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30 <a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette</a> M a r i n e C o r p s G a z e t t e • M a y 2 0 0 9 IDEAS & ISSUES (AVIATION) t is June 2010 in Beaufort, SC. Maj Mark “Easy” Ryder looked at his orders to Naval Air Sta- tion (NAS) Pensacola, FL, one more time and reflected upon his 14-year career as an F/A–18D weapons and sen- sors officer (WSO). It wasn’t that being an aerodynamics instructor and living in Pensacola was a bad option, but it was just about the only option he found ac- ceptable considering the situation he and all of the other Marine WSOs now faced. He knew he would be in this position some day but just not this soon and not with the Marine Corps engaged in two wars. Perhaps he was just too naïve to un- derstand the writing on the wall when he first signed up to be a naval flight officer (NFO) with the goal of earning his NFO wings and becoming an F/A–18D WSO. Back in the early1990s the F/A–18D was the newest aircraft in the Marine Corps’ tactical aviation (TacAir) inven- tory and a WSO’s future was bright, par- ticularly as the OV–10 and A–6E were decommissioned. But even then in 1994 the Marine Corps was looking seriously at joint advanced strike technology, or JAST, as the long-term neck-down strat- egy for Marine TacAir. What he didn’t know then and slowly realized later as the JAST matured into the F–35, and more particularly the F–35B for the Marine Corps, was that there was no plan to make a two-seat version of the F–35. This effectively forecasted the demise of the WSO occupation he proudly per- formed with expertise since joining the Marine Corps. He thought fondly of the day he checked in to his first “gun squadron” and the banter and abuse WSOs and pilots exchanged on a daily basis. But he had three combat tours under his belt now, and he remembered how he quickly earned a reputation of being one of the best new WSOs in the squadron. He earned his forward air controller (air- borne) (FAC(A)) qualification by the end of his first year in the squadron, well ahead of his contemporaries, and he was very competent in all of the other F/A–18D missions as well. He knew from experience the value of the two-seat F/A–18D, most importantly in the mis- sions of FAC(A) and supporting ground maneuver in a dynamic battlespace. During Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF) he worked a lot with single-seat FAC(A) crews, particularly U.S. Air Force (USAF) A–10 and F–16 pilots and knew that the F/A–18D two-seat crew was better at the mission. At best he could tell that the senior leadership in Marine TacAir understood the value of the two-seat FAC(A) crew, particularly after the F/A–18D performance in OIF. Ultimately he felt that the ever-present lure of emergent technology was driving the single-seat train with Marine Corps aviation leadership fully invested. The in- stitutional capital expended on the F–35B and the lift fan just didn’t leave any room for a second seat regardless of the combat record of a two-seat crew in the FAC mission. He often wondered how the Marine Corps could effectively recruit new WSOs and motivate career-oriented WSOs in this environment and maintain the two-seat FAC(A) capability until the F–35 was fielded. On this fact, pilots were merciless. “Hey Easy. Haven’t you heard the latest idea? It’s called the ‘Boz Pod.’ It’s an ergonomically suitable WSO The F–35B WSO Take care of our own; don’t leave them hanging by Col L. Ross Roberts >Col Roberts is an F/A–18 pilot and is currently the CO, Marine Aviation Support Group 21, NAS Lemoore, CA. I There’s time to consider meaningful options for our “backseaters.” (Photo courtesy of the author.)
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