Newly commissioned reserve officers from O.C.S. and the N.R.O.T.C., Limited Duty Officers, Warrant Officers, and a good many disgruntled aviators have been the usual sources. During recent years, most young multi-engine squadron pilots could count on spending most of their first sea tour in the back seat; expensively trained jet pilots were occasionally diverted to such duties. The special training of all these types of officers, although acceptable, was probably not conducted under the best of conditions due to uneven flow and the varied background and experience of the officers themselves.
Ever since World War II, the ground officers in aviation have proved their need. Thousands of these officers were commissioned from the ranks during the war to fill the billets aboard aviation ships, in Fleet Aircraft Service Squadrons, and at numerous aviation shore activities. Many of them rose to the grades of lieutenant commander and commander as they neared the end of their 30-year careers. But, just as thousands were commissioned in the 1940’s, so have thousands reached retirement age during the 1950’s. Today, they are nearly all gone. The Warrant Officer and Limited Duty Officer programs of recent years have only partially filled the vacancies of the departing USN- Temporary Code 135X Officers.
What do these aviation ground officers do? Mention of such billets as aircraft maintenance, electronics repair, ordnance, and ground equipment maintenance tells part of their story. Others have become involved in logistics, aviation personnel, and numerous similar administrative functions.
Air intelligence is another important specialty among ground officers. Numerous reserve officers were employed in staffs, aircraft carriers, and larger airplane squadrons in air intelligence roles during World War II, and with the advent of nuclear weapons, the requirements have grown by leaps and bounds. Selection of targets, planning of flight routes, and co-ordination of strikes are some of the specific functions of air intelligence officers. These jobs require special skills and special training.
With the Korean conflict, the Navy began training sizeable numbers of reserve officers to fill the increasing aviation ground officer billets. Generally, these young officers entered via OCS followed by the Aviation Ground Officers’ School at Jacksonville, Florida. Insofar as naval aviation was concerned, their training was minimal at best. They were not permitted to compete for career U. S. Navy commissions, and the result was that they served their obligated tour in the Fleet and then went home.
Whenever a ground officer billet could not be filled with Temporary Officers, the Limited Duty Officers, the Warrant Officers, or the Code 1355 reserve officers, the last resort source was the pool of naval aviators. No argument is made here that pilots should not have a reasonable amount of ground administrative responsibility. In fact, all aviators need part-time duty on the ground in order to appreciate the over-all aviation problem and to qualify for higher responsibility. It is an expensive proposition, however, to assign a highly qualified young aviator to an almost exclusive ground duty simply because there is no one else to do the job. His flying proficiency drops, his morale is lowered, and if he stays in a ground duty billet longer than a minimum period, his over-all value to the service falls below that of his contemporary who manages to remain in a primary flying status.
The New Career Incentive
Lack of career incentive has been the greatest handicap in obtaining and keeping the required numbers of aircrew and ground duty officers. The Code 1355 reserve officers could not compete for regular Navy commissions, the aviators were eager to return to their flying duties, and the Limited Duty Officers and Warrant Officers in aircrew duties could not count on staying there for the long haul. The aircrew billets were regarded as temporary in nature. There was such a lack of opportunity for permanency of tenure or promotion that even the young Code 1310 naval aviator, if grounded for some reason, could not remain in aviation but had to qualify as an unrestricted line officer if he wished to continue his career.
Thus the aircrew and ground duty sections of naval aviation suffered from heavy turnover, excessive training costs, and less than best morale. Performance was low because there was no real competitive spirit.
One of the first steps in implementation of the new NAO program was to give opportunities for U. S. Navy commissions to reserve officers, both on active and inactive duty. Recent publicity indicates that the first integration, in mid-1960, included about one-half of the 350 applicants. The desired competitive spirit is here, and it promises to continue.
The Chief of Naval Personnel has announced the new Code 1350 career in terms of rotation to sea and shore duties, tour lengths, grades, and interchange of specialties. The Naval Aviation Officers can compete with the Code 1310 and Code 1100 unrestricted line officers for command of ships and many shore activities. They are assured equal opportunity for promotion.
The new NAO training program was developed under the guidance of the Chief of Naval Air Training by staff representatives from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, both Atlantic and Pacific Naval Air Forces, the Bureau of Naval Personnel, and by the functional training commands of the Chief of Naval Air Training himself. The program is not integrated and centralized within the Naval Air Training Command in a manner parallel to the long standing and proven pilot training program.
The sources of NAO candidates are newly commissioned officers from the Naval Academy and the N.R.O.T.C. and recent college graduates in civilian life. All must meet physical standards just short of those for pilot training, the principal difference being lowered visual acuity requirements. Recruitment of civilian applicants is a function of both the Naval Recruiting Service and the Naval Air Reserve, while final selection rests with the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Due to the technical nature of NAO duties in general, emphasis is placed upon recruitment of individuals with degrees in engineering or the physical sciences.
The NAO Training Program
The first stage of training is conducted at the U. S. Naval School, Pre-Flight, at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola. The civilian recruit receives 1-6 weeks of intensive training in aviation science subjects, physical fitness, survival in aviation, and officer candidate training. Upon graduation, this Aviation Officer Candidate receives his commission as an ensign in the naval reserve. The NAO student who already has his commission upon entrance into the program receives a modified 10-weck course in the pre-flight phase. It is worthy of note that pre-flight training for NAO students is identical to that for pilot trainees. Oftentimes these two categories of students are intermingled in the same classroom, physical training activity, or on the military drill field. This is considered a good practice because both categories of officers will be rejoined to work together in the Fleet upon graduation from their respective training programs.
The second stage of training is conducted at a newly organized Basic NAO School located in one of the new air-conditioned hangars at Forrest Sherman Field Naval Air Station, Pensacola. This eight-week course is designed to indoctrinate the student in all specialties of naval aviation. Academic instruction includes classes in basic electronics, air navigation, special weapons, CIC, air intelligence, communications, jet engines, meteorology, aviation physiology, and leadership. The flying syllabus includes six and one- half hours of indoctrination flights for all students and an additional 13 ½ hours for those students selected for aircrew training. Five airplane models are used in order to make this indoctrination flying as typical of the types of fleet flying as is possible; included are the T-34 and T-28 single-engine trainers, the SNB multi-engine trainer, the S2F Tracker, and the T2V jet trainer. Overall objectives in the basic training phase are to give the student an appreciation of all aspects of duty in naval aviation and to provide the supervising staff with a sound basis for determination of the final stage of training, which has many channels. For example, some students are best motivated for ground duty billets, while the aircrew students must be separated for training in high altitude, high performance aircraft or low altitude flight duties. Separate physical requirements for these two general types of flying duties have been established by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Every effort is made to fit the student into the type of work he is best qualified and motivated to perform, consistent of course with the needs of the service.
The final stage of training includes a variety of courses which prepare the student for his fleet assignment. The longest course is the 32 weeks of air intelligence in Washington, D. C. The largest school is the 16-week navigator course at Corpus Christi, Texas, under the Chief of Naval Air Advanced Training. Some of its graduates proceed immediately to the Fleet as navigators, while others continue training in antisubmarine warfare. All other advanced schools are part of the Naval Air Technical Training Command with headquarters at Memphis, Tennessee. These courses are listed as follows:
Course |
Duration (Weeks) |
Location |
Radar Intercept |
16 |
NAS,* Glynco, Georgia |
ASW† Evaluator |
15 |
NAS, Glynco, Georgia |
AEW/ECM Evaluator |
16 |
NAS, Glynco, Georgia |
Ordnance |
15 |
NAS, Jacksonville, Florida |
Maintenance/Electronics |
19 |
NAS, Memphis, Tennessee |
*All courses at CIC School Naval Air Station, Glynco, are common for the first nine weeks.
†The ASW student must first complete the navigator course at Corpus Christi, Texas.
A student who completes one of the aircrew training courses and accumulates 100 hours of airborne instruction is designated as a Naval Aviation Observer and receives his NAO wings. During the periods when he is undergoing this airborne training, he receives the extra-hazardous duty pay of a Technical Air Observer, and after designation he normally will be assigned to fleet duties which involve regular and frequent operational flights and which entitle him to normal flight pay while so engaged.
It must be realized that the newly trained Naval Aviation Officer must spend many months in further training at his fleet activity before he becomes fully effective in his specialty. Oftentimes he must attend special courses such as those offered by the Fleet Airborne Electronics Training Units and the Replacement Air Groups. On these matters the NAO should be considered in the same category as his newly trained naval aviator contemporary; both have continuous training ahead—a whole career’s worth.
From the inception of this integrated training program, the students who have been inducted have displayed a motivation equal to, and sometimes better than, that of the pilot training students. Their morale is high and, even though they are destined for backseat and ground duties, they believe their responsibilities and opportunities will be as great as those of the front-seat pilots.
Conclusions
The new career program for Naval Aviation Officers is necessary due to ever-mounting requirements for non-piloting officers in fleet and aviation shore activities. The program is desirable from several points of view including lower training costs, higher morale, and higher performance of the NAO’s and the aviators and other personnel they replace.
Several years of continuous training effort will be required before the NAO Program begins to provide enough Code 1350 officers to fill all demands. This point can be considered as reached when most young pilots have been reassigned to cockpit duties and the Limited Duty Officers and Warrant Officers who are presently filling the gaps have returned to their specialized ground duties. Although the requirements may appear large, the goal is not impossible, nor even too difficult of achievement, provided all responsible authorities understand and appreciate the NAO Program and give it their full backing during the formative period of the next few years.
Commander Hogan graduated from the Naval Academy in 1943 and from the Naval War College Command and Staff course in 1954. A naval aviator, he is currently Officer in Charge, Basic NAO School, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. He has spent all his shore tours in officer training programs, either as student or instructor.