Army 2LT Army Helo guy to Marines Flight school. Possible?

[sowchinook]

I'm currently ARNG in school and will graduate in 4 months. I really want to fly jets in the marines and can get released from the Army. I will be 29 when I finish here at Rucker. Anyone know the max age for transfer to the marines? I'll be rated helo guy(hawks), but want to go through flight school again in marines to get jets. Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[snake020]

Check with the Army - they probably have a service commitment you have to fulfill before they'll give you conditional release.

 

[Carno]

Not if he goes from the Natl. Guard to active duty.

 

[snake020]

There's still gotta be some kinda commitment for flight school.

 

[freshy]

I'm currently ARNG in school and will graduate in 4 months. I really want to fly jets in the marines and can get released from the Army. I will be 29 when I finish here at Rucker. Anyone know the max age for transfer to the marines? I'll be rated helo guy(hawks), but want to go through flight school again in marines to get jets. Any help would be great.

Thanks

Assuming you have no commitment w/Army, you might have a slim chance. I would be utterly surprised if the Marines would accept you at that age though, no offense. Not only that but you already have a commission from the Army. An Army 2lt does not equal Marine 2lt. If the Marines didn't make you go thru Marine OCS, I would be surprised. But either way you would still have to go through TBS (6 months) then all the way through API, Primary, and then you might not get JETS, which seems to be your main motivation. So then what do you get out of it??? You would then be a few years older, and still a helo pilot. If you just wanna be a Marine, I can understand that, because deep down everyone wants that, lets face it. If you just want to be a Marine, then quit army helo school now and get started the right way. Although I would talk to a Marine Officer Selection Officer first. Good Luck.

 

[Gatordev]

An Army 2lt does not equal Marine 2lt. If the Marines didn't make you go thru Marine OCS, I would be surprised. But either way you would still have to go through TBS (6 months) ...

I understand your basic jist there, but the above is not necessarily true. The gouge I heard recently is that if someone wanted to go from the Navy to the Marine Reserve, you didn't have to go through TBS. I think some internet class (probably JPME) was the req. I know that's not the same as what you're saying, but TBS isn't the end all requirement.

W/ all that said, I'd seriously doubt the Army would let you go until you fulfilled your commitment to them.

 

[phrogdriver]

Gatordev, as much as they are drawing down 4th MAW, I'd be surprised if they are so hard up for reserve helo bubbas that they'd waive Marine requirements. Maybe to fill those Marine reserve IP slots, but that'd be it. I know of several ensigns/jgs who transferred after flight school. They didn't have to do OCS, but they did do TBS.

The Marine Corps is so parochial, it doesn't get many who transfer in. To the poster--by the time the Army let you go and the Corps let you in, you'd be way too old to start flight school, unless you somehow quit before getting a service obligation. Then you'd be taking your chances on the Marine side. As Freshy pointed out (there's a phrase I never thought I'd use), there's no guarantee of jets once you're in the Corps, either.

The only way to truly know is to talk with a Marine OSO, though.

 

[Gatordev]

Gatordev, as much as they are drawing down 4th MAW, I'd be surprised if they are so hard up for reserve helo bubbas that they'd waive Marine requirements. Maybe to fill those Marine reserve IP slots, but that'd be it. I know of several ensigns/jgs who transferred after flight school. They didn't have to do OCS, but they did do TBS.

Could very well be true. I heard that about 4-5 months ago from an active Marine regarding going to the fleet as a Marine Reservist (as opposed to an IP reservist tour). He could of just been mistaken, or maybe it is true. I didn't research it to find out, but it sounded somewhat legit.

 

[HAL Pilot]

I'll be rated helo guy(hawks),

The key here is that he will already be a rated aviator. He will have his wings. Plus he will already be commissioned so the age requirement will probably not be applicable.

I don't know about the Marines, but I know 2 Navy pilots that started life as Army helo pilots. One was a CWO3 and one a Captain (O3).

The CWO3 wanted to fly helos and went to a customized T-34 syllabus (since all Navy helo pilot get T-34 training frist) and than straight to a helo RAG. He was on Theodore Roosevelt with me.

The Captain wanted to fly fixed wing so they sent him through a customized primary, liked what they saw and sent him off to jets. He did well there but had a problem CQing which was eventually determined to be a depth perception problem. He was waivered for multi-crew land based aircraft (P-3, EP-3, C-9 and C-130) went to T-44s and was a PPC in my first squadron.

The key is to find a Marine OSO. He is the one that either has the answers or can get the answers.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Assuming you have no commitment w/Army, you might have a slim chance. I would be utterly surprised if the Marines would accept you at that age though, no offense. Not only that but you already have a commission from the Army. An Army 2lt does not equal Marine 2lt. If the Marines didn't make you go thru Marine OCS, I would be surprised.

Who are you? Are you a Marine Officer? A Marine wanna-be? An enlisted Marine? A college student? A high school student? Your profile doesn't say yet here you are telling someone what the Marines do or do not want. Not only that, you're declaring that an Army officer is somehow less of an officer than a Marine officer. What is your experience or justification to back this claim up?

BTW there are many Marine officers that were first commissioned in other services and latter transfered to the Marines. They did not go through OCS again. All the ones I know did go through TBS.

A Marine officer is no better than a Navy, Air Force or Army officer. They are all officers and all deserve respect. This has been hashed out numerous times on this board before. Despite the brainwashing, it is not a matter of being better. The difference is in the service's training, culture and mission. A good Marine officer does not necessarily make a good Navy officer just as a good Army officer might not make a good Marine officer. But all are good officers in their respective services. Further, I'd bet there is a hell of a lot better chance of a good Army officer becoming a good Marine officer than an unknown college grad who goes through OCS becoming a good Marine officer. The Army officer has already proved himself once. The OCS grad is an unknown who has never proved himself.

If you just wanna be a Marine, I can understand that, because deep down everyone wants that, lets face it.

Pure bull**** and brain washing. Most of the officers I know never had the desire to be a Marine. They thought Marines good for a few chuckles.

you just want to be a Marine, then quit army helo school now and get started the right way.

And again, you have the background and experience to tell a guy to make a life-altering decision and quit flight school?

I would talk to a Marine Officer Selection Officer first.

The only sentence in your post that makes sense or is useful.

I may be making a moutain out of a mole hill but I'm getting tired of all the guys with no experience, no knowledge or no profile passing off their thoughts as facts and handing out advice like they are experts.

 

[skidkid]

An Officer in another service would not have to go to OCS since they are already an Officer but they will have to attend TBS (no excptions today-there were in the past but currently those days are over). This is true for those seeking both AD and reserve transitions. Though we are short of reserve pilots this is not currently negotiable. Freshy is in fact a Lt.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Freshy is in fact a Lt.

Well he has that going for him but he still needs to fill out his profile if he wants any credibility. How much experience does he have? OCS and TBS? Has he ever been in the fleet?

 

[Oh-58Ddriver]

chinook, a couple points to ponder:

1) Dont get into the grass-is-greener mentality. You havent even finished flight school yet. How do you know that what you have is not what you want? If you wanted jets for so long, why did you end up in Army flight school? A lot of people would kill for that slot, I hate to see guys taking it for granted.

2) On your profile you call yourself a pilot. 4 months shy of flight school graduation is 4 months shy of the right to call yourself a pilot.

3) Have you ever flown fixed wing? If not, how can you be so willing to throw away a helo job for something you dont have exposure to? If so, ignore.

4) Going back to the grass-is-greener thing. If you are not happy in flight school, you need to ask yourself what is making you not happy about it. IMHO, this is as good as life gets. If you still think you want jets, then heed everyone's advice and contact an officer recruiter. I can't see them letting you go, but you don't know until you ask.

 

[freshy]

I love the ol' "quote every line and make a comment" post. Lemme try.

I don't know about the Marines, but I know 2 Navy pilots........

I'll take that statement at face value, and go-ahead and agree w/you.

Who are you? Are you a Marine Officer? A Marine wanna-be? An enlisted Marine? A college student?

I either have been, or currently am, most of the above.

... you're declaring that an Army officer is somehow less of an officer than a Marine officer.

When did I say an army officer was "less of an officer" than a Marine officer?
I simply stated army 2lt doesn't equal Marine 2lt. By reading my post as a collective thought...vice breaking down, and quoting each sentence individually and jumping to conclusions....you would understand what I meant by this. Which would be....you need further training to make the switch to Marines.

Despite the brainwashing, it is not a matter of being better.....

.....Pure bull**** and brain washing....

All this talk of "brainwashed Marines"...makes me wonder who actually has been brainwashed.

And again, you have the background and experience to tell a guy to make a life-altering decision and quit flight school?

How much background and experience does it take exactly? I'm sure it really irritates you that you can't compare your salty history to my not-so-salty one. Do I need to have my entire resume posted in my profile for an old guy like you to judge and determine if what I post is of any worth? If someone posts info that is true...and helpful....then who cares how many years in the fleet he has?

BTW if someone is going to base his decision making process for "life-altering decisions" from info he gets on a website...maybe I should make the suggestion to take a long walk off a short bridge.

 

[bobbybrock]

Feshy I just think HAL saw a red flag when you talked about going through OCS again. A commission is a commission. There are many USNA, USAMA and USAFA grads out there who went on to serve in another service.
Chinook you might have a little trouble getting out of your obligation to your state. If your state has an Air Guard unit then that could be an option down the road. You need to finish flight school first. Since you already have a commission, the air guard has no SUPT age requirements. So you could be in your mid 30's and going through SUPT.