Naval flight officer
NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or "mission specialist" functions, depending on the type of aircraft.
The United States Coast Guard had a short-lived NFO community in the 1980s and 1990s when it operated E-2C Hawkeye aircraft on loan from the Navy.
Following a fatal mishap with one of these E-2C aircraft at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard returned the remaining E-2Cs to the Navy and disestablished its NFO program.
Upon graduation from their respective advanced squadron, students receive their "wings of gold" and are designated as naval flight officers.
The academics portion spans three weeks and covers aerodynamics, engines, FAA rules and regulations, navigation, and weather.
NIFE flights can be waived based on proficiency for students entering training with a private pilot license.
After the flight phase, students will complete training in aerospace physiology, egress, and water & land survival.
[Note 1] Students selected for multi-crew training (E-2 Hawkeye, P-8A Poseidon, E-6B Mercury) will continue on to the Maritime Command and Control (MC2) curriculum at VT-4.
SNFOs destined for carrier-based strike fighter and electronic attack aircraft remain in VT-10 and continue to fly in the T-6A Texan II.
Upon completion of advanced stage training, students receive their "wings of gold" and are designated as naval flight officers.
Training consists of five phases: After graduating from advanced strike training, Navy SNFOs will select: Marine SNFOs will select: Naval flight officers operate some of the advanced systems on board most multi-crew naval aircraft, and some may also act as the overall tactical mission commanders of single or multiple aircraft assets during a given mission.
Some current and recently retired naval aircraft with side-by-side seating are also authorized to operate under dual-piloted weather minimums with one pilot and one NFO.
Carter's career as an aviator includes extensive time at sea, deploying around the globe in the F-4 Phantom II and the F-14 Tomcat.
Carter flew 125 combat missions in support of joint operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He accumulated 6,150 flight hours in F-4, F-14, and F/A-18 aircraft during his career and safely completed 2,016 carrier-arrested landings, the record among all active and retired U.S.
[6] As a captain, Rear Admiral Richard Dunleavy was the first NFO to command an aircraft carrier, the USS Coral Sea (CV 43).
Rear Admiral Stanley W. Bryant was the first NFO selected for the Navy's Nuclear Power Program as a Commander in 1986.
Commander William P. Driscoll was the first NFO to become a flying ace, having achieved five aerial kills of VPAF fighter aircraft during the Vietnam War.
Driscoll received the service's second-highest decoration, the Navy Cross, for his role in a 1972 dogfight with North Vietnamese MiGs.
Driscoll separated from active duty in 1982 but remained in the United States Naval Reserve, flying the F-4 Phantom II and later the F-14 Tomcat in a Naval Air Reserve fighter squadron at NAS Miramar, eventually retiring in 2003 with the rank of Commander (O-5).
He is also the first member of the Navy's land-based maritime patrol aviation community, pilot or NFO, to promote to four-star rank.
She was the first female NFO to command a warship, the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), and the first female naval officer to command an aircraft carrier strike group, Carrier Strike Group Two, aboard the USS George H.W.
In the EP-3E Aries, NFOs are initially designated as navigators (NAV) and eventually upgrade to electronic warfare officer/signals evaluator (EWO SEVAL) and EWO/SEVAL/mission commander (SEVAL/MC).
In the F/A-18D Hornet, the NFO position is known as the weapon systems officer (WSO) and may also be mission commander qualified.
In the F/A-18F Super Hornet, the NFO position is known as the weapon systems officer (WSO) and may also be mission commander qualified.
They function as the advance liaison (ADVON) at all air show sites and the events coordinator provides backup support to the narrator during all aerial demonstrations.
NFOs have also served as instructors in the twin-seat F-5F Tiger II at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (now part of the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC)) and as instructors in twin-seat F/A-18Bs and F/A-18Fs in USN and USMC F/A-18 fleet replacement squadrons and the Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS, also known as TOPGUN).
They have also flown a number of USAF and NATO/Allied aircraft via the U.S. Navy's Personnel Exchange Program (PEP), to include, but not limited to, the USAF F-4 Phantom II, F-15E Strike Eagle and E-3 Sentry, the Royal Air Force Buccaneer S.2, Tornado GR1/GR1B/GR4/GR4A and Nimrod MR.2, and the Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora.
