Army Warrant Officer seeking Inter-Service Transfer to Naval Aviation

[wplax26]

Another option to consider if you want to fly jets is the Air Force U2 program. I'm not sure how they handle IST's for WO's but I have heard of previous Army guys flying over there.

http://www.beale.af.mil/Library/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/279960/u-2-pilot-application/

 

[KingAirGuy2017]

All the posts concerning how Navy Reserve aviation is structured is very helpful. Sounds very different from the Army Reserve/Guard and the AF Reserve/ANG. They send guys to flight school exactly the same way as the active component does, in fact about half of all the guys I went to flight school with were Guard/Reserve.

As far as th U2 program, I gave a call to the MAJ handling their recruiting program and he said Army Aviators aren’t eligible to apply because the Army’s flight training isn’t compatible with the Air Force’s.

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

Agree, that post was helpful. So sounds like you want jets. That will require you to go through Primary and select them. If you can get a Navy commission via the active component (and I'm not smart on how ISTs are handled or how likely they are), then go to Primary, there's still no guarantee you'll select tailhook, although with your background, the syllabus will probably be much easier.



This isn't how the RC assesses people. Yes, there were some weirdo FTS dudes that got picked up in the early 2000's, but that was out of flight school, and it was a one-off program. Like DanMa is saying, the Navy handles the Reserves differently, and just because someone is a "Reservist," it can mean either SELRES or FTS. Both options assess by who is junior most QUALIFIED. There's no reason for the RC to pay for your flight school (which would be Schools ADT, BTW, DanMa if SELRES...although I've never heard of that happening).

However, you CAN apply to Reserve squadrons as a SELRES and then be commissioned and go through the RAG, then fly with that Reserve unit, but it won't be as active duty. I know a couple people who have done that. I suppose you could then apply to FTS from the squadron, but not sure if there's any contract verbiage that would prevent that.

I don't know how the application to FTS works from the Army. It's obviously happened in the past, specifically with -85 (and maybe others), but trying to apply to a RC jet squadron wouldn't be in the cards because of quals. VR might be an option with your background.

Our squadron (and maybe VR as a whole) is moving away from accepting ISTs because of the amount of time it takes from acceptance to getting them flying in the squadron. It's too lengthy of a process.

 

[Rocky_1]

The thread on this topic is very niche so I figured that I would respond here for the future. I am also an Army Warrant Officer looking to become a naval aviator, and some of the info in this thread is now incorrect. Warrant Officers from other service branches CAN apply to Navy OCS as an avenue to flight school, which I confirmed today via a Navy Officer recruiter in Phoenix, AZ. This is the current guidance as of October 2024. The latest program authorization says: “Active or Reserve officers, or former officers of other branches of the armed services are not eligible to apply for the officer candidate program under this Program Authorization” as @FormerRecruitingGuru pointed out at the beginning of this thread. However, that verbiage does not apply to warrant officers, and only applies to traditional O-grade commissioned officers. This is because it would not make sense for a commissioned officer to go through an officer candidate school and the only route that they would be able to take would be an inter-service transfer. Warrant officers CAN attend OCS because it is a vertical promotion (you are going from one rank structure up to the next), just like Army warrant officers can attend Army OCS to become officers. So unless the Navy modifies the verbiage in the Program Authorization to specifically prohibit warrant officers from applying, you CAN. The recruiter that I spoke to did clarify that in this specific situation the service member looking to go to Navy OCS would either need to get a conditional release from their service branch to put in a Navy OCS packet, or wait until they are discharged from that service branch to apply. You can take the ATSB while active duty though.

So…my plan at the moment is to take the ATSB and hopefully kill it, and then submit for an immediate selection (per the Program Authorization criteria) when I am discharged from the Army to go to Navy OCS as an SNA. There’s always a way guys…keep grinding and when you’re told no, get another opinion.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

The thread on this topic is very niche so I figured that I would respond here for the future. I am also an Army Warrant Officer looking to become a naval aviator, and some of the info in this thread is now incorrect. Warrant Officers from other service branches CAN apply to Navy OCS as an avenue to flight school, which I confirmed today via a Navy Officer recruiter in Phoenix, AZ. This is the current guidance as of October 2024. The latest program authorization says: “Active or Reserve officers, or former officers of other branches of the armed services are not eligible to apply for the officer candidate program under this Program Authorization” as @FormerRecruitingGuru pointed out at the beginning of this thread. However, that verbiage does not apply to warrant officers, and only applies to traditional O-grade commissioned officers. This is because it would not make sense for a commissioned officer to go through an officer candidate school and the only route that they would be able to take would be an inter-service transfer. Warrant officers CAN attend OCS because it is a vertical promotion (you are going from one rank structure up to the next), just like Army warrant officers can attend Army OCS to become officers. So unless the Navy modifies the verbiage in the Program Authorization to specifically prohibit warrant officers from applying, you CAN. The recruiter that I spoke to did clarify that in this specific situation the service member looking to go to Navy OCS would either need to get a conditional release from their service branch to put in a Navy OCS packet, or wait until they are discharged from that service branch to apply. You can take the ATSB while active duty though.

So…my plan at the moment is to take the ATSB and hopefully kill it, and then submit for an immediate selection (per the Program Authorization criteria) when I am discharged from the Army to go to Navy OCS as an SNA. There’s always a way guys…keep grinding and when you’re told no, get another opinion.

I find this interesting as the verbiage was the same years ago during my time when NRC rejected Army WO's looking to become Naval Aviators and NRC was writing the PA's.

It will be interesting to see what NRC does.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

The thread on this topic is very niche so I figured that I would respond here for the future. I am also an Army Warrant Officer looking to become a naval aviator, and some of the info in this thread is now incorrect. Warrant Officers from other service branches CAN apply to Navy OCS as an avenue to flight school, which I confirmed today via a Navy Officer recruiter in Phoenix, AZ. This is the current guidance as of October 2024. The latest program authorization says: “Active or Reserve officers, or former officers of other branches of the armed services are not eligible to apply for the officer candidate program under this Program Authorization” as @FormerRecruitingGuru pointed out at the beginning of this thread. However, that verbiage does not apply to warrant officers, and only applies to traditional O-grade commissioned officers. This is because it would not make sense for a commissioned officer to go through an officer candidate school and the only route that they would be able to take would be an inter-service transfer. Warrant officers CAN attend OCS because it is a vertical promotion (you are going from one rank structure up to the next), just like Army warrant officers can attend Army OCS to become officers. So unless the Navy modifies the verbiage in the Program Authorization to specifically prohibit warrant officers from applying, you CAN. The recruiter that I spoke to did clarify that in this specific situation the service member looking to go to Navy OCS would either need to get a conditional release from their service branch to put in a Navy OCS packet, or wait until they are discharged from that service branch to apply. You can take the ATSB while active duty though.

So…my plan at the moment is to take the ATSB and hopefully kill it, and then submit for an immediate selection (per the Program Authorization criteria) when I am discharged from the Army to go to Navy OCS as an SNA. There’s always a way guys…keep grinding and when you’re told no, get another opinion.

If you want to take the glass is half full approach, I am happy to take the half empty side.

Read the accession source, there are only two major sources:

1. Enlisted.
2. Civilians.

As a warrant officer, you do not meet the criteria. Warrant officers are not considered enlisted and if WOs were an actual source, they would have been listed in the PA.

During my time in recruiting, I personally had to reject other service officers and even warrants from applying to OCS because they did not meet the specific PA requirements. I also cannot tell you how many times recruiters will always say “yes, there is a waiver” when clearly there is not.

I have nothing personal against you, just stating facts stemming from experiences.

 

[Hair Warrior]

Before you write off the USCG…

A coworker of mine was a retired O5 Cutterman and USCG civilian GS-14. When he was active duty, for a 3 year tour he held command at sea of a cutter based in USVI. Had the second nicest house on base, after the base commander, right on the beach. They would go to sea for 2-3 weeks at a time and spend the rest of the month on St Thomas.