C172 Instructor Pilot reported encountering wake turbulence from a military transport aircraft on approach to MYR airport.
Synopsis
C172 Instructor Pilot reported encountering wake turbulence from a military transport aircraft on approach to MYR airport.
Narrative
In short; the Tower Controller created a situation in which I felt I was out of options; and ultimately led to a wake turbulence / jet blast encounter for my student and me.I was providing flight instruction in a Cessna 172 while my student was flying the RNAV 36 at MYR (the student was wearing a view limiting device and I was responsible for looking outside; see & avoid; etc). As we were approximately 3-4 nautical miles out from Runway 36; a Navy Aircraft Y was in the tower pattern for touch-and-goes; and the Tower Controller cleared the Aircraft Y for a short approach in front of us. This was a day with winds aloft from approximately 270; so the Aircraft Y had a tail wind on the base leg. The Aircraft Y's short approach was still a rather wide base; and it appeared to be in a steady descending turn straight toward us at approximately the same altitude as us. I asked Tower if the Aircraft Y was turning towards us; Tower acknowledged they were making a short approach ahead of us; I responded that the angle looked a little close; Tower issued the Aircraft Y a traffic advisory to look for us on a 3-mile final; to which the Aircraft Y responded they had us in sight. My student continued his approach under the hood.Once the Aircraft Y turned final (I would estimate approximately 1.5 miles ahead of us; at approximately 300 ft AGL); Tower instructed the Aircraft Y to go around. I am unsure of why the go-around was given to the Aircraft Y. I was worried about wake turbulence and began to cycle through options in my head:-I determined I couldn't go around upwind; because I would have to outclimb the short approach of an Aircraft Y to avoid wake turbulence-I determined I couldn't go around straight ahead; because the Aircraft Y had applied takeoff thrust and I cannot out-climb a Aircraft Y in a C172-I determined I couldn't go around downwind; because the wake turbulence would be blown downwind; additionally; there's a busy tour helicopter helipad just east of the runway 36 threshold so I didn't want to conflict with any helicopter traffic.In the short amount of time this took to unfold; I determined none of the above alternatives were acceptable; which left me having my student continue the approach and just hoping the wake turbulence and jet blast had blown downwind. It is the first time I've ever felt helpless in an airplane; and it really rattled me when I got on the ground and reflected on it.We continued the approach and at approximately 300ft AGL we experienced sharp; jolting turbulence for approximately one second. I believe we were lucky and did not hit the epicenter of the wake turbulence / jet blast; as I know it can flip a light GA aircraft or cause catastrophic damage. After the encounter; my student continued the approach and made a normal landing. In my state of disbelief; I failed to inform Tower of the wake turbulence encounter.After reflecting on the incident; I think both Tower and I could have made better decisions to avoid the encounter; and maybe even the Aircraft Y as well:-I may have had a case of 'get-there-itis;' as the only scenarios that ran through my head involved continuing forward in some capacity. I believe my best course of action would have been to take controls from my student and execute a go around with a 90-degree left turn; or a left 180 degree turn. It never crossed my mind to turn around; and I will always consider that as an option going forward.-If Tower had been more cognizant of wake turbulence; they likely would not have given a Aircraft Y a short approach in front of a Cessna on final approach-Additionally; if Tower had instructed us to go around; rather than the Aircraft Y; I believe this would have been a non-event.-It is hard for me to tell; but the Aircraft Y performed a pretty wide short approach so maybe they should have kept it a little tighter or declined the short approach.-I don't believe Tower ever gave us a wake turbulence warning after giving the AircraftY a short approach. I have been instructing out of MYR in Cessnas for XX years so I am very cognizant of wake turbulence even without 'Caution Wake Turbulence' warnings from controllers; but I would be worried if a student pilot solo was in that same situation got overwhelmed or couldn't properly visualize the wake turbulence.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.