I remember those old NAO wings. In some ways I like them better than the current NFO wings (but they're cool too!)

An interesting note: While BNAO School was the forerunner to VT 10 not all early NAO's went through it. In the late 1950's a number of enlisted aviation types were detailed into NAO duties until enough junior officers could be procured for fleet duty. A few were promoted to chief warrant officer and continued into the commissioned ranks. This was a "band-aid" fix until enough JO's could finish the training pipeline.

Still...there were a few others who became designated NAO in a somewhat irregular fashion. My father being one of them.

Dad entered the Navy in 1958 through OCS at Newport. Given his college degree the Navy figured he would be commissioned in the Supply Corps and serve on destroyers. An afternnoon out at sea convinced my father that these navy higher-ups had made a grave error in judgement. He managed to get orders to air intelligence school and spent time at NAS Anacostia and Jacksonville. There he was introduced to Naval Aviators (in those days that meant pilots...and nobody else!) and got orders to pre-flight and VT 14 in Pensacola area (always got the various fields mixed up). He did well in academics but experienced deafness during ascent and descent.

Dad appeared before a board and was basically told he was physically unqualified to continue, but he could have his choice of community type as an intel officer and even offered him duty with the then ENTERPRISE Pre-Comm unit. He looked directly at them and said, "I want to FLY NAVY!" The board members looked at him wondering if his hearing issues extended beyond the cockpit. However, one officer said...that still might be possible if he was willing to accept orders to Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada flying Barrier Patrols in the North Atlantic in an Airborne Early Warning Squadron.

At this time folks were going through the NAO training course in Corpus Christi, but as one board member stated..."you've been to enough navy schools, it's time you joined the fleet."

Being a serving naval reserve ensign Dad didn't really know what AEW Barrier Patrol meant or really understand where Argentia was (nor did he particularly care) he found himself flying WV 2's with VW 11. And it's just as well he went along with the plan because it was in Argentia where he met Mom!

Less than a year into his Argentia tour and after many LONG patrol flights navigating (without the privilege of wearing wings!), a detailer from BUPERS came and gathered all the young reserve ensigns and explained what bleak prospects they had....except...the navy was actively trying to "grow" NAO's and they might want to consider this option.

It sounded like a great idea to Dad and about six months later he had orders in hand for FAETULANT in Norfolk, with follow on orders to VP 30 in Jacksonville. He actually earned his designation as a NAO (B/N) in Norfolk and received authorization to finally wear the wings after arriving in Jacksonville. It wasn't until he arrived at his first operational VP squadron that the term "TACCO" distinguished NAO's in the maritime patrol community from other NAO's.

He recalls the change in designation from NAO to NFO sometime in 1965 while he was a member of ship's company onboard LEXINGTON. As a youngster I remember him wearing the NAO wings while stationed at NAS New York (Dad recalls the new wings coming available in 1968 with a year for folks to make the transition). Regardless, by the time we arrived at NAS Brunswick in 1970, he wore the NFO wings.

Personally I liked the old NAO wings. Dad wore several different versions depending on what uniform was worn. I suspect two of the versions were "unofficial." For many years he had on the wall a simple small shadow box with the three different versions of NAO wings that he wore with the words, "The End of An Era" typed in between.