USMC PEOPLE HELP??!!!?

Question

so if you become a marine pilot what is the chances of you getting shot down? what gun do you use? and whats the height requirement for the planes? also whats the best fighter plane in the USMC and do you get to choose what you get to fly? one last one can you change to ground force? once your a pilot? and keep your rank

Answer 1

marines are highly trained if you are a pilot you probably wont get shot down. you also have to be pretty tall to be a pilot. if i was a marine corp. pilot, i would want to fly a Cobra attack helicopter, it seems they are more maneuverable and influence the air-ground task force. I'm sure you can change your occupation with the same previous rank.

Answer 2

Getting shot down today, about 0.1% guns? depends on the A/C type, but bombs and fighters I believe have .50 Cals on them. I am not sure of height, but i think the min is w/in the mid 5 foot range. the marines have AV-8B Harrier II STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) attack jet, and F-5's thats what the MiG in the movie 'Top Gun' was, and FA-18's they are all awesome, since I am Air traffic Controller (the guys in the tower, not the guys with light sticks on the runway!) I see them and more a lot. I don't know about moving to ground force, but I think it just depends on you but you won't lose your rank. and no picking A/C type until you have been flying for a while.  

Answer 3

Pilots do not choose their aircraft at first..Your height plays a role in this as aircraft do not have adjustable seats..

No they rarely get shot down, but they do have accidents and this is where most casualties come from..

You are armed with a 9mm Beretta last time i checked..

Im not sure if you can change to ground forces but most likely if your a pilot you will not want any part of infantry..But we did have Air Officers with us who are the ones in charge of training us to perform CAS, or close air support..The AO are former pilots.

Answer 4

Chances of a Marine pilot getting shot down?  Well, depends on how "hot" the infantry is in.  If you got shot down, likely the Marines have been regrouped (never retreat) and the area is stemming with hostiles.  Marine fighter pilots provide close air support, close enough you can tell if that officer brushed his teeth or not!   Officers are the pilots, no enlisted flies the birds.  There is only the F/A-18 "Hornet" and the  STOVL "AV-8B Harrier II" (both soon to be replaced by the kickass F-35 "Lightning II").  That is it.  No other fighter jet can slow down enough mach to drop a bomb on target in close vicinity of our Marines fighting.  But there are helo birds too, the AH-1W "Super Cobra" (soon to be replaced by a more of a kickass bird, AH-1Z Viper) that fires mean missiles and a barrage of bullets to dismay our determined foes.

If you change to a ground force, you will be commanding an Infantry platoon, company, or battalion, depending on the rank you are; considering that you lateral moved to the Infantry.

Answer 5

depends were your going

Afghanistan 344 military personal air-crafts shot down

in Iraq 129 military personal air-crafts shot down

Answer 6

I'm currently in NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps) as a Marine Corps Midshipman. I too plan on becoming a Marine Pilot when I commission. Well, to answer your first question, there are no guarantees of your life. That is what we train for. In the military, you may die, its part of the job. Height/weight requirements vary so google that. Personally, I think the best is the F-18 Hornet which is what I want to fly. By the time I get in the Marine the F-32 Joint Strike Fighter will probably be out already so that'll probably replace the hornet. The best way to get your choice of aircraft is to be the top of everything, academics, PT, and military bearing. All Marines are trained as infantry because every Marine is a rifleman so yes, you can go ground sometime and keep your rank.

Answer 7

your height plays a factor, although I do not know the exact limit.

i just wanted to warn you about something. our best friend went through OCS and into the flight program. he went in with his contract stating flight billet. he graduated top three of his class, and now he is a systems operator in Oki, Japan. there is a loop hole. even if you graduated top of your class if they have no fixed wing spots open then you will still get a flight billet, which includes systems operator.

here is how it works for who gets what.

say you have 99 ppl in the class. #1, #33 and #66 get their top pick. then #2, #34, and #67, and so forth.

why? because everyone wants to join the USMC and fly. but they cant put all their chickens in one basket. understand? they cant have all the best students all go fly. they have to spread the talent around.

so think about that. you arent "guaranteed" flight. literally you are not. you will be "guaranteed" a flight billet. so not only may you not get what plane you want, you might not even fly.

think about your other options. I am not biased, just trying to open your mind (i was a USMC wife first and now a Army wife).

However, the Army has a program where you are guaranteed flight as long as you pass the classes. if you dont pass the classes then you are kicked back out into the civilian world. it is called the WOFT program.

First you must go through WOCS (warrant officer candidate school), after that you go through WOFT (warrant officer flight training). at the end of that (about two years or a little more) you fly. but you fly helicopters not fixed wing.

if you have more questions about WOFT ask another question and ill answer.

by the way, that is why my husband swtiched from USMC to Army. it was very hard as once a Marine family, always a Marine family. but he wanted to fly and it was guaranteed.