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Quals Transferability
I’m an active Marine F-35B pilot looking to make the jump to the ANG. Does anyone have any experience with how quals (particularly instructor quals) transfer over to the A model? I assume 2-Ship, 4-Ship Lead and Mission Commander are plug and play-has anyone seen how it works for the ACMI and/or LTI certs?
Further, do Guard units typically value MC or the instructor qual more highly? Should I prioritize one over the other for the highest-impact resume? Thanks!
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1 Reply
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Lenny,
I can’t speak specifically to F-35s as I was a previous F-15 bubba but, when hiring experienced (rated) pilots, we would look at their “Letter of X’s”. This is your previous squadron’s training document that shows all the pilots and what specific qualifications they’ve earned and start there. Based on the needs of your new unit, you’ll be scheduled to fly a few sorties with a weapons officer or another senior instructor in order to determine which “X’s” you’d retain and which might require some additional upgrade rides to reacquire. Each unit might do this a bit different with what I’ve described as probably the middle of the road approach.
As far as IPUG vs MCUG, if you get to choose, I would recommend pursuing the Instructor Pilot qualification as that is typically pretty strong proof of above average capability in the weapons system. A talented and experienced IP is solid gold to a fighter squadron!
Cheers,
Snip
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