Military Pilot

AeronauticallyInclined · September 2, 2003

Do aviator warrant officer candiates have to go through basic training like the enlisted men? Or do they just go to Warrant Officer School then flight training??? I am considering the Army and Coast Guard. I am leaning more to the Coast Guard because i like the SAR missions. However, I have heard in the Coast Guard you can't apply to Flight School in OCS you have to wait till you get on active duty to fly. I don't want to be on a ship and not be able to fly! So I was thinking go Army for awhile and then do the Direct Commison Aviator program that the Coast Guard has for Army Warrants. What are ya'll thoughts on this and getting into the Coast Guard flying SAR?? Thanks in advance.

RDRickster · September 2, 2003

I wasn't an Army aviator, but served several years. The Army has a WOFT (Warrent Officer Flight Training) program, which includes WOCS (Warrent Officer Candidate School) and Flight School combined. Upon completion of the program, you may still attend OBC (Officer Basic Course), which some folks call the gentleman's version of basic training.

D_F · September 3, 2003

AI,

Flight training for warrent officers in the Army starts with 8 weeks of basic training. Then 6 weeks of WOBC warrent officer basic course, after which canidates are pinned WO1 then flight school which depends upon the airframe you are selected for as to the length. OBC is for commisioned officers (RLO's)

Good luck either way.

Deven

Flying Pig · September 11, 2003

Are they strict on the ages? I am prior Marines Corps enlisted, and I have my PPL helicopters. I am 28 now. Anyone know how common the waivers are?

RDRickster · September 12, 2003

Last time I checked (a couple years ago), 30 was the limit and waivers were not very likely. However, things change like the seasons... if they forecast a shortage than you might get that waiver. In any case, I think you are okay (if you act now). Finally, I think the Guard or Reserve pilot requirements aren't as demanding as the active component. Why don't you contact the closest aviation unit and see if you can sit down the the commander?

HeloEagle · October 14, 2003

I was an Army Warrant Officer Aviator, and am I now a Coast Guard Aviator, so perhaps I can give you some insight. First the Warrant Officer Flight Training (WOFT) program is comprised of four parts. 1) You go to and complete Army basic training for 8 weeks. They would sometimes waive this if you went to Marine basic (and Marine basic only, Navy, Air Force and CG basic are too easy) but that all depends on the needs of the service. 2) You then must complete Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS) which is six weeks long. After that you have a conditional appointment as a WO1. If you finish flight school you get to keep it, but if you wash out they knock you back down to an E-5. 3) Then you go to Flight school, or in Army speak IERW (Initial Entry Rotor Wing) which depending on the backlong of students can take up to a year. 4) You then move onto WOBC or Warrant Officer Basic Course, which is now the exact same course that the RLO (Real Live Officers--the commissioned guys) go through. This is four weeks long. After you complete all that you get your wings and then begin a transistion to an advanced aircraft such as the Black Hawk, the Apache, the Chinook, Kiowa Warrior, etc, and as long as you haven't screwed up, two years after you pinned on WO1, you will automatically pin on CW2.

There are only three ways to become a Coast Guard Aviator. 1) Go the the CG Academy 2) Go to Coast Guard OCS 3) Come over as a Direct Commission Aviatior (DCA). I obviously did the DCA route. With both the Academy or OCS route you run the risk of not being selected for flight school and being sent to some other duty, possibly a ship. The DCA route is hard work, luck and timing. When I applied, they had 300+ applicants, and they only selected 12 of us, so in other words if you want to get picked up, you better be the best Army Aviator you can be to be competitive to get picked up. And of course the Army doesn't have to let you out either, so it is a crap shoot at best. Plus by the time you get done with your Army commitment you will probably be too old for the CG. Right now the DCA age limit is 32, and age waivers in the Army and CG are rare. So if you want to fly, your best bet would be to either try the CG OCS route or the Army WOFT route. It will be easier to get picked up for WOFT than the CG, as the Army has many more slots, and the CG tends to favor their own enlisted that work their way up through OCS to send to flight school, but stranger things have happend. Good luck to you whatever you deciede.

jriley1056 · October 22, 2003

So basically you can enlist in the military and get a job as a pilot as long as you don't "wash out"? I am interested in becoming a Army pilot and always thought that you couldn't get into it after basic.

RDRickster · October 22, 2003

Read this thread, and it should answer most of your questions. If you still need more info, reply back on this thread.

HeloEagle · October 23, 2003

jriley1056,

You really took that "wash out" phrase out of context. You have to do several months of paperwork just to get selected for flight school, and then complete flight school to retain your Warrant Officer rank. If you wash out of flight school, you will be either discharged or reduced to an E-5 based on the needs of the Army. As RDRickster points out, read the other thread for more info, but you can still apply for the WOFT program even if you are already enlisted. Going through basic training is a requirement of the WOFT program, so if you have already done that and are selected you would go straight to Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS). Oh and to answer as question someone else already asked, yes, everyone has to take the FAST test, which is really the AFAST which stands for Army Flight Apptitude Screening Test, no matter if you are already a pilot or not. If you are already a pilot it will be one of the easiest tests you have ever taken, but if not it could confuse you. It is not all flight related, as a significant portion of the test is a physicological profile with questions like "Would you rather go to the dentist or bandage a blister on a fellow soldiers foot?" As it has been mentioned, there are study guides for the test that will prepare you for taking it. Good luck to all that apply.