The JSUPT Experiment -- Navy trains with counterparts at Vance

  • Published
  • By Navy Cmdr. Scott Horadan
  • 33rd Flying Training Squadron
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  To the members of Team Vance who are unaware, there is a significant population of Navy and Marine Corps members on base who put the joint in Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training.
We currently provide 31 people for our 27 instructor pilot billets. Their mission here is to contribute to the training of the 100 student naval aviators passing through Vance each year in their quest for wings of gold. Much like their Air Force counterparts, these students are typically highly motivated and truly grateful for the opportunity to be trained at Vance.
A significant difference is the majority of these officers declined the opportunity of traditional naval aviation training in favor of the Vance way. To the casual observer, flight training is flight training. You learn the houses get smaller if you pull back on the controls etc, etc. However, the Navy and Air Force manners differ widely in the way we teach our protégés to make the houses get bigger and smaller. I would like to address some of those differences and a few of the myths concerning Navy flight training.
One of the most striking points of contrast is the general manner in which flying training is organized. Phase I at Vance is a closely-held, professionally-executed syllabus in which carefully-crafted lessons are administered to a tightly-organized student class. The class demographics are carefully quantified by a staff at Air Education and Training Command for the proper mix of Guard, Reserve, international and Naval components. Start date and graduation dates are known for literally years in advance. In contrast, by example, I was commissioned at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., at 11 a.m. on a Friday, received my written orders to change stations to Whiting Field, Fla., at 2 p.m., out-processed and was in flight academics the following Monday at 8 a.m. In-processing was done during our spare time that first week. Although Pensacola to Whiting is a 30-minute drive in bad traffic, half my commissioning class was assigned to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and also left the same day.
In contrast to the routine of stand-up, formal briefs and check flights found here on the plains, typical naval aviation training is a low key, relaxed "big kids" approach. Phase I was no exception. Although the instructors were just as motivated and dedicated, it was a "big kids" process and there was little room for acclimation to the fire hose training method of UPT. Books were issued, assignments given, class attended and tests were given.
Moving out of academics and onto the flightline was every bit as exciting then and there as it is here and now. My class was allocated evenly to the three squadrons assigned to Whiting Field. I was assigned to Navy Training Squadron Six (VT-6), affectionately referred to as "Club Six." It was distinguished on NAS Whiting by its laid-back (even by Navy standards) approach to Phase II training. The down side to being laid-back is when a student needs a significant motivational jolt, it may not be handy. Here at Vance, specifically the 33rd FTS, my flight commanders pride themselves on being available, on demand 24/7, night and day, come rain, snow or freezing rain they will deliver motivational jolts on request -- and without -- for any and all students. At Whiting it was not uncommon for a student to leave from the program with little or no fanfare. Pass and proceed. Fail and go away. If you couldn't run with the big kids, you got left behind. Failure to perform resulted in swift and summary justice. Although I never heard an angry voice during my entire tour at Whiting, we had at least one student a week wash out. However, I have it on good authority that Whiting has implemented a program for motivational jolts, in accordance with all applicable Navy instructions.
The chief differences between Vance and Navy-trained UPT students is the degree of structure. Naval students are permitted a wide degree of free time, at times to their detriment. As a product of that environment, I am very aware of the potential pitfalls. Additionally, it did little to prepare me for the rigidity by which we execute our mission here. However, I have overcome my initial shock and am a strong convert to the flight concept and the methods we use, as evidently are many of the junior officers awaiting training assignments at NAS Pensacola. We are getting an increasingly more volunteer force reporting for duty here. They are reporting with a good understanding that they left behind the beaches, breezes and laid-back methods for a systematic tried and true firestorm of aviation instruction.
Navy and Marine Corps students carved out a niche at Vance. The results are gratifying. They regularly have students rise to the top of their respective classes and rarely have difficulty in advanced training. The JSUPT experiment is alive and well here, delivering a well-prepared aviator to advanced training, and ultimately to the fleet and fleet Marine force. My naval services officers, both Marine and Navy, are proud to be a part of this process and command. I personally learned many valuable lessons and have re-evaluated some things I thought were set. For instance, I am an EA-6B Prowler pilot by training and have often spoken of that aircraft fondly as "trusty and old" in the same breath. As I close in on the end of my T-37 Tweet flying career, "trusty and old" have all-new value to me.