Bases for the Apache

[WOFT_Applicant]

I am starting to put together a package for WOFT but am stilldeciding between going back to teh Marnies as an officer or Army WOFT.

 

I really dont care which service I fly for as long as it is in a helicopter. I would like to fly assault helicopters but it all depends on what the needs of that specific service are during your training cycle and I understand that.

 

I know where all the jarhead bases are for helicopters but I wanted to know where all the active bases are for Apaches.

 

Also I heard in the Army no one wants to fly the Apache and it is the easiest airframe to get - just wanted to hear people's input.

 

Thanks best of luck to everyone applying.

[NorCalHeliKid]

From what Ive been told, you can find an Apache at just about any post that has an attached air unit. You can be in Texas, Florida, Hawaii, Alaska, Kentucky, Washington state, Japan, Italy or Germany. I might have missed one or two and there are also special assignments like Personell and White House duty...etc. I dont think that the Apache is any harder to get than the other two options, when one comes available, the first person to want that spot takes it, so it depends on whos up at the time of choosing the dream list and what they personally want to fly. As far as flying for Army or Marines, consider the fact that the Army has a much larger and growing number of Helicopters than the Marines and therefore your chances may be greater....that was the reasoning I used when deciding...among many others.

 

Arthur

 

 

I am starting to put together a package for WOFT but am stilldeciding between going back to teh Marnies as an officer or Army WOFT.

 

I really dont care which service I fly for as long as it is in a helicopter. I would like to fly assault helicopters but it all depends on what the needs of that specific service are during your training cycle and I understand that.

 

I know where all the jarhead bases are for helicopters but I wanted to know where all the active bases are for Apaches.

 

Also I heard in the Army no one wants to fly the Apache and it is the easiest airframe to get - just wanted to hear people's input.

 

Thanks best of luck to everyone applying.

[wopilot]

There are few people that want Apaches, takes a certain breed. But it is not that easy to get into because there are so few slots per class. That being said.

 

Savannah, GA (HAAF)

Fort Hood, TX

Fort Bragg, NC

Korea (will be your first stop for a year)

Germany

Fort Riley, KS (Slowly moving from Germany)

Fort Campbell, KY

[wopilot]

From what Ive been told, you can find an Apache at just about any post that has an attached air unit. You can be in Texas, Florida, Hawaii, Alaska, Kentucky, Washington state, Japan, Italy or Germany. I might have missed one or two and there are also special assignments like Personell and White House duty...etc. I dont think that the Apache is any harder to get than the other two options, when one comes available, the first person to want that spot takes it, so it depends on whos up at the time of choosing the dream list and what they personally want to fly. As far as flying for Army or Marines, consider the fact that the Army has a much larger and growing number of Helicopters than the Marines and therefore your chances may be greater....that was the reasoning I used when deciding...among many others.

 

Arthur

 

 

You were misinformed. There aren't any in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Japan, Italy, or Florida

[NorCalHeliKid]

You were misinformed. There aren't any in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Japan, Italy, or Florida

 

Roger, thanks for the clarification. You would know much better than I would.

[Mymm]

There are 2 guys in my current Apache class that would have rather had different airframes. That being said I had to pull teeth and jump through hoops to get into the slot I have now.

 

It really depends on luck and who want's what in your class vs. what's available.

 

We are a different breed indeed =)

[WOFT_Applicant]

KS and KY sound a lot worse than anywhere else to tell you the truth but I could be happy with all the others. What is quality of life like as a WO? A lot of BS extra duties or just fly?

 

One of the major factors is in the Marines as an officer you have a lot of collateral duties. I was the S-3 NCOIC for a wing / ground unit and dealt mostly with O-4's and above. Marine pilots have to go on missions, keep up on quals then come back and do a bunch of BS paperwork, etc. etc. As you get higher in the food chain it gets worse - a major almost gets no stick time outside of quals and your almost never going on missions anymore. Once you make light bird - youre almost never flying. I had my share of "leading" and hoenstly I would rather be an operator than the shot caller - a different stress but easier to sleep at night.

 

What do you guys mean by different breed? I met a lot of apache pilots on deployments and they were pretty chill, but most of the ones I met were prior enlisted - a lot of them are from what I have seen. The marine cobra pilots were for the most part very pretentious c***suckers unless you are pulling them out of a wreck or you are their rescue guys. [Don't mean to offend anyone - this has just been my experience - a lot of Marine cobra pilots are d*cks even out in town when youre having a beer with them]

 

 

 

 

There are few people that want Apaches, takes a certain breed. But it is not that easy to get into because there are so few slots per class. That being said.

 

Savannah, GA (HAAF)

Fort Hood, TX

Fort Bragg, NC

Korea (will be your first stop for a year)

Germany

Fort Riley, KS (Slowly moving from Germany)

Fort Campbell, KY

 

 

There are 2 guys in my current Apache class that would have rather had different airframes. That being said I had to pull teeth and jump through hoops to get into the slot I have now.

 

It really depends on luck and who want's what in your class vs. what's available.

 

We are a different breed indeed =)

[wopilot]

Us Apache guys are for the most part chill, we take care of our own and eat our own. Once you get to Rucker you'll see what I'm talking about. We get that most people that want to be in Apaches are the right people, you have to want to fly them. We also don't have to tell anyone we fly the best helicopter in the world. But, there are A-Holes in every platform.

 

As for as collateral duties, yes, there are some. And they seem to keep mounting as this whole WO transformation continues. ALSE, AMO, OPS, Fridge B*tch, etc. But it's not like the duties that the RLO's do. Sorry I'm vague on this, but it's kinda hard to put into words not knowing what the Marine duties entail.

[wopilot]

Oh, and KS and KY, aren't as bad as you might think. Fort Campbell is only like 45 min from Nashville, and Fort Riley is about 1:30 - 2 from KC. I do know that guys at Fort Riley are flying like crazy though.

[WOFT_Applicant]

I am leaning toward WOFT because there are more slots and life in the army is a lot better than in the marines - a lot better. A buddy of mine from my enlisted days went to the army / ranger school and loves it - says they actually feed you and once in a while they show you they care - ha!

 

Marine pilot collteral duties:

 

1. as a lt to capt are usaully as an assistant to one of the S shops and mostly just pushing paper - a lot of oeprational flying - first 6 years if youre lucky

2. capt to maj your usually a company commander which sucks b*lls because youre bailing everyone out of jail every 2 seconds and more focused on running a company - rewarding in its own way but not fun - dont fly to much

3. Maj to Lt youre head of an S Shop. Lt bird to full bird your CO of a unit - never going to fly again except for quals because your running a squadron or wing

 

As a WO in the army im guessing youre always flying even after WO-4 to WO-5 - probably an instructor or something but still in the air a lot

 

Can I request a longer stay in korea? I am of korean descent and have family there - it would actually be pretty cool for me to stay there for a few years

 

How long are operational tours in Iraq / Afghanistan? army grunts were in country for 12 to 18 month clips - marines go for 7 to 9 months each rotation

 

 

Us Apache guys are for the most part chill, we take care of our own and eat our own. Once you get to Rucker you'll see what I'm talking about. We get that most people that want to be in Apaches are the right people, you have to want to fly them. We also don't have to tell anyone we fly the best helicopter in the world. But, there are A-Holes in every platform.

 

As for as collateral duties, yes, there are some. And they seem to keep mounting as this whole WO transformation continues. ALSE, AMO, OPS, Fridge B*tch, etc. But it's not like the duties that the RLO's do. Sorry I'm vague on this, but it's kinda hard to put into words not knowing what the Marine duties entail.

[wopilot]

Marine collateral duties are the same as RLO's in the Army then. And yes, while you have collateral's as a WO, you do still fly quite a bit. That's what you get paid to do.

 

And because you are of Korean descent, you actually CANNOT get assigned to Korea. lol, I kid, but of course you can extend in Korea, one of my really good friends is on his 4th year straight over there. And tours to OEF/OIF are the same for aviation generally, depending on your unit, 12-18 mos.

[WOFT_Applicant]

Cool man thanks for the input

[Lucky64driver]

I left Rucker in May, met up with my unit in Basrah 30 days later.

As far as getting a slot, the selection class ahead of me had 3 hawks, 1 Kiowa and the about 15 64D's. My class had 2 64D's, and 18 Hawks. The class after me had mostly Hawks and a couple 64D's. What I'm saying is, there's absolutely no telling what you'll get. You do your best on the checkrides, and hope your at the top of your class. Even the top 3 guys in my class didn't get what they wanted, (1 47, 2 58's)

We're hard on each other. Especially a WOJG. It sucks, but you do your time, study, progress and look back on it with a smile.

Fort Drum and Ft Bliss are also possabilities.

Hope all goes well for you.

[Linc]

What is a WOJG anymore? Most spend their WO1 time at Fort Rucker. Just remember that CW2 is also a WOJG until you prove yourself. Performance matters more than attitude. It isn't put up or shut up, it is shut up and put up, and one rotation in a low-intensity environment only teaches you how to operate in that environment under those conditions. Sorry, the been-there-done-that attitude in one-rotation pilots rankles me badly.

 

Aircraft assignments go in cycles. So, if the assignments seem heavy on UH-60, that won't necessarily be the reality when you arrive at that point in the training. There have been all AH-64 classes in the past, and likely to be again in the future. They've tried to dampen the fluctuations, but it is always too little or too much.

[CharyouTree]

What is a WOJG anymore? Most spend their WO1 time at Fort Rucker. Just remember that CW2 is also a WOJG until you prove yourself. Performance matters more than attitude. It isn't put up or shut up, it is shut up and put up, and one rotation in a low-intensity environment only teaches you how to operate in that environment under those conditions. Sorry, the been-there-done-that attitude in one-rotation pilots rankles me badly.

 

Isn't this the darn truth. Even better is the "one deployment as an E-5, and just as much TIS as you, so you shouldn't be treating me like this" pilot. Guy seems to think that his past experience as a 15P matters one whit as an aviator. Grrr.

 

Disclaimer: I haven't deployed as an aviator either, but I know when to shut the @#$% up, and that someone's just messing with me for being the junior guy. aaaanywho. Bad mood from the drive home, I'll step down from the soapbox now

[Lastshot]

The last post was from 2009 here, so I just wanted to check that these are still the main Active Army bases for Apaches?? Are there any more to add?

 

Savannah, GA (HAAF)
Fort Hood, TX
Fort Bragg, NC
Korea (will be your first stop for a year)
Germany
Fort Riley, KS (Slowly moving from Germany)
Fort Campbell, KY

[2ndGen]

Holy thread resurrection..

 

You can also go to Bliss, lots of Apaches at Bliss.

[akscott60]

Colorado.

Washington.

[TriViper]

I would think Apaches are the "fighters jets" of the Army, so thinking the demand for these aircraft would be through the roof. But from what I've been reading, many folks love the Chinook, Blackhawk, etc. Why aren't pilots as high on Apaches?

[wopilot]

Flight time, pick the mission, not the aircraft.

 

Apaches just don't fly as much as the others.

I would think Apaches are the "fighters jets" of the Army, so thinking the demand for these aircraft would be through the roof. But from what I've been reading, many folks love the Chinook, Blackhawk, etc. Why aren't pilots as high on Apaches?

[wopilot]

Also with the new CAB alignments you can now go to Fort Drum, NY. YAY!!! (insert sarcasm here)

[akscott60]

I would think Apaches are the "fighters jets" of the Army, so thinking the demand for these aircraft would be through the roof. But from what I've been reading, many folks love the Chinook, Blackhawk, etc. Why aren't pilots as high on Apaches?

 

Oh ok, now your posts make sense to me.

 

Like watching "Firebirds" eh?

[d10]

I would think Apaches are the "fighters jets" of the Army, so thinking the demand for these aircraft would be through the roof. But from what I've been reading, many folks love the Chinook, Blackhawk, etc. Why aren't pilots as high on Apaches?

If you think fighter jets are the pinnacle of military aviation why not join the Air Force?

[electron_si]

 

Oh ok, now your posts make sense to me.

 

Like watching "Firebirds" eh?

 

I AM THE GREATEST!!!!

 

I think in other services they always saw that fighter pilots are the top percentage of the their aviators, i think for the army that there is really no airframe that has the top percent of pilots.

[Velocity173]

I would think Apaches are the "fighters jets" of the Army, so thinking the demand for these aircraft would be through the roof. But from what I've been reading, many folks love the Chinook, Blackhawk, etc. Why aren't pilots as high on Apaches?

An Apache is no fighter aircraft. While maneuverable, you're not doing rolls and loops and pulling Gs. The footage you see of 64s doing that are test pilots and the few countries (Netherlands) that allow it. A UH-60 and a CH-47 are both faster than an Apache.

 

If you want to blow things up, then by all means that's the aircraft for you. If you want to fly MEDEVAC, air assault, C2, sling loads, generals, presidents, para drops, FRIES, rappelling, senators, IFR cross country, Bambi Bucket, sniper / gunnery, actors, reporters, disaster relief, resupply and smoking hot cheerleaders, then you pick a different airframe.

 

Oh yeah, you can bet with today's budget restraints and the operating costs of an Apache, you won't be getting as many hours as other airframes. Might come in handy one day for an employer looking for hours and IFR experience.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Velocity173