I need your advice ....

[TopGun1221]

I am 23 ( turn 24 in a few weeks ) , I just recently discharged f / the army . I have prior civilian flight experience , and I am almost finished w / my Associates degree ( would have been B.A. , but was deployed to iraq for a year and a few months ) . Anyway , I want to be a Pilot as I'm sure most people on this forum do . What do I need to do to reach this goal ? Or is it pointless , looking at where I stand w / my age and school and what not .
I was told by an O.S.O. that I could get a slot at Officer School and flight school , but that once I finished I would have 3 years to finish my B.A. , is this correct ? Basically , I just want to find the best and fastest route for me reach my goal , any advice you could provide concerning this matter would be greatly appreciated.Thanks----Joshua .

 

[hellodollies]

You have to have a bachelors before you would start anykind of flight training, at least on the Navy/MC side. The Army is a bit different, not sure if thats what your going for, I know they have enlisted pilots because the Army/Navy helo pipelines arent compatiable for that reason. Good luck

 

[KBayDog]

There are many options.

If you'd like to fly helos, probably the fastest way is the Army's Warrant Officer Flight Program. You are appointed as a warrant officer, and you train on helos. No degree required.

If you're out to fly props/jets/helos, you're looking at any of the other services. They all require an undergraduate degree and a commission prior to flight school. Each service has its unique commissioning sources; if you look around this forum (and ask), you will find a wealth of information about the different programs.

I am a prior-enlisted Marine, and didn't even start college until I was 23. I'm now 27, and halfway through flight school. In other words, don't sweat your age yet. Once you get to my age, and you haven't started school, that's when you need to figure out if there's anything else in life you'd like to do.

Welcome aboard.

 

[TopGun1221]

no I definately don't want to be a pilot in the army , I know you don't have to have a degree to be a helo pilot in the army , and I have thought about it , but if I'm going to be a pilot in the military I'm going to do it right and be a Marine Aviator , plain and simple . So do you know if I can go to O.C.S. w / just an Associates degree ? Would I just go to O.C.S. , finish school , and then go to flight school ? I keep kicking myself because I almost got out of the army 3 years ago to go through the MCEPS , but my wife at the time didn't want me to , 8 months later she had our Daughter I went to Iraq and now we are divorced and I am further away from where I want to be than I was then , funny how life works out huh ? Well they say anything worth having is worth fighting for , so I am just going to keep on keepin on . Anyway , anymore advice you might have would be outsatnding . ----Joshua.

 

[TheBubba]

I know they have enlisted pilots because the Army/Navy helo pipelines arent compatiable for that reason. Good luck

Army's pilots aren't enlisted. They are warrant officers. There are a few (very few) officers in Army Aviation.

 

[Crowbar]

You can go to OCS before you finish college.
You can't do anything else until after you finish college.
You won't go directly to flight school. You have to do TBS first. If you aren't familiar with TBS, poke around in the TBS forum. Same goes for threads on OCC or PLC. Look around for those if you aren't fully up to speed on how they work.

Link to a post about "Best Threads"...look in the Marine Corps section and try some of those out...

 

[winger]

if I'm going to be a pilot in the military I'm going to do it right and be a Marine Aviator , plain and simple .

:icon_smil

good stuff

 

[suicidechuck]

you've got plenty of time, go talk to an OSO about the PLC program, finish your degree, get your commission and air contract, then head to Pensacola

 

[HeyJoe]

Army Helo pilots

Army's pilots aren't enlisted. They are warrant officers. There are a few (very few) officers in Army Aviation.

This is an oxymoron statement. True, Army pilots are not enlisted and that they are warrant officers, BUT they are commissioned officers so you can't say there are very few officers in Army aviation unless you qualify that by saying very few officers in ranks (0-1 to 0-6). Warrant Officers outrank all enlisted ranks and have their own rank designation (W-1 to W-5) and associated pay scale. That said....

If you want to fly and can't wait...Army helo WO is quickest path. If you want to lead and do other things and have a greater compensation in pay, then seek a commissioning program as suggested by others.

Note: there are other little known Direct Commissioning paths through Reserve and Guard programs that have their own interesting selection and training programs (like doing OCS on weekends). Some involve flying. Gotta work it through individual units (The deal the president got doing flight school and associating with various units isn't that unusual, just not typical).

 

[Wedge]

Warrant officers are not commissioned, they are warranted. There is a difference between the two.

 

[Crowbar]

Warrant officers are not commissioned, they are warranted. There is a difference between the two.

Not this again.

 

[HH-60H]

Not this again.

And here is the actual law:

From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 7, 2003]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 7, 2003 and February 12, 2003]
[CITE: 10USC571]


TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES

Subtitle A--General Military Law

PART II--PERSONNEL

CHAPTER 33A--APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION AND
RETIREMENT FOR MEMBERS ON THE WARRANT OFFICER ACTIVE-DUTY LIST

Sec. 571. Warrant officers: grades

(a) The regular warrant officer grades in the armed forces
corresponding to the pay grades prescribed for warrant officers by
section 201(b) of title 37 are as follows:

Warrant officer grade:
Chief warrant officer, W-5.
Chief warrant officer, W-4.
Chief warrant officer, W-3.
Chief warrant officer, W-2.
Warrant officer, W-1.

(b) Appointments in the grade of regular warrant officer, W-1, shall
be made by warrant by the Secretary concerned. Appointments in regular
chief warrant officer grades shall be made by commission by the
President.

 

[goosegagnon2]

word on the street is, all Warrants are commissioned by W-2.... W-1's are not commissioned..don't ask me why but that is what I have been told by some warrants around here. Some warrants are prior enlisted guys, a 2-year degree is needed to be competetive for a warrant slot...I think experience helps too, years in service, ppls and ratings, etc...

 

[HeyJoe]

So the answer is....both? or "it depends?" Regs are fine, but my real point was where they fit in the pecking order...they are officers and saluted and go to O Club, etc. Many more in Army due to widespread use of Warrant officers as aviators. USN and Marines have had programs in past for other than Commissioned Officer (0-1 and up) to fly (NAVCADs, NAP, USMC Warrants, etc.), but only the Army embraces it as a foundation of filling their cockpits.

 

[Goober]

Actually helps the Army in that regard considering their pilots get in the cockpit and stay there vice juggling as many collaterals and varying tours to far flung assignments...kind of a professionalization. Downside is you're essentially Chopper Dave in the News5 copter for your career, so no luck if you have intentions of commanding a unit (although sometimes I think that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing).