United States Naval Aviator

A Naval Aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a pilot in the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps or United States Coast Guard.

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.

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). 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.

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