NESA 2008

[0]

For all those going to NESA wondering what track people are doing? 

[SJFedor]

I plan to come back as an MAS instructor in 08, hope to see some familar names and faces!

[0]

So not many people going to NESA?  Or are people still deciding?

[SDF_Specialist]

I'd love to go. It's all about getting the $$$ to go.

[CASH172]

I'd love to go for MAS but I'm not sure if I can get my scanner training done by next summer.  One major issue is that I won't be 18 'til next spring. 

[JC004]

Fedor is requiring me to go to MAS, I understand.

[SJFedor]

I'd love to go for MAS but I'm not sure if I can get my scanner training done by next summer.  One major issue is that I won't be 18 'til next spring. 

Do your best to get it done as soon as you turn 18. Get your Prep and Fam done ASAP after your birthday, and make yourself available to the point of annoyance to anyone who is planning an exercise.

MAS reviews MS and requires everyone to do an MS ride, regardless.

Fedor is requiring me to go to MAS, I understand.

Not requiring, ordering.

Friggin' 1st Lt's 

[CASH172]

Do your best to get it done as soon as you turn 18. Get your Prep and Fam done ASAP after your birthday, and make yourself available to the point of annoyance to anyone who is planning an exercise.

MAS reviews MS and requires everyone to do an MS ride, regardless.

So wait, say if I'm like almost 90% done with MS.  Could I still go to MAS and finish the stuff and get one more MS ride if I need it. 

[0]

Do your best to get it done as soon as you turn 18. Get your Prep and Fam done ASAP after your birthday, and make yourself available to the point of annoyance to anyone who is planning an exercise.

MAS reviews MS and requires everyone to do an MS ride, regardless.

So wait, say if I'm like almost 90% done with MS.  Could I still go to MAS and finish the stuff and get one more MS ride if I need it. 

You have to have MS to even go.  So just get the early part of training done now and just do the SAREXes once you hit 18. 

[SJFedor]

Do your best to get it done as soon as you turn 18. Get your Prep and Fam done ASAP after your birthday, and make yourself available to the point of annoyance to anyone who is planning an exercise.

MAS reviews MS and requires everyone to do an MS ride, regardless.

So wait, say if I'm like almost 90% done with MS.  Could I still go to MAS and finish the stuff and get one more MS ride if I need it. 

You have to have MS to even go.  So just get the early part of training done now and just do the SAREXes once you hit 18. 

Nope. Prerequisites for SQTR issuance, before you can even start prep and fam, is to be at least 18 years of age. He cannot start the prep and fam, and have it count, until on or after his 18th birthday. He can, however, study the tasks required and be prepared to demonstrate them on that time.

They do say it's required for you to be there, that's mainly because they had to shave a day off of the training. It used to be that you could go with GES only and come out with MS and MO, but they lost a day. So now they require you to have it, and will go over all the material from MS the first day, since, even though everyone should have it, they assume no training, and rebuild you from scratch. The first flight they stick the MO candidate in the right seat, and the MP candidate in the back. They joke that it is so the MP candidate will remember to "center the ball" since the MPI will be back there during all their training, and it's not nice to make your instructor sick. They had me sketch a fuel farm south of Columbus, track and record position on the sectional, etc, just to make sure I really did know what I was doing. The 2nd ride puts the MO candidate in the back, the MP candidate in the front left, and the MPI in the right seat. This is mainly so that the MPI can feel comfortable with the skills of the MP candidate, cuz once the MPI is in the back, there's not a lot of interjection he can provide as far as flying goes. And, I'm told, every year there's at least 1 or two MP candidates that have to be switched to MO track because their basic flight skills are lacking and the MPI's don't feel comfortable enough with them flying.

All the scenario flights after that are in the standard crew configuration, with the MP candidate and the MO candidate up front, and the MPI in the back.

[0]

Has anyone sent in ther applications yet?  All the stuff at the NESA website I've seen still has the 2007 information has the 2008 been released yet?  Or do you get that once you make payment? 

[SJFedor]

They do have the 08 dates posted, but they haven't changed everything that says 07 yet. My app is already in the box for MAS Staff.

[RiverAux]

How much use would NESA be to people already qualified in these specialties (and having done them under the current system)? 

[SJFedor]

Depends. If your quals were pencil whipped and you barely know anything, it's worth a lot. If you worked hard and earned those quals, maybe not so much. That's where talking to the school commandants and trying to spread your knowledge by being a staff member comes into play.

As for MAS, since I'm not too up to speed on NGSAR (Kirt, where are you?!?!), MAS is trying to do an Advanced/Instructor course, designed for those who have the basics down, and want to learn more in depth special aircrew operations (SDIS troubleshooting, ARCHER stuff perhaps, etc) as well as ways to be an effective instructor.

Their ICS school is top notch though. Pete Norris from SER is the ICS school commandant and runs a basic and advanced school. Really good week of classroom training and practical application.

Really, NESA is a good place for the "n00bs" to start out and get fully indoctrinated rapidly. For the "old heads" out there, who are actually competent in their quals,  it's a place where you can give some of that knowledge and experience back, by passing it down to said n00bs.

That's not to say someone qual'ed can't learn something. Probably 1/4 of my MAS class, MP track, were already rated MPs (myself included), some of which with 20+ years of experience. It's never too late to learn something new.

[BlueLakes1]

I'm planning on going MAS, as long as I can get the time off work. Why not, it's only an hour from home.

[Horn229]

I'd like to staff GSAR again, just need to find out when my summer semester ends. 

[IceNine]

grrr... can't get the online app to work, anyone else having problems?

Edit:  Don't know why I tried this but apparently the online app Hates Firefox, so I'm good now

[0]

So as far as the forms go can we just change them to reflect the 2008 dates? 

I'm going for both weeks, one week to Advanced GSAR to get my GT1 and then I'm doing a week of MAS to get my MO.  I've already got the time from work.  Filled out the online paper form now I just have to send my payment in. 

[CadetProgramGuy]

Sorry, NBB this year.....

[SJFedor]

So as far as the forms go can we just change them to reflect the 2008 dates? 

I'm going for both weeks, one week to Advanced GSAR to get my GT1 and then I'm doing a week of MAS to get my MO.  I've already got the time from work.  Filled out the online paper form now I just have to send my payment in. 

You may wanna look at Team Leader instead of Advanced. Team Leader is more seniors, and, I believe, it'll earn you GTM2, GTM1, UDF, and GTL.

As far as forms go (Camp Atterbury Hold Harmless, etc etc), they won't start asking for that till later, and you just fax it to the contact for that info. You should be able to do your payment online as well.