Flying the UH-1N is an exciting and challenging MOS. It offers you the chance to be involved in many different types of missions.

If you are a "jack of all trades" type of person you will like flying the UH-1N Huey. Here’s what you will do: shoot rockets and guns, command and control, fastrope, SPIE, para-ops, helo-cast, VIP missions, search and rescue, electronic warfare, reconnaissance, insertion of small teams, ship takedown, NBC ops, FAC (A), SAC (A), and Medevac. The Huey is being upgraded to the UH-1Y which will hit the fleet in about 2004. This will give the Huey more speed and more carrying capacity for fuel and weapons.

The Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) is located at Camp Pendleton in California, and usually takes 5-6 months to complete. You will learn the systems of the Huey and learn how to fly it, with a basic use of weapons delivery. You will also get more instrument flying.

MCAS New River on the East Coast or Camp Pendleton on the West Coast will be home. The East Coast squadrons float to the Med. Currently there are only 2 Hueys going on the MEU, which has caused a backlog of Huey pilots in the squadrons. As a result, most Huey pilots are only getting one float in a four-year tour. There is talk of changing the number back to 3 Hueys on the MEU. When the V-22 arrives, there will be more missions for the Huey, which will increase the chance of their being three Hueys on the ship. The Four West Coast squadrons either float in the Pacific and Indian Oceans or they do a UDP to Okinawa. In addition, all East and West Coast squadrons will attend a CAX (Combined Arms Exercise) each year in Twentynine Palms, California.

Your primary job in your first tour is to learn as much as you can about your aircraft and to progress through the flight syllabus, gaining qualifications and designations. By your third year in the squadron you will have gained some instructor qualifications and will be teaching the new pilots in the squadron. Because the other Marine Corps helos have specific missions, the Huey is usually not the first choice for some of the more exciting missions that come up in the real world.

You will also be assigned a collateral duty job in the squadron-- anything from administration, intelligence, operations, supply, safety, or maintenance. Your best opportunity for leading Marines is in the maintenance department since it is the largest department. You can spend a few months to a few years doing your collateral duty job before you are rotated to a different billet. It is strictly dependent upon the squadron.

There are other billets in your first tour that may interest you, the most common being a FAC (Forward Air Controller). This can be either deploying or non-deploying billet that is usually 1 year in length. You might also have an opportunity for a 2-3 year billet flying UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).

You might go to AWS, flight school, Yuma SAR (Search Air Rescue), a Huey training squadron (FRS) as an instructor, HQ Marine Corps, or a FAC tour. You may also consider making a lateral move into one of the short MOSs that the Marine Corps is having trouble filling. Also, the UAV community is growing fast and is always looking for pilots to move laterally into the UAV community.

1. http://tediv.usmc.mil/mawts1

The Huey is a very versatile and exciting aircraft to fly. Although not always considered to be the premier aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory, it does far more different types of missions than any other. With the introduction of the V-22 and the increased capability that the upgraded Huey will have, this aircraft will only become more valuable for the increasing number of missions it will be called upon to perform.