Asking for expertise on a very important project

Hi all. My name is Dennis Gergindt. I am a writer and independent filmmaker (documentaries, short films, adaptations, story visualizations, etc). I have a bit to say, so I'll begin by cutting to the chase. I am looking for members of these forums who are experts - or who may possess extended knowledge of - military aviation and its peripherals, such as training, deployment selection, military and civil airspace divisions and locations, and much more. Here is why :



I have just begun a very large project, which will detail nearly all aspects of military aviation from beginning to end. This will include the process of a group of individuals from all points of the globe, and from all eras of aviators from WWI to present, signing with different branches of the military (Air force, Navy, Marines, Army) and the process they go through from becoming a high school graduate to a decorated retired aviator. I need insight on how and where these men and women are trained, how they are assigned to wings and squadrons upon graduation, how the selection process of which squadrons are selected for combat or training deployments over other squadrons is carried out, and the list goes on.



A major focus for this project will include the training process. How is military training airspace in different countries differentiated and seperated from civil and commercial flight airspace. Where is this training carried out and how often does each aviator need to exercise in these parameters to achieve combat readiness status? What is day to day life like during the weeks or months that an aviator is deployed in a conflict?



This project will begin with a written outline, developing into a series of chapters which follows students of varying nationalities as they navigate military life and eventual retirement. The goal is to eventually create a short (2hr or less) independent documentary, followed by several more that dive into the the more historical aspects of miliatry aviation. But it occurred to me recently as I began marking positions on Google Earth that this remarkable community and its members may have some very valuable insight on how and where these facets of aviation are implemented. Any and all input would obvioulsy be very greatly appreciated, and naturally credit will be given to all individuals who help contribute to its growth and completion. As a byproduct of using Google Eath to plot positions of interest relating to the story, I will be making detailed posts of pieces of the story through this community, so that all of its members may not only share in the creation process, but also have a voice in as well.



I thank you for listening, and hope that I may be refered to or contacted by any experts or knowledgable members who can provide some answers to these day-to-day military aviation questions. I can be contacted initially via the messaging system.  I can also provide a phone number, but wish to verify that is okay to do here first. 


Good Day,



Dennis "Digits" Gergindt

Moderators note:  Hello, and welcome Dennis.  I have taken the liberty of editing your post by removing your email address.  This is for your protection from spam and scams;  this forum  - like all forums - is very often scanned by bots and not all of them will be innocent search engine bots!  See this info.

Hi digits,



If you'd read many posts in the Transportation and Military forums, you'd probably have discovered that Frank McVey, who is a moderator here, is about as close to the kind of expert you're looking for. I suggest you contact him, and pick his brain a bit.



Incidentally, there's no need to post your email address here (see Rule 3 >>HERE<<. You can use the private message function to contact him or any other member.



鷲

Hello Washi. Thank you for your response.

Since posing the question, I did do some more sniffing around, and did see a bit of Frank Mcvey. I will certainly contact him in hopes that he could be of assistance. I also found a post of "Special Use Airspace", which is precisely what I need,  from PIT, who also had some interesting aircraft posts, and some material from ET Explorer such as the "NATO Joint Force Training Center", and Lardthief has some interesting info, all of which are hopefully good starting points. I will be contacting all of them.

In regards to the email, I am guilty of not reading through all of the rulebook before posting, and will do so now to avoid stepping in the smelly stuff on my journeys through these forums.  

Hi, Dennis, and welcome to the GEC.  


I'm afraid my old friend Washi is being somewhat generous in his assessment of my "expertise"!  I served in the Royal Air Force for very many years, but my knowledge is as an engineering technician specializing in avionic systems (and much of that is now well out-of-date!) rather than in the field of aircrew selection, training and deployment.  

However, I have a number of friends who went through the military aviation machine and subsequently went on to pursue careers in civil aviation as airline pilots.  I don't know whether they will be either willing or able to help you, since some of the information you seek may well be on a need-to-know basis, but if you wish, and they are agreeable, I will put you in touch with them.

Meanwhile, simply entering the search term "Royal Air Force aircrew selection" in Google will give you a number of overviews on the process and may well help you in formulating your methodology.

Other Air Forces are available...  

Cheers,

Frank

Thank you Frank for your response. Firstly, I'd like to state that your expertise as an avionics tech/flight engineer carries the same weight as, let's say, loadmasters, gunners, controllers, pilots, RIO's, and so on. Each individual fits into a snug space that is integral to maintaining the aviation machine, and without the support of the entire crew that machine can fail without warning, and with devastating consequences. Each enlisted member, regardless of rank or title, has a story to tell equally as compelling as the officers, who more often than not receive the credit and praise (or scorn and discipline) of the entire team.

Secondly, I failed in my initial inquiry to make one point clear ; With each story I do, the groundwork is always laid out as a foundation built upon information and facts. These I gather through stories, tech manuals, online and paper resources, etc. It's imperative that the technical information I present is as thoroughly researched, documented and critiqued as humanly possible. But there is no story worth reading, watching or listening to that is not told directly by the men and women who created them in the first place. The human element is all I am interested and vested in when the dust settles. I cannot be satisfied in any story that was not created by reaching out to as many voices as are willing to be heard. Their stories tell the tale, while the facts in print only guide the truth as an underlying parameter. 

I look forward to hearing from as many of you as I can, and thank you all in advance for any time, support, narratives and insights into the topics that will eventually create the greatest, most informative and certainly the most entertaining documentatitve series ever put forth.

Best Wishes,

Dennis