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US Army Reserve Warrant Officer Aviator


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Hello Everyone,

Due to life events, I must pursue being a Army Warrant Officer Aviator in the Army Reserve. There are some questions that I have not been able to answer.

 

1) Is there a specific amount of time that you must be in the Army Reserves as an enlisted soldier before applying for Warrant Officer?

 

2) Can you enlist in the Army Reserves, in aviation unit then apply for Warrant Officer through that unit, to be back at that unit as a Warrant Officer Aviator?

 

Any Army Reserve WO Aviator tip and guidance would be greatly appreciated!

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Mush2880,

 

You can apply for WOFT as a civilian or enlisted soldier. If I recall correctly, being in for a few years before applying is a National Guard thing. If you decided to enlist first then you must spend a minimum of 2 years in your assigned unit before applying, as I was told many times.

 

I'm not sure how the process is going through a Recruiter because I was supported by an Army Reserve Career Counselor on the Special Missions Team. Their job, if not there only job, is to get individuals already in the Army to pursue a shot at being a WO and helping them with their packets all the way up through selection. Putting together a packet is not easy and requires commitment and a set timeline.

 

Now, just walking into an office and saying I want to do the Reserve WOFT program isn't as simple as say wanting to try for Active Duty. For the reserves, you have to "live" within 150 or so miles in any distance from the ASF (Aviation Support Facility). In addition, there has to be slots available. At the beginning of every fiscal year, the counselor team is given a number of "slots" to be filled. In my case, there were 3 this year. Last year there were like 5-7. WO's stay in for a while! Now, there are a few boards throughout the year and you could have people who didn't make the deadline last year be Board Ready by new year start. The way my counselor team worked was "first come, first serve." For the last slot of the year, I was going against the clock with 5 or more people. The first to be 100%, was the person who took the slot and all others would have to wait. There was no "lets see who the better candidate is" because they weren't the Board. Now, if you end up FQ-NS then its game on again.

 

I've been in my unit since February and I've only had 1 or 2 people ask me about the process. Some of these guys are civilian pilots or have good tech jobs and have no other desire to fly besides to crew. You could join into a unit, however, that won't guarantee a slot down the road.

 

Packet Advice:

 

1) Call whomever and figure out if you qualify

2) Find the Board Schedule and pick an achievable date. No matter the set back, aim for that date.

3) Take the ASVAB. You need a 110 GT to apply for WOFT. Look up what makes up the GT score. If you don't make the GT score, then you'll have to wait a little bit to retest.

4) Schedule a flight physical. If you don't pass medical, then you can stop there.

5) Study Study Study! Take the SIFT. I studied for about 2 weeks and got a 65/80. Min. is 40 Avg is mid 50's. Although a good higher score is great, I've heard of scores in the 40's being selected.

6) Start gathering LORs and Find a WO or Senior Aviation officer. I got lucky with a W5.

 

HAVE A BINDER. Make a binder and fill it with page protectors. Your first page will be your WOFT Checklist. Then, using your computer, type the name of each required document in the center of the page for each one and print. Your first page in the binder behind the checklist will be the first document needed. You will then put these in every other page protector and in order. As you complete a document, place it in its place in the binder. This does a few things for you. It keeps you organized, on task, and motivated. With every page you put into the binder you get more and more motivated to finish. Not knowing if you're making progress can stress you out. The WO who interviews you is supposed to overlook your packet like an application. They will also use things in your packet for their bullet points and means for recommendation. Handing them a manilla folder with papers in it or being empty handed ain't gone cut it.

 

When you finish it will be worth it but only the beginning. WOCS is the next hurdle!

 

Selected January 2016 for 153D (UH-60). GT 116/ SIFT 65 WOCS right around the corner.

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1) Is there a specific amount of time that you must be in the Army Reserves as an enlisted soldier before applying for Warrant Officer?

 

2) Can you enlist in the Army Reserves, in aviation unit then apply for Warrant Officer through that unit, to be back at that unit as a Warrant Officer Aviator?

 

Any Army Reserve WO Aviator tip and guidance would be greatly appreciated!

 

1. It's theoretically possible to go street-to-seat (civilian applicant) for Army Reserves WOFT. That said, I interviewed with the CO of a Reserve unit in TX and he told me that I'd need to first move to that state (might not be an issue for you, if you're already by the unit you want to join) and then enlist for a year to "prove myself" before they'd put my packet up for flight training. As ghost60s mentioned, that's fairly common with NG units but in this case the Reserve unit operated the same way. Talk to their strength manager/CO/whatever and find out for the specific unit you want to join.

 

2. Yes, you can enlist in and Army Reserves aviation unit and then apply for Warrant Officer through that unit to go back to that unit as an aviator. That's basically what the CO recommended to me at the TX unit but frankly I didn't want to enlist without having 153A on my contract.

 

**Your mileage may vary

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I was enlisted for just over a year when I was picked up.

 

As far as street to seat, talk to a Reserve recruiter direct. You can find them at larger posts, for example Ft Hood. Reserve aviation is VERY small, so if there is a slot, a Reserve recruiter should know.

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  • 9 months later...

I'm looking to submit a WOFT packet as well. I was a helicopter crew chief in the Marine Corps and I'm a commercial pilot, IR, MEL, CFI and my CFII is schedule for later this month. I would prefer a guard or reserve position. But from what I've read in various forums, it seems like I probably have as better chance going AD, would that be correct? A friend who is a guard pilot said the guard is 20% overmanned while AD is short pilots. Can anyone speak to the numbers of the guard, reserve, or active duty?

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As far as Guard goes, staffing is dependent on the State. It does appear that regular Army is severely understaffed, and you will go from application to flight school much more quickly. I'm currently in the applications process, like you prior service USMC. The State I am looking at is going to make me join as a repairer with my MOS school delayed up to 2 years (completion date) and as soon as my flight phys is good and my packet is complete I can sit for the next board that is being conducted. My other option was to join as a grunt with no MOS school requirement (I was an 0331) and apply from there, but frankly I'd rather get some experience in an aviation unit, notably the one I would be committing to for a good chunk of time. If I am fortunate enough to be selected, I've been told a 12-18 month wait for the pipeline is the norm, vs 5 months for active duty. I anticipate I would just continue to fulfill my enlisted MOS during that time.

 

More on the staffing. I am equidistant from 4 aviation units in 3 states. 2 of them say they are looking for pilots and regularly running boards, the other one says they are overstaffed for pilots and have 4-5 guys waiting for flight school slots.

 

Be aware the reserves and guard are different. It seems there are more guard aviation units than reserve aviation units. Reserves is federal while guard is state run. I imagine strength also varies reserve unit to reserve unit. As a prior Marine reservist, while they did move people around as needed within a certain radius, unit slots varied wildly depending where in the country you were, despite it being federal.

 

Mike

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I spoke with a LT with a state aviation office this past week. He told me about the boards for later this year, but that they were for 2019 school dates. I will be 33 in February of 2019, so with that I would need an age waiver. I'm straw starting to think AD might just be the way to go and I guess I can look at the guard again in 6-7 years after I'm a trained aviator. I haven't got a lot of information on the reserves, but I know it still goes through the AD recruiter with the added step of getting a unit to agree to take you on.

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