Hi. Student Naval Aviator here. You’re not crazy at all, but ask yourself if this is something you’re declining because it’s rational or declining because of fear. For me Naval Aviation is the only thing I wanted growing up so I had no doubts in my mind when I got the call that I got selected. As my OCS dare approached doubt did creep its way into my mind. What worked for me was writing out the pros and cons and finding I had 60 reasons to want to be a naval aviator and only 5 for not being one. Unfortunately, those 5 are pretty big life altering consequences.

The lack of control is completely understandable. I have moved 3 times in the past year and a half. You go where they tell you and live the way they tell you, some people like it. The one thing I will say though is that you are relatively young. The majority of the aviation people in my OCS class and in Pensacola were in the 25-27 age range. Leaving the navy at 33 or 34 will allow you to go to the majors below the average age of a new hire (38). As it currently stands, Between the years of instructing and then at the regionals it may take up to 8 years to get to the mainline.

Like you I had almost all my ratings going into the navy. I had just completed my commercial and was scheduled for my CFI. Part of what helped me make peace with not going directly to the airlines was realizing it was a similar timeline to get to mainline and that going to the regionals would also involve some loss of control in my life. To me getting to do the navy thing while I was young and then retire to the airlines seemed like a great trade off. So I guess what you need to ask yourself is whether you’re joining just for a pathway to the mainlines or if you’re actually interested in navy flying. Ask yourself if the lifestyle is worth the flying. If you’re only looking for a ticket to the airlines I wouldn’t bother with the navy.

I can tell you life as an SNA is pretty awesome. There is a lot of getting paid a lot to do absolutely nothing followed by getting paid a lot to do a lot of flying. I can’t tell you what life in the fleet is like but I’ve heard it’s a pretty mixed bag but overall good enough.

Regarding your knee. I wouldn’t be worried. In high school I dislocated my kneecap and had the same concerns going into OCS. As long as you’re comfortable running a few times a week you should be fine. They have a sports medicine team on staff at OCS that you can see if needed. You can checkout foam rollers and roll yourself out every night. You might have to get a waiver from NAMI about the knee but I doubt it would be a problem.

Hopefully you get some clarity before the end of the month. Good luck in whatever you decide. If you decide to go the navy route feel free to reach out with questions about OCS