Marine Combat Pilot Training

Acceptance to a CAP-A

IN order to be selected to join a Candidate for Avionics and Piloting Academy, or CAP-A, citations from each candidates preceeding Marine CO must be furnished to the requistion committee, an the candidate must be an officer in good standig. This posting is not offered to enlisted members, unless an exception is made and voted upon by Marine Corps Administration. Each candidate is then reviewed, and interviewed to assess their mental, physical and emotional status, to decided wether or not they are fit to serve in an Air Group. This process is otherwise known as Phase White. From there, the candidate will progress to two other phases that will test their cognitve an psychomotor abilities a Marine Pilot.

PHASE WHITE

This process known as White Phase, from filing of application to commission as a Candidate Pilot, or CP, takes about one Terran month, and is laid out as follows:

• WEEK 1: Initial Candidate Screening and Application Filing
• WEEK 2: Psychological Exam in Conjunction with SFI/ADMIN
• WEEK 3: Physical Fitness Testing / G-Force Limitation Testing
• WEEK 4: Final Selection Process / Issuance of Orders

Training is completed at the Mars Avionics Division Outpost (MADO) near Utopia Planetia. This is required that the candidate take time away from their unit, in order to show initial dedication to the program. Once selected, the candidate will continue on to primary CAP-P schooling, or Phase Green.

PHASE GREEN

This is the beginning of the CP's primary schooling in the art of flight. Most candidates who complete phase green will be rated to fly light to heavy fighters, maurauders, bombers and various forms of logistical craft, such as the modified Argo support vessel. Phase Green is sectioned into 4 months of extensive training, with practical testing at the end of each section. The phase is divided as follows:

• MONTH 1: General Flight History and Modern Physics
  • WEEK 1: Pre-Warp Aviation Methods / Modern Aviation
  • WEEK 2: Introduction to Flight Mechanics
  • WEEK 3: Advanced Flight Mechanics/Physics
  • WEEK 4: Modern Avionics / CONGNITIVE TESTING

• MONTH 2: Vessel Types and Associatd Pre-Post Fight Operations
  • WEEK 1: Light Figher Classes / Pre-Post Flight Routines
  • WEEK 2: Medium Fighter - Bomber Classes / Pre-Post Flight Routines
  • WEEK 3: Heavy Fighter - Bomber Classes / Pre-Post Flight Routines
  • WEEK 4: Assualt and Landing Craft / COGNITIVE TESTING

• MONTH 3: Basic Piloting and Manuevers
  • WEEK 1: Light Fighter Qualfications / PSYCHOMOTOR TESTING
  • WEEK 2: Medium Fighter - Bomber Qualifications / PSYCHOMOTOR TESTING
  • WEEK 3: Heavy Fighter - Bomber Qualifications / PYSCHOMOTOR TESTING
  • WEEK 4: Assault and Landing Craft Qualifications / PSYCHOMOTOR TESTING

• MONTH 4: Advanced Piloting Techniques and Skills
  • WEEK 1: Weapon Systems / Targeting Systems / Shield Systems / COGNITIVE TESTING
  • WEEK 2: Evasion Manuevers / Dogfighting Manuevers / Stalking Techniques / PSYCHOMOTOR TESTING
  • WEEK 3: Special Target Acquisition Systems / Rules of Engagement / COGNITIVE TESTING
  • WEEK 4: Communications / Intelligence Gathering / Reconnoiter Operations PSYCHOMOTOR TESTING

PHASE RED and Graduation

Phase red consists of a series of live-fire excersizes and grueling cognitive command and control testing, to show whether or not the Marine is qualified for the field. This series of exercises takes appoximately 2 weeks to complete, divided into four exercises or mission that Pilots must participate in with their assigned teams.

• SCENARIO 1: Operation Shielded Beast - This scenario runs the gauntlet of protecting a mother vessel from an unknown force of fighters. Units must identify the hostile threat, formulate an action plan, and neutralize the threat. This can occur at any point during a three day patrol of Earth Sector 49.

• SCENARIO 2: Operation Guided Force - This scenario will test the pilot's abilities in reconnoitering, planning and executing a strategic bombing run against simulated planet-side enemies. This will require two full days to complete.

• SCENARIO 3: Operation Spartan - This scenario pits pilots against a simulated hostile mother ship, and associated support vessels. Students must destroy all objectives. This mission typically takes 2 days to complete.

• SCENARIO 4: Operation Overlord - This scenario is often completed in conjunction with to-be-graduating Marines of the ground element. The class will be divided into Bomber, landing craft, and figher support groups that will perform functions such as carrying in multiple divisions of ground-based marines, perform supressive bombing manuevers, and destroying key targets in a simulated planet-toid invasion of an enemy city. This is considered the mother of all scenarios in training, and requires about a week to complete.

All students have records of their performance in these scenarios, and they are all taken into a count at the end. Based on their performance, students will either pass, or retrain. At any time during the program, a candidate may chose to drop.

At the end of their CAP-A experience, CP's then become ROP's or regular officer pilots. ROP's are considered officers as they have already met the requirements as commissioned officers prior to being selected for the academy. By now, candidate has gained enough experience and expertise to move on to graduation day from MADO, and the pinning of a traditional set of wings to their class A uniform. From here, pilots are then assigned to their receiving Air Group.

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