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Considering the Army


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I'm 22 and was on the verge of signing up at UVU and possibly working for BoatPix after about 2 years of schooling and incremental loans. The more I think about it and the more I read military helicopter pilots talking about how much they love their jobs, I can't justify getting myself into $80,000 of debt and flying Robbies around all day.

 

I want to fly ASAP but have one main concern, I've got my GED. I know I'm fully capable of being a helicopter pilot, I'm just unsure what my best course of action should be. Over the past year I picked up multiple helicopter and aviation weather books, so I know what's required.

 

Would you guys recommend going to college for a year or two first? I really just want to fly.

 

I'm 5'9 and 150, run and rock climb regularly, I don't think the physical aspect should be too difficult. I do wear glasses for distance, but it's a very light prescription.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Edited by Mrotorcraft
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Blindfolded, I believe you can get into WOFT with a GED, because I just did it. BUT....I have 80 semester units of college completed so the GED is null. If you do get into debt in flight school, theres a good chance that the military will allow you to waive your GI Bill and pay for your career training loan up to 65,000. I just used that as well. Statistically, the majority of men and women selected for WOFT/ any other service have 4 year college degrees. I do not, but like I said the majority of people who get in do. In order to be competitive you MAY need some college and a little flight time will never hurt your chances. Physically speaking if you are athletic and can run a mile at an 8:30 pace and do a hand full of pushups and crunches you are good enough to get into BCT. The only way to really find out if your vision is an issue is to get your Army class 1A Flight Physical done and see what they say. Good Luck in your pursuit.

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Great, thanks for the reply.

 

I just stopped by my local recruiter (who's 28 and applied for helicopter training, too, said he doesn't have a chance but wanted to try) and he said about the same thing you did. I'll need at least 15 credits and around 2 years of service before they'd even look at me. He also said it's a plus to have a private license prior, not a big deal but does make you (especially with a GED) more attractive.

 

I've read bits of info saying the Army will pay for part of any current student loans you had out, would it be worth it to go and get my private using UVU loans and then join once I had 15 credits?

 

I DO NOT want to be a grunt, the last thing I want is to end up like him, 28 and hoping they'll FINALLY let me fly. I'd rather take on the $80k worth of debt and hope for the best.

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Taking on the debt is a scary thing. Some of my loans didn't qualify to be paid off and I ended up having to pay them off on my own. Make your own decision there. As far as whether or not they'll look at you, there's no way to tell until you apply. They have minimum qualifications for a reason. Anything you have above those minimum qualifications just makes you that much more competitive. Step 1. Apply. Step 2. If you don't get in, work to improve yourself until you're eligible to apply again. Return to step 1. Keep doing that until you get in. Good luck to you.

 

Blake

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Taking on the debt is a scary thing. Some of my loans didn't qualify to be paid off and I ended up having to pay them off on my own. Make your own decision there. As far as whether or not they'll look at you, there's no way to tell until you apply. They have minimum qualifications for a reason. Anything you have above those minimum qualifications just makes you that much more competitive. Step 1. Apply. Step 2. If you don't get in, work to improve yourself until you're eligible to apply again. Return to step 1. Keep doing that until you get in. Good luck to you.

 

Blake

Why didn't some of your loans "qualify"?

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