Blue Angels looking for officers, enlisted - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Blue Angels looking for officers, enlisted

The Blue Angels are hiring.

The Navy Flight Demonstration Team is looking for three jet pilots, a Marine C-130 pilot and a maintenance officer for the 2008 season and an administrative officer for the 2009 season, according to Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis, a pilot and applicants’ officer for the team.

The pilots will fill the positions of left wingman, right wingman and narrator.

“We’re looking for three pilots who can fly the F/A-18 for demonstration,” Davis said, adding that applicants can have flown airplanes other than the F/A-18 in the fleet.

“Really, we’re just looking for tactical aviators that meet the minimum criteria for flight time and experience,” Davis said. “Even individuals who are a little bit shy of requirements are still encouraged to apply.”

Applicants must have at least 1,250 hours of flight time, according to the Blue Angels’ web site.

During the “rush period,” Davis said applicants are encouraged to attend three to four Blue Angels shows and to accompany the team to follow-on functions that it has been invited to.

“In doing these things, the team is able to get to know the individual, and the individual is able to know whether they think they are a match for the team,” he said.

After the rush period, the team will picks finalists who are invited to Pensacola, Fla. for a formal interview process.

Pilots will be chosen for terms of two or three years. In January, they will travel to Naval Air Station El Centro, Calif., for winter training, flying six days a week, as often as three times per day.

“It’s two and a half months for current team to form what will be demonstration team for that season,” Davis said. “We kick off the season in El Centro for our very first show.”

In all, the team will perform about 70 shows at 35 sites.

When not performing or traveling to and from performances, they are based NAS Pensacola, Fla. and will normally have only one day per week off, Davis said.

The deadline for officer applications is April 30.

The Blue Angels are also hiring enlisted personnel for three-year terms.

“We have about 100 [enlisted] people,” said Chief Aviation Maintenance Administration Bob Sadak. “We lose about one-third of the command each year. It seems like there’s always between 30 and 35 jobs opening up each year. We like to get about 80 applications for those.”

To be considered for an enlisted position, an applicant must not be in receipt of permanent-change-of-station orders; must have no non-judicial punishments or court-martial convictions for three years; no civilian or military alcohol-related incidents for three years; no DWI convictions within five years; no financial instability or command-directed counseling for three years; no Physical Readiness Test or body fat waivers for three years; and no visible tattoos while in summer white uniforms.

The deadline for enlisted applications is April 1.

For enlisted positions, applicants should be E-5 and above, although outstanding E-4s will also be considered.

The following positions are needed:

Ã¥ Aviation machinist’s mate.

Ã¥ Aviation electrician’s mate.

Ã¥ Aviation structural mechanic.

Ã¥ Aviation ordnanceman.

Ã¥ Aviation electronics technician.

Ã¥ Aviation maintenance administrationman.

Ã¥ Aircrew survival equipmentman.

Ã¥ Mass communications specialist.

Ã¥ Storekeeper

Ã¥ Yeoman.

Ã¥ Hospital corpsman.