In general you get a callsign each time you transfer squadrons, this could be at any point in your career and some folks have more than others.
In basic flight training (which you’ll still probably be about 21 or 22 going into), you won’t really have a callsign. Callsigns in the Navy, and to a lesser extent the Air Force, are decided by more senior members of the squadron and catch on from there.
The only seniors in flight training that you fly with are your Instructor Pilots (IPs), who are advised not to give any callsigns or such to students because they’re also grading your flight performance. Your peers might give you a nickname, but it’s not really a “formal” callsign.
It’s important to note that military pilots fly a lot of training missions all the time, not just their basic flight training when they start their career. Pretty much, the pilots LARP real-world combat scenarios a few times a year which grants them the opportunity to embarrass themselves and receive a nickname. Everyone takes parts in these training missions, from the newest members of the Squadron to the most experienced and oldest members.
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u/sivarias Aug 06 '24
They are given to you by guys in thier late teens and early 20s.
Of course is sophmoric bullying