http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 15
the tactical aviation community — the
Super Hornet squadrons, speci cally —
as well as trying to nd ways to improve
the quality of life for naval aviators, NFOs
and their families. That includes e orts
to revamp and improve both personal
and ‘professional growth’ opportunities
for yers.
For some time, naval aviators have
emphasized a desire for di erent
opportunities outside of the traditional
career path. Once you reach the level
of department head, the next steps in
your career take you down the road
to traditional command. By default,
that means more administrative
responsibilities, less ying, and less job
satisfaction when your professional goal
is to stay on the pointy end of the spear,
ying jets on and o the boat. In theory,
the PFI billet would allow some aviators
to serve continuously as shore-based
ight instructors.
According to a recent post on a US
Navy blog, ‘The PFI program is being
implemented to improve retention by
providing career exibility, assignment
stability for selected o cers/families,
and rewarding experiences training our
newest naval aviators. The program will
also signi cantly improve instructor
manning levels in Chief of Naval Air
Training (CNATRA) commands — better
leveraging the eet experience and
instructional skills of o cers who
otherwise may have left service for
civilian opportunities.’A reason to stay
Not every aviator aspires to pursue
command opportunities, so this
program appears to be a step in the
right direction for those who want to
stay in the navy, instead of transitioning
to the airlines to put the days of
lengthy periods at sea, combat, and
mission-creep behind them. With this
permanent instructor status, aviators
selected would have greater stability
with the singular focus of contributing
to the development of the next
generation of ‘tailhookers’.To be eligible for consideration to
join the new program, an aviator or
NFO must have completed — or be
currently serving in — a department
head assignment for aviation-related
operations or operational training,
completed at least one tour in ‘aviation
production’, have a projected rotation
date in the next calendar year and have
at least three years remaining before
their statutory retirement date.
Accepting a position as a PFI means
that the pilot or NFO will no longer be
eligible to be considered for command
but would retain eligibility for standard
promotion board consideration.
The candidate would be allowed to
remain in the program until they
choose to retire, or until they decide
to e ect a voluntary withdrawal from
the program.
The initial board to select the
rst professional ight instructors
will convene on November 20, and
applications to be considered for a PFI
spot were due by November 13.The ability for
US Navy pilots
to opt out of
command tracks
and into more
stable instructor
pilot slots is
aimed squarely
at retaining
experience.
Jamie Hunter