Viper Pilot_ A Memoi..

A recently assigned pilot, whether a transfer or a true rookie out of the training
pipeline, is called a Fucking New Guy (FNG)—unless he’s a lieutenant colonel or
above. FNGs are assigned to a “flight,” an administrative unit within a squadron
made up of about five pilots plus an Assistant Flight Commander and a Flight
Commander. These last two guys are senior captains; the Flight Commander should
be an Instructor Pilot (IP) but often is only a flight leader.
He takes care of his guys. The Flight Commander knows what upgrades and
training each pilot needs, and builds the weekly flying schedule accordingly. He
reviews the grade sheets written on each man and helps maintain the all-important
grade book. This is a permanent record of the formal training courses and upgrades
the pilot has completed.
Besides a flight assignment, a pilot will also have at least one additional duty.
He’ll be put into one of the squadron functional areas, called a Shop, under the
Shop Chief who is a senior captain. These shops allow the squadron to run
smoothly: Scheduling, Training, Mobility, Life Support, Standardization and
Evaluation, Intelligence, and the Weapons and Tactics.
The Training Shop is exactly that. The Chief and his minions keep track of each
pilot’s various requirements and currencies. Currencies cover not only tactical
issues, like weapons qualifications, but a myriad of other headaches. How many
takeoffs and landings per month, how many night landings, instrument approaches,
required briefings, etc. . . . The list is nearly endless. Scheduling is the backbone of
a flying operation. Every six months, the Scheduling Shop builds a Long Range
Schedule outlining known deployments, exercises, and then creates the Flying
Window, which are blocks of time available to the entire wing for its flying. Every
pilot needs to maintain weapons currency by dropping so many bombs, strafing,
and firing a certain number of missiles within preset accuracy parameters. There’s
much, much more to this, but it’s sufficient to say that scheduling is a basic
nightmare and an excellent place to stick a new guy.
Mobility is responsible for all the equipment, paperwork, and special
requirements necessary for a squadron of three hundred people and two dozen
aircraft to deploy at a moment’s notice. The life-support shop, with the assistance
of specially trained enlisted folks, maintains the helmets, G-suits, harnesses, and
survival gear, as well as overseeing periodic refresher training for first aid, water
survival, land survival, and personal weapons qualifications.
Standardization and Evaluation (Stan Eval) Shop is like the flying police.
Everything related to military and applicable civilian flying regulations is
maintained and enforced by Stan Eval. Each pilot, in addition to required training,