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Warrant Officer National Guard


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Hey all,

 

Some may know me from my other thread, things have drastically changed. My friend from my days in the Marine Corps talked me out of using my G.I. Bill for Flight Training. I'm pursuing, like him, the Guard option. I just wanted to throw this thread up to get a little info for myself as well as establish a timeline for anyone who is interested. Obviously, every experience is different and mine is probably a bit more different than the “norm”

 

That being said, here’s my background: I'm 26 years old, a prior Marine and a homebred MV-22 Osprey guy. I've been an Airframe Mechanic on this AC since '05 and have worked for Boeing and Dyncorp for this platform.

 

I started speaking with a recruiter two weeks ago after searching for who knows how long. Apparently, these guys are like ninjas. I ended up going to the Maryland NG website http://www.mdarmyguard.com/ and clicked the “Officer Tab” which then led me to the WO section and CW3 James Halsey who, apparently, is a big wig in that department. After a brief conversation with him he asked what my unit was and I replied “Uh…when I was in the Marine Corps?” I thought why would that matter haha? Anyway, he said that he couldn’t touch me until the recruiter got all of the prelim stuff done first: AFAST, Flight Phys etc.

 

Once I finally could get meet up with the recruiter I was told to do the Background Check on the NG site, which was a pain. I just finished an SF86 for my job and I’ve preciously held a Secret Clearance so hopefully the investigation won’t be too painful. I’m not doing the ASVAB, my score was good from before. So, I’m waiting now.

 

I did ask about the AFAST/SIFT and the recruiter was not sure about it, he was under the impression that it was still the AFAST so if anyone has in knowledge in that regard it would be greatly appreciated.

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So you are doing prelim stuff with your guard recruiter and then the wo recruiter is taking over to get you in as a warrant? Or are they making you enlist to guard first the submit after ait like the rest of us?

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Yeah I'm knocking out all that stuff with the recruiter then moving to the WO recruiter after that. Originally, I was told that I needed to enlist first and I said f that, I've been enlisted thank you very much. But after speaking with my friend and this recruiter, it seems, with my experience at the least that I can attempt to circumnavigate the enlistment portion. From what I've been told, they want to make sure you can handle the military etc. so they don't waste however many tens of thousands of dollars on you to get you flying. That last portion was from the WO recruiter.

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Yeah i confirmed it with my recruiter also, you are able to cause of your prior service. I however have to enlist first to do the guard route. I thought id at least try your route to see if it could apply to me lol oh well. Keep us posted and let me know if i can help at all

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My recruiter just informed me that I will in fact be taking the afast, so I need to hit the books to be extra safe lol. I'm hoping your right about the Guard thing, I'm interested to see how this works with my job and all. At least Mother Rucker is accompanied.

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  • 3 weeks later...

To my knowledge, in the ARCO book, it says Mech. comp., Inst. Comp., Aviation Info., Complex Movements and Cyclic Orient. are key sections of study. Are there any additional items of interest or things outside the ARCO I should be looking into for the AFAST?

 

I have a date for the AFAST, though my recruiter hasn't said what day...and last I heard he was trying to get the physical date.

 

He tried to convince me to go UAV bc apparently they're hurting for pilots in that field. It's a great field to get into for sure but I don't think I could handle that job. I could see myself taking off, plugging in waypoints etc. then hitting the perfect pushup and youtube machine for hours on end. I could be wrong but that's my interpretation on how a day would go.

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  • 1 month later...

Well I went to MEPS about 4 weeks ago and passed the AFAST, not too bad, just could have used some additional time on that POS complex movement portion. So I'm all "qualed" now.

 

The bad news. Apparently the MD guard has so few vacancies that they take WO's from their own as opposed to me hitting the board as a civ. As I see it I have four options: Enlisted Aircrew, Enlisted UAV Shadow Operator, other states or just a completely different route. sigh...once in I can board up though.

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I think most states are going to give you a similar answer of having to enlist first. I'm really surprised you didn't get a direct answer earlier from MD. You got fairly far into the process before they nixed it. The nice thing is that if you do enlist, you won't have to go to basic again since the Marine basic counts for obvious reasons. You're 26 so you still have plenty of time for any number of options.

 

You might ask them how long you would have to be an enlisted before you were eligible to board in that state. Every state will, once again, give you a different answer on the time frame. Also ask WHEN they board each year. You could try and time an enlistment to give you plenty of time to meet the next available board.

 

Getting into and through flight school can be a long process. When I started this journey it took me 8 months to put my packet together and board after I found out about the program. Once I was selected, it was 10 or 11 months until I shipped out to Fort Rucker to start. Once here it was 1 year and 8 months to finish flight school. I'll graduate in December. With it all added up, I'll have spent 3 years and 5 months trying to earn my wings and just hit the start of my Army aviation career.

 

For me, it was a great adventure and well worth the time. Even looking back at how long it took (which was way longer than I thought it would take when I started), the journey was well worth it. Good luck as you pick your path.

 

Don't forget to look for Reserve units in addition to the National Guard.

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I can tell you for az youll go to ait for your enlisted mos and then its fair game for packet time... Might be same for md too but double check with an aviation warrant before you apply yourself that direction. Know what youre getting into and have to do before you do it.

 

Also, uav systems and uav pilot as enlisted is a good mos but not as liked in the aviation community as much as a mechanic on an aircraft for when its board time. Plus is just clicking a mouse on a computer. Isnt really flying in my book... But its all relative, ive seen infantry guys get accepted so it really doesnt matter

Edited by Yamer
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Hey rev whats your stats so far?

 

Also, uav systems and uav pilot as enlisted is a good mos but not as liked in the aviation community as much as a mechanic on an aircraft for when its board time. Plus is just clicking a mouse on a computer. Isnt really flying in my book

 

What do you mean? I hear you on the UAV concept, it's just convenience really. I don't like the idea of me not looking as good on a board bc of UAV vice reg. aviation. since I've been working on V-22's since '05 but that'll just be hard for me to adjust to...if I go UAV.

 

 

Heloidaho, thanks for all the great info man, I appreciate it and hopefully I can swing this thing into action.

 

Corey

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Ignore any comment about what looks good on a board. There is NO BEST PATH. So just pick something you enjoy. If you enjoy UAS, or it has more opportunities, then go for it. Just be sure to not suck at the job so you get good recommendations and people want to support your goals.

 

I made it into the Army Guard from the Air Guard as a Network Technician. I'd never done anything with aviation other than a little civilian helicopter training in the year leading up to the board.

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Your MOS doesn't matter to the board. The advantage to being in a regular aviation MOS is it will be easier to meet the pilots you'll need to write your LORs. On the regular Army side, UAV operators are in a better position to do that now than they used to be because UAV companies are being moved under the command of regular aviation battalions and working a lot closer with piloted aircraft. I don't know if NG units are doing the same.

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The first three lors, for people in any branch, so far are spoken for based on the packet requirements online. The other three are optional and up to you. Thatd be a great place for you marine lor. What they stated above is what i was aiming at saying. I was also trying to give you insight into the mos cause when i saw it i though it was like flying a computer screen but in fact its not but rather point click go here type stuff. Like i mentioned though any mos will get you into a guard flight slot.

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Yeah I spoke to a Staff Sergeant who is an operator and kinda turned me off to it. I was really hoping it was more Global Hawk like. How about 15T, do they ever fly? I know in the Corps they have Crew Chiefs but they are mostly flyer and do maintenance when they're not on the schedule. They also to D&T's as well as get the plane to engine start. I'm wondering how much flying, if any, a 15T does. It'd be nice to get proficient on the 60 as well as the 22. Just another notch on the 'ol resumé.

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My cw2 friend is a shop warrant. He said they pick any shop mos to fly really. Not just 15t. Its just the 15t has more of a guaranteed chance if you make crew chief but thats after a bit of time in there first as im sure youre aware already... He told me theyll take engine guys or apache guys or whoever is avail at the time as long as you have flight crew status.

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Enlisted crew (E.G. crewchiefs) must be mos qualified as per the appropriate ATM. Now, any mos can be a doorgunner but the slots for that only exist immediately before and during a deployment. Even many pilots are confused when it comes to non rated crewmembers.

 

I am currently a non rated crewmember flight instructor.

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