AH-1



=Congratulations= Hey, congrats on getting skids. You'll be checking into HMLA/T-303, Atlas, nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego. Although, much closer to the latter. You should be given 10 days to get here: 6 days travel, 4 days proceed. The drive takes at least a couple days of driving on I-10. Or you can break it up a little and see some of the country.

BAH will raise considerably, and with some roommates the opportunity exists to come out ahead. For married Marines, base housing may be a good option (though most do not have A/C). They will tell you initially they won't have anything for 6 months, so you'll go crazy trying to find a place in 6 hours and end up in an overpriced apartment, only to have some sweet lady from base call with a 3 bedroom house 2 weeks after you get here. Point is, ask questions and get as many details as possible. Military housing info at Lincoln Military and don't forget about AHRN Offbase housing is expensive, but doable, especially with roommates. As of 2011, O-2 unaccompanied BAH for Pendleton is about $1850/mo, and renting a decent house or apartment will cost pretty close to that. An easy Pensacola to San Diego budget comparison is to simply ignore the change in BAH: if you get a rental out there of similar quality as you had in Pensacola, the price difference will probably be pretty close to the change in BAH, leaving you with the same amount of money in your pocket every month. The three main towns most people live in are Oceanside (closest to the front gate, with a lot of low-rent housing and enlisted personnel. Historically more crime, gangs, tattoo parlors, etc., but it's been cleaning up recently), Carlsbad (more officers there, but more expensive and a bit farther away than Oceanside.  Generally safer/cleaner/nicer than Oceanside), and Vista (even further away, but cheaper.  Filled with low-budget Mexican areas, though, so you may want to consider if you can speak enough Spanish to not get hassled). Fallbrook is also somewhat popular as it is more affordable, but it's further away from everything not-Pendleton. Temecula is a possibility too, and much more affordable than Carlsbad while offering similar high-end residences, but commutes are substantial (40-50 min on a good day, vs 20-30 for Oceanside/Carlsbad/Fallbrook, and 30-35 for Vista) and it's again farther away from everything not-Pendleton. If you're contemplating buying, educate yourself on Mello Roos and HOA fees.

It is strongly suggested that you not buy a house immediately. Go out, rent a place for a few months, get to know the area, and then decide where you want to live.

There's a lot of talk in the HT's and other communities about how all Cobra pilots are dicks, the eat their young, hate each other, etc. The truth of the matter is that there are some dicks--just like in all the other communities. Cobra pilots hold high standards, and it may feel like you're getting crushed a bit in the cockpit, but you'll be a better pilot for it, and the IPs won't hold it against you; they know you suck at flying at first. As long as you're not a completely incompetent asshole who just cannot live without briefing flights in a Hawaiian t-shirt, you shouldn't be too concerned about being able to handle the community. Oh, and we might actually require you to say "sir" to the CO/XO and salute superior officers from time to time. Not a big deal, but apparently that makes us assholes in the eyes of the 46/53 guys somehow. A lot of the FRS hate and discontent comes from the speed at which you're being jammed through, which varies greatly from year to year. In FY11 they were trying to finish RACs in 14 weeks. Now in FY12 it's 26 weeks. Who knows what it'll be 6 months from now. Note that the same is true for 53's, so don't think it's any different over there.

=The Boot= So the first thing you'll do is check-in. The most recent check in is "the boot." So whomever checks in last is "the boot" until the next group checks in, usually 2 or 3 weeks later. No big deal - if we have a meeting the boot wears a stupid helmet and gets up to tell a joke and everyone makes fun of you. Honestly, since I've been here, I've only heard the boot tell two jokes. We don't have many meetings, so its no biggie.

=The Check-In Process= Make sure you get the welcome packet from the HT stucons before you leave. They tell you everything you need to know.

=BEFORE YOU LEAVE=

The senior student has to call student control before you check in. Before you pack up your printer, or while you're in the ready room at Whiting print out a few MarineNet certificates for DOD Information Assurance, the 25 and Under drivers course, PII, Keystrokes can Kill, and GWOE 1-5. They won't accept Navy Knowledge Online certs. If you want to buy yourself some added flexibility get new DOD tags at Whiting before you leave. To get base stickers at Pendleton you'll need to smog your car in Cali and not all aftermarket parts are Cali legal and that'll prevent you from passing. If you have the stock parts you'll have to get them back in to pass the inspection. If you do need a smog check, look online for shops and discounts--you should be able to get it done for under $30 (you don't need the extra $9 certificate, just the normal print-out). It takes about 15 minutes. If you're under 26 you'll also need your Drive for Life cert to get new tags.

WEIGH YOUR DITY VEHICLE. The new regs require an empty weigh at origin and a full weigh at destination, so don't forget to get one in Pensacola!

As additional suggestions, I strongly encourage you to try to get to Cali a week or two before your report date so you can find somewhere to live and settle in before you have to actually be productive. Most people take a week or so to find a place, and then it takes TMO at least a few days to set up delivery of your HHG. I also suggest stopping by book issue and grabbing a few blue-brains clear inserts. For a base that houses nine different helo squadrons, there's curiously no where to buy the stupid inserts, and you'll want a few so you can load in some of your checklists and other things (using the PCL isn't as convenient as it was in the 57; it's more like it was in the T-34).

=Once you're here= Once you arrive in town, go to IPAC, it's like CPAC at MATSG-21. Note that there are actually two IPAC buildings. You want the one on 14th Street. Bring your orders, and your receipts for any hotels for TLE reimbursement. You'll be in alphas and you may have to wait a bit. They have incredible hours, Mon-Sat and they're open from 0730-2359. Saturday mornings or later at night are the times to go. If you have any other items that you need to get taken care of (CLRP, etc), you need to go to the other IPAC, which is on 16th Street.

After that, take a copy of your orders to the air station PMO with your ID and you'll get swipe access to get into the flightline. The PMO building is just inside and to the left of the 11th Street (middle) gate into the air station, and is labeled Security ("PMO" is nowhere to be found).

If you need to weigh your vehicle for your DITY move, there is a free scale at building 2255, which is across the street and a little west from HMLAT-303. It's near Vandergrift Rd, and in its own little fenced-off area. It opens weekdays at 0900. TMO itself (which is who you need to talk to to get your HHG delivered) is a sub-section of the DMO building, which is also across the street from 303.

=CHECKING IN= After that, you're checking in and you have the two weeks. There may be a few classes so you'll need to check the schedule printed outside of OPS while you don't have your USMC.mil account. You get a check-in sheet from S-1 that tells you who you have to go see. I strongly suggest finding S-6 as early as possible because it takes time to get your account and it makes checking the schedule much easier once you setup the schedule to be forwarded to your civilian email address.

You'll meet a lot of people. The students in each shop are very helpful since they were in your shoes once, too. Expect that one of the students ahead of you has all of the pubs on a flash drive so ask around. Your flight-Os will give you a rundown on how things will go. For ZULUs, it was suggested to read the NATOPS first before doing the CBTs because they are new and might have some mistakes and having NATOPS in your mind will be better. It'll make for a better understanding and you'll have to read NATOPS eventually either way. You can knock out a lot in short order, but if someone's not around don't sweat it. There are enough things that require you to be somewhere at a specific time, that in between you have to occupy yourself so you might as well save it for then. I suggest going to medical on a Friday morning because you need shots and yellow fever is only Friday. There are a few different spots over at Mainside like the library, MCCS, Navy Relief, etc. Save those things for when you have a meeting in the morning and something way later in the afternoon. They'll be open during lunch even when the shops at the squadron are on their lunch break or briefing a flight.

=Helmet Fitting= If you're a Zulu or a Yankee you'll get a phone number and a POC from flight E for a helmet fitting. The guy is located at MALS-39 in the ALSS shop right inside the first turnstile next to the MALS hanger. The guy is super cool and he'll teach you about the Thales Optimized Top Owl helmets. Expect about 2 hours to get the custom fitting, ops check the monocle location, and turn in the helmet to the flight E guys at the squadron.

=The Courseware= The first thing you'll want to get checked off of the check in sheet is the sim building. This way you can get a login for the computer so you can start the courseware. The courseware is pretty in depth and very useful. It provides a lot of amplification on NATOPS and gives a good bit of detail. A lot of people suggest the backward approach. Meaning start with the stuff that you don't need to know now and work into the FAM stuff. I highly recommend it. I did all the weapons courseware first, then went through the systems at the end. That way is was the freshest on my mind. Additionally, you don't have to do the clicking, only the tests - and you just have to PASS the tests, howEVER many times it takes. Keep that in mind. If you're busting through the slides and not reading anything, just skip to the test. If you're bothering to read them, it might be worth it. The weapons courseware will take a while, and the Comm package takes forever. But I recommend getting it ALL done so when you have flights come up you won't be caught with your pants down. Which is just uncomfortable for everyone.

=The First Couple Weeks= A lot of this time will be spent trying to figure out what the F is happening around you. You'll be thrown into the fire as ODO - and they take it seriously. You'll get a couple shots with someone training you, then you'll be executing the flight schedule on you're own. You'll screw up, they'll yell at you and in a week no one will care nor remember. Don't sweat it. Also, you'll be trying to find out what your ground job will be. Ops and DOSS(basically NATOPS) are high intensity, S-2(intel)and legal are pretty relaxed, S-4(supply) and S-6 (comm/telecomm) are kinda inbetween, S-5(Public Affairs/whatever the CO says) has periods of insanity and periods of calm. No matter where you are, don't count on getting a ton of stuff done at the squadron unless you punch out and go to a quiet spot or talk amongst the RACs in your office.

You can get custom ear pro at "medical" (actually the NVG shop--don't ask me why) Wednesdays at 1300. They do a silicone mold of your ear and send it off to a third party who makes ear pro with an embedded speaker. Supposedly significantly decreases long term hearing loss and ambient noise.

=Your First Events= The first event is FAM 00 or, "double nuts." Its basically FAM-0 except the instructor "teaches" you everything. By "teaches" I mean, is supposed to teach but usually just expects that we know all the information and in turn they don't get pissed when you don't know the itty bitty pet peeve type stuff. Followed by FAM 000, or, can you guess it..."three nutted monster." Kidding, its "triple nuts." This is where the instructor expects you to know how many weights can go on the side of the rotor to balance it dynamically (14, and only on one side)...because he knows this information and so should you, I guess.

=Things to do to get ahead= Before leaving Pensacola it'd be a good idea to complete a couple Marinenet courses that you'll waste time with when you get here. Global War on Error (G.W.O.E.) modules 1-5, SERE 100, Information Awareness Version 9 (DODIAX0000), USMC Personally Identifiable Information (PII009000), Careless Keystrokes Can Kill, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and Driving Safe Certificate (if under 26) courses are all required for the check in. (Current as of 7/27/11)

If you're going to be hanging around Pensacola for a bit before you PCS, you can get the digital NATOPS, PCL, and OPNAV (if you don't have it already) from book issue. Just bring them a blank CD-R and in 5 minutes you'll be back to studying pages and pages of EPs and numbers. Note that the one you'll get is not the most up-to-date one (even for Whiskeys), so don't spend TOO much time with it, and make sure you swap it out for the current one once you get to Pendleton. Speaking of which, there's a whole pile of pubs and docs you can (should!) grab in digital form: the farthest back laptop on the left in the RAC room will let you use USB drives in it. The folder on the desktop is AH-1W iPad, but actually has some of the Z and Y stuff in it, too.

Find someone to teach you preflight, play in the Sim/APT (APT was like the CPT but better, but its gone. All there is is one AH-1W sim. If you get Zulu's, there is more available. Current 8/17/2011). Learn some systems, probably in the order you'll be briefing them. As for EPs, they expect you to know the memory items at all times and have a thorough understanding of the Notes, Cautions and Warnings. Normally, you'll want to UNDERSTAND the procedures to non-memory items. For example, why am I turning this off, why am I doing xyz? Oh yah, and courseware.

Talk to someone about how to set up your kneeboard/blue brains, and about setting up the Camp Pen Special (local area map). If you're super motivated/ahead, you can have someone take you over to the sim and fly you through course rules after you've looked at them. It'll take 15 minutes and they'll be in your brain forever. They're written for Marines by Marines. As opposed to the ones in Pensacola, which were written for Marines by Martians.

Most of the good gouge is obtained from the guys in front of you and from the shared drive. This is no joke, there are few actual classes given, and if you try to do it alone, you will fail. Ask questions, get as much info from people around and in front of you. Once you get an NMCI account you'll have access to the shared drive which includes all the pubs, a lot of info for individual flights and kneeboard cards.

Lastly, and MOST importantly, ENJOY YOUR TIME OFF, there won't be anymore of it and the work is hard regardless of whether or not you know it in advance. Just kick back and enjoy the couple of weeks P-Cola gave you to get here. Drink some beer, have a barbeque and call your folks.