In the U.S.

Navy, most Naval Aviators are unrestricted line officers (URL),

eligible for command at sea; however, a small number of former senior enlisted
personnel subsequently commissioned as line Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant
Officers in the aviation operations technician specialty have also been trained as
Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers.[1]

A small number of URL officers trained as Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers
who hold technical degrees at the undergraduate and/or postgraduate level may also
opt to laterally transfer to the restricted line (RL) as Aerospace Engineering Duty
Officers (AEDO).[2] AEDOs are frequently test pilot school graduates and retain
their flying status, with most of their billets being in the Naval Air Systems
Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM).

An even smaller number of Naval Aviators are in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps,
primarily as Naval Flight Surgeons. These are either former URL officers previously
designated as Naval Aviators who later attend medical school and transfer to the
Medical Corps, or an even smaller percentage of "dual designator" Naval Flight
Surgeons who are selected to be Student Naval Aviators and undergo pilot training
as Medical Corps officers. The vast majority of Naval Flight Surgeons, although
they are on flight status, are not dual designated and are not Naval Aviators.

All U.S. Marine Corps officers are line officers, either unrestricted line, limited
duty, or warrant officer, eligible to command MAGTF units commensurate with their
grade, designation, and occupational specialty; the U.S. Marine Corps does not have
restricted line officers or staff corps officers, as does the U.S. Navy. All
current USMC naval aviators and naval flight officers are unrestricted line
officers, analogous to the Navy's URL officers.

The U.S. Coast Guard categorizes all of its officers generally, with its naval
aviators also being considered "operational" officers in the same manner as its
cutterman officers in the Coast Guard's surface cutter fleet.

Naval Aviation Pilot (NAP)

Until 1981, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps also had a small number of senior
enlisted personnel trained as pilots. Such individuals were referred to as naval
aviation pilots, colloquially "NAPs" or "APs."[3] The since retired NAPs also
continue to have a professional organization known as the Silver Eagles,[4] which
remains informally aligned with other naval aviation professional organizations
such as the Association of Naval Aviation, the Tailhook Association, the Maritime
Patrol Association, and the Naval Helicopter Association, among others. The naval
aviation pilot wings worn by NAPs were identical in design to the naval aviator
insignia worn by commissioned officers. The Silver Eagle title was a reflection
that the rating badge on their uniform had a silver eagle.

Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD)

The U.S. Navy still has an unknown number of senior officers on active duty in the
Regular Navy or serving in the Navy Reserve who were originally accessed as NAVCADs
(Naval Aviation Cadets). These individuals entered service via the NAVCAD program
during the mid/late 1980s and early 1990s when the program was reinstated following
a hiatus of over twenty years. NAVCADs were non-commissioned cadets who were
required to have a minimum of 60 college credit hours to enter flight training
(rather than the bachelor's degree normally required for entry into the flight
training program) and were accessed only through the now defunct Aviation Officer
Candidate School (AOCS) program. Upon completion of AOCS, NAVCADS would enter into
flight training and upon successful completion of training and designation as a
naval aviator would be commissioned as officers with a reserve commission in an
active duty status. After completion of their initial operational flying tour, they
would receive an assignment to complete their bachelor's degree. NAVCADs who failed
to successfully complete flight training were contractually obligated to enter
fleet service as undesignated enlisted personnel.

The last civilian applicants were accepted into the NAVCAD program in 1992 and the
program was finally canceled on October 1, 1993.

Prerequisites
Except for an extremely small number of enlisted personnel selected to attend
flight school subsequent to completing the STA-21, OCS, USMMA, USNA or USCGA
programs, all other student naval aviators must first obtain an officer commission.
To become a naval aviator, non-prior service personnel must be between the ages of
19 and 27 when entering flight training. Adjustments (waivers) can be made up to 24
months for those with prior service, and up to 48 months for those already in the
military at the time of application or for Marine Corps platoon leader's course
applicants with prior enlisted service.[5]

Marine Corps Aviation Pipeline

Navy and Marine Corps officers are currently commissioned through five sources: the
United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the United States Merchant
Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York; Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
(NROTC) at a number of colleges and universities across the country; Navy Officer
Candidate School at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island; Marine Corps Officer
Candidates School (to include the Platoon Leaders Class [PLC] program) at Marine
Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. A smaller number were previously commissioned via
the Navy's limited duty officer or chief warrant officer programs, but this track
has since been discontinued.

Coast Guard Officers receive their commissions either from the United States Coast
Guard Academy or Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, both located in New London,
Connecticut; or via the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY.

Graduates of these programs are commissioned as Navy ensigns in the U.S. Navy or
U.S. Coast Guard, or as second lieutenants in the Marine Corps. All individuals
must pass an aeronautical screening, to include successful completion of the
USN/USMC/USCG Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) and be selected for pilot
training prior to being designated as student naval aviators (SNAs).

Student naval aviators progress through a significant training syllabus�typically

18 months to two years for initial winging (designation) as naval aviators via
either the advanced strike pipeline for those destined for sea-based fixed-wing
aircraft (with a slightly modified pipeline for prospective E-2 Hawkeye or C-2A
Greyhound pilots), the maritime pipeline for those en route to multi-engine, land-
based aircraft, and the rotary wing pipeline for those who will fly helicopters or
tilt rotor aircraft (with a slightly modified pipeline for MV-22 Osprey pilots).
The longest of these "pipelines" is the E-2 or C-2A pipeline, averaging over three
years from initial pre-flight training to designation as a naval aviator. All
pipelines include ground and flight training at numerous locations.

Following designation as a naval aviator, all newly designated aviators report to a

designated Navy or Marine Corps fleet replacement squadron (FRS), the Coast Guard
Aviation Training Center at Mobile, Alabama, or, for pilots destined to fly Navy C-
130, Marine Corps KC-130, or Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft, the U.S. Air Force's
314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.

Introductory flight screening (IFS)

IFS is the first step to becoming a naval aviator. After passing a medical
screening, all new flight school students are enrolled in one of five civilian
flight schools near NAS Pensacola. For those students requiring IFS, they will
complete 2 weeks of ground training and approximately 14 hours of flight training
in single-engine general aviation aircraft. Coast Guard Students complete 25 hours
of flight training. A student must solo and pass the FAA private pilot knowledge
test. IFS screens a student's flight aptitude prior to beginning the Navy training
syllabus and is waived for students reporting to NAS Pensacola with a private
pilot's certificate or better, or those United States Naval Academy midshipmen who
have completed the Powered Flight program.

Aviation preflight indoctrination (API)

Notable dramatization of API/AOCS, in media: An Officer and a Gentleman
All SNAs start at the "Cradle of Naval Aviation", NAS Pensacola, Florida. API
classes consist of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard SNAs, student naval flight
officers, flight surgeons, and foreign exchange military pilots. Students receive
four weeks of classroom instruction in aerodynamics, aircraft engines and systems,
meteorology, air navigation, and flight rules and regulations. Following academics,
students spend two weeks learning land survival, first aid, physiology, and water
survival and egress. Following the end of academic instruction, API students hold a
social event known as Flight Suit Friday at the Mustin Beach officer club. From
that point onward, the students are authorized the wear of flight suits (with
service-specific garrison cap) as their daily uniform instead of Navy service
khakis/Marine service Charlies/Coast Guard tropical blue longs.

Prior to its disestablishment, Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) at NAS

Pensacola incorporated the entire API syllabus into the nominally 15-week AOCS
curriculum. AOCS students were commissioned only after they completed API
requirements.