Army
- Thread starter Lefty
- Start date
C650CPT
Well-Known Member
Seth
I am a ARNG CW3, my MOS is 155E somethin ... C-12 Standardization Instructor Pilot / Instrument Flight Examiner / Maintenance Test Pilot. I have 19yrs in with 7+ of that on Active Duty to include a recent trip abroad
I started out as a 67Y Cobra Mechanic then OJT for Huey Mechanic. I flew Cobras for 5 yrs ... loved them.
When you go WOC you'll be a E-5 paygrade until you get pinned. You'll be discharged from the Army as a Sergeant and then brought back in appointed as a Warrant.
Jim
I am a ARNG CW3, my MOS is 155E somethin ... C-12 Standardization Instructor Pilot / Instrument Flight Examiner / Maintenance Test Pilot. I have 19yrs in with 7+ of that on Active Duty to include a recent trip abroad
I started out as a 67Y Cobra Mechanic then OJT for Huey Mechanic. I flew Cobras for 5 yrs ... loved them.
When you go WOC you'll be a E-5 paygrade until you get pinned. You'll be discharged from the Army as a Sergeant and then brought back in appointed as a Warrant.
Jim
Lefty
Well-Known Member
C650CPT,
I got all my recommendation letters from a SEMA FW Battalion down here while I'm stationed...are all the OSA missions flown by NG? When you go FW is there pretty much a lock as far as vertical movement?
I got picked up in the JAN board....awaiting orders.....
-Seth L.
I got all my recommendation letters from a SEMA FW Battalion down here while I'm stationed...are all the OSA missions flown by NG? When you go FW is there pretty much a lock as far as vertical movement?
I got picked up in the JAN board....awaiting orders.....
-Seth L.
SibePilot311
New Member
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but your reply brought up memories. I flew Lears for the AF in Germany years ago. We shared the unit with Army C-12s and Hueys. Some great Warrant Officer/Pilots....
C650CPT said:Seth
I am a ARNG CW3, my MOS is 155E somethin ... C-12 Standardization Instructor Pilot / Instrument Flight Examiner / Maintenance Test Pilot. I have 19yrs in with 7+ of that on Active Duty to include a recent trip abroad
I started out as a 67Y Cobra Mechanic then OJT for Huey Mechanic. I flew Cobras for 5 yrs ... loved them.
When you go WOC you'll be a E-5 paygrade until you get pinned. You'll be discharged from the Army as a Sergeant and then brought back in appointed as a Warrant.
Jim
Skyhawk1079
New Member
Hey everyone,
I was looking on the Army recruiting website the other day about the warrant officer program. I am thinking about it. I dont have my degree yet but I want to fly. I am an Air Force reservist with six years total time in service, four and a half of those on active duty. I am an aircraft electrician in the Air Force. Can anybody who is an Army helicopter pilot or who have submitted a package tell me how it works? I am about to contact the Army warrant officer recruiter next week. I am on McGuire AFB. I want to try to speak to somebody in Army aviation over at Fort Dix. Thank you very much.
I was looking on the Army recruiting website the other day about the warrant officer program. I am thinking about it. I dont have my degree yet but I want to fly. I am an Air Force reservist with six years total time in service, four and a half of those on active duty. I am an aircraft electrician in the Air Force. Can anybody who is an Army helicopter pilot or who have submitted a package tell me how it works? I am about to contact the Army warrant officer recruiter next week. I am on McGuire AFB. I want to try to speak to somebody in Army aviation over at Fort Dix. Thank you very much.
rickyrhodesii
Well-Known Member
Blue to Green...
Blue to Green! Go for it if you want to fly. I've known a couple of guys over my years that have done that. I even considered it, but then i got married and had a kid...
Blue to Green! Go for it if you want to fly. I've known a couple of guys over my years that have done that. I even considered it, but then i got married and had a kid...
Skyhawk1079 said:
Before I became a commissioned officer, I applied to the Warrant Officer program. Once you get the packet, it is fairly straightforward. The most important part of the whole thing is the Class 1A flight physical. Get that done early and have it sent to Fort Rucker as soon as possible.
In your packet, you are going to need recommendations from a senior WO and a field grade Officer in your chain of command.
:nana2:
I highly recommend Army aviation as a WO. The Army is in dire need of Warrant Officers now and I think your chances are very good as long as you meet the basic requirements.
Good luck! And go Chinooks. Hooah.
Skyhawk1079
New Member
Thanks for the information, Chinook. An uncle of mine was in the Army. He served during the first Gulf War in 1990-91. He was in engineer corps (I think that is what they call it in the Army, LOL). I know this one guy who is retired Army and who was a recruiter. I called him last night to find out if he knew anything about warrant officer recruiting. He was going to contact somebody that he knows. He has connections. I was looking at the AFAST test, how hard is that? It does not seem hard. I just have to get a book to learn about the fundamentals of rotorcraft flight. Thanks once again. Take care. Be safe. You in Iraq right now, right?ChinookDriver said:
Skyhawk1079
New Member
I can imagine now the Army needing people badly in many specialties. I hear they are offering high bonuses like crazy. I guess that the Army will have no problem taking an Air Force guy like me. I have 75 credits towards my bachelor degree. I like the idea of a warrant officer and their duties, in comparison to a commissioned officer. The Air Force does not have warrant officer ranks. I would rather be a warrant officer to tell you truth than a commisioned officer. If I do the Army chopper pilot thing, I will probably stick with that until I retire.ChinookDriver said:
The Air Force, on the other hand, is downsizing their manpower. WHY is the Air Force downsizing? I DONT KNOW, LOL. Thank once again.
Yeah, from what it sounds like, you won't have a problem at all getting in. The AFAST isn't hard at all as long as you study for it. Just get a study guide from any bookstore and you'll do fine. Good luck man!
Oh, and no, not in Iraq now. Been back for a while now.
Oh, and no, not in Iraq now. Been back for a while now.
Lefty
Well-Known Member
Hey Sir,
How do you like the Chinooks? Im interested in the Kiowa's, but we'll see how it goes...who are you with now? I'm assuming up at Drum by location...
Mortars lead the way...
PFC Large
Skyhawk, I just submitted my packet back in December and got picked up in January. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help!!
-Seth
How do you like the Chinooks? Im interested in the Kiowa's, but we'll see how it goes...who are you with now? I'm assuming up at Drum by location...
Mortars lead the way...
PFC Large
Skyhawk, I just submitted my packet back in December and got picked up in January. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help!!
-Seth
ChinookDriver said:
It's been my experience that commissioned officer pilots are much fewer than WOs in the Army and generally have less overall flight time and experience. Is this because the only reason the commissioned's are around is to hold the Platoon Leader/ Company Commander, etc slots? Is is true that WOs still mainly fly, without all the additional duties/command BS (apart from things like scheduling, safety, maintenance, etc)?
Skyhawk1079 said:
And I have your answer.
Manning in the AF is and always has been, very cyclical. Shortages at some points (like the early 00s), and too many at other times (like the late-late 80s/ early 90s). It all depends with whats going on with the world, what's going on with the military, etc. Even now, the AF has figured out that they took in too many officers in the 2002/03 year groups and are right now "force shaping" them. What's specifically happening now is the AF has too many officers in comparison to the enlisted force, and is overstrength on officers (too many chiefs...etc). Additionally, the AF will be retiring about 144 airframes over the next 4 years; to include the whole F-117 fleet in the next 1-1.5 years, 38 of the 76 C-21 Learjets (50% of the fleet), about 20 or so B-52s, and the entire U-2 fleet. That's going to leave an overage of pilots in some specialities and in varying rank groups. Right now, for example, we have too few fighter pilots in the company grades overall, but too many in the field grades.....supposedly. We're going to end up with too many of some type as aircraft retire and cockpits get fewer. For example, not all F-15C pilots will transition to the F-22. BRAC 2005 saw to the shutdown and/or realigning of missions for many AF units, both active and guard/reserve. The active hits will force shuffles and manning changes too. As it all looks now, we do have too many pilots in the short look ahead, in comparison to available cockpits. Of course, there are many desk jobs and staff stuff that need pilot/nav rated people to take them, so those are available (if anyone really wants them). The pilot bonus, once a series of large payout programs of varying types in the mid 90s up to a couple of years ago, is disappearing rapidly, and is envisioned to be gone this year.
Thats just the nature of the game.
MikeD said:
All pretty much true. The WO is the technical expert who focuses mainly on flying. They do take on additional duties as needed, but the commissioned officers are the leaders and staff officers. An officer's flight time and experience can match a WOs up to about the 4th to 5th year, but after that, the officer finds themselves in more and more staff jobs. (For example, I am an ROTC instructor now and the only flying I do is part time fixed-wing flight instructing.) However, officers are expected to become Pilots in Command so that they can lead in the air as well as on the ground. It wasn't always like that - and still in some units its not a focus. Luckily in the 101st it was a pretty big focus and I quickly became a PIC and flew my butt off. (A-stan and Iraq helped a bit too.)
Skyhawk1079
New Member
ChinookDriver said:
I like the role of the warrant officer. The more hours you gain, the better is for me. I tried to fly a helicopter in Flight Simulator 2004. I was flying the Robinson chopper. I kept crashing the chopper. I tried to hover and taxi. It is not easy at all on FS2004. I spoke to a guy that I know who is retired Army and who was a recruiter. He said that he will talk to a recruiter who he knows. He is going to give the recruiter my information and contact me. Thanks once again.
scottyboy75
Well-Known Member
How many hours per year does the average WO fly? I was looking at going back in as soon as I test for my comm and Inst. I was trying to weigh out 6 years in the Army vs going to the GOM after 1000 hours. One of the benifits I see are the NVG hours. Most civ EMS operators are trying to go goggles these days.