A Nighstalker's Path

[DocHolliday316]

It is my dream to fly little birds for the Task Force. I am more interested in AH-6's but would take MH-6's in a heart beat. I am up for this month's civi board and am confident about selection. What can I do from the onset of my career to stand out for SORB recruiting? What mission would stand out? If I have the choice in selection should I take 64s over 60s?

Looking for a variety of thoughts and advice before I discuss this further with a ret. CW5 160th black hawk pilot that gave me a LOR for my packet after a very through interview.

I understand that the chances are slim. But it is OK to dream big. BTW if anyone is interested in 6's or the scouting mission I would recommend Low Level Hell by Hugh Mills. It's a great book about flying loaches in Vietnam from a pilots perspective.

[Lindsey]

You literally have 3000 milestones to traverse before you even hit selection. Just put 100% into every little thing and you'll have done what you can. Worry about selection when selection rolls around. I cannot stress this enough. Nothing wrong with having big goals but it's the 25m targets that will set you up for the long ones.

[Lindsey]

Besides, you can gameplan all you like but there's been selection with zero 60s, selections with people forced into every airframe, and selections with people forced into fixed-wing. It's a crapshoot.

[Shindigg]

My grandpa says u can do this i think you can doo it too im going 160th in the blackhawk helicopter too but my recruiter says my pushups were 2 low so i am doing pushups right now even as i type hey man i believe in you God bless america isis sucks. I recomend you play the new call of duty to train your hand-i coordination it helps me prepare for heat of war you rock go be a champion go USA!

[StockTrader]

If you wanna set yourself up just make sure you crush everything put before you. Lindsey pretty much said everything thats been reiterated to us. Focus on 25m targets.

 

Just my personal experience here, I hope to get a shot at 160th some day also. Finished top 10% of my class, which is one way to get a chance out of flight school. However, its hard to convey just how difficult these machines can be and how much is going on. Its a steep learning curve and im just focusing on learning to fly more so I dont look like a fool if I get a shot. You will have a better appreciation of just how good those guys are as flight school progresses.

[stearmann4]

You need to keep it in perspective, Night Stalkers are simply professional Army aviators who are properly resourced to complete difficult missions. There's no secret Jedi Knight school we attend to magically come out the other end super pilots.

 

The bottom line is if you're not a standout pilot at any of the CABs, you won't do any better in the 160th.The Army is providing everything you need at Ft Rucker to become a great aviator, whether or not you take advantage is up to you. So, you don't need to do anything special to prepare, just attack every challenge and task to become a consummate professional aviator and officer, not Night Stalker. Do that, and I guarantee you'll be equipped to smoke an assessment when/if the opportunity is presented to you.

 

Mike-

[DocHolliday316]

Sounds like a plan. I'll just do my best while flying above the best and face every challenge that comes my way with perspective. Hard work everyday when no one else notices pays off in the long run.

[DesertBird]

Don't Quit

[d10]

From what I've seen the people who actually want to be in the 160th have a good shot at making it to the 160th. They're the people who put in the time to be as competent as they can be. They develop reputations for being reliable; the guys who will put their best effort into any task assigned. There's a minimum level of skill required of course, but that's not what holds most people back.

 

By the time you're in a position to apply you'll realize it's not as glamorous as the YouTube videos make it appear. And I don't mean that in the sense that it's mostly hard work but that glamorous part is still there and that kind of makes it better in a way. I mean you'll realize their mission is not necessarily better, just different, and their pilots are not necessarily "the best", however you define that (although their average is better due to their ability to reject the worst and some correlation between pilots who want to do the 160th mission with certain quality attributes). You'll only still have a desire to go there if it fits your personality, and if that's the case your career up to that point will reflect it. No need to focus on that target until then.

[Jberto89]

I think my favourite post about applying and competing for the 160th was that you're going to appreciate the shorter deployments (as opposed to typical peasant deployments for normal aviators).

 

"You could always go SOAR. Their deployments are short. When you get back your wife will still have a boyfriend but at least it's not a serious relationship."

 

-kona4breakfast

 

If thats not good enough motivation, I don't know what is

[stearmann4]

d10,

You should probably refrain from giving advice on topics you're not familiar with,other than your casual observations. You contradict yourself about four times above.

I've always advocated that there's little to no purpose in seeking career advice from someone who hasn't accomplished what you want to do. All you get is tribal lore, rumors, and negativity. Case in point.

[d10]

I'm not sure what you're talking about because my post was entirely consistent. Maybe you could be more specific if I made a point you disagree with. Here's an example: I disagree with your general recommendation to dismiss advice from those who have followed different career paths. Especially when you don't know what their perspective is. It leads to culture inbreeding.

[stearmann4]

I'm not sure what you're talking about because my post was entirely consistent. Maybe you could be more specific if I made a point you disagree with. Here's an example: I disagree with your general recommendation to dismiss advice from those who have followed different career paths. Especially when you don't know what their perspective is. It leads to culture inbreeding.

 

Being "reliable" isn't a trait of special operations aviators, its a preferred trait of all aviators. Success in the 160th has nothing to do with wanting to succeed, performing to a rigorous standard does. As described above, our aviators are no different from any other in the Army, we just have a different training requirement, standard, and focus.

 

As for glamor, everyone wants to be a Night Stalker when it's sunny out. That's the same for any challenging occupation, it's easy to say you want to be Superman until you have to earn the cape. The 160th uses augmentation or "direct support" to supplement battlefield movements as a force multiplier. This may be what you're referring to when you say conventional aviation does the same mission. I assure you're this isn't the case, but its not a discussion for this board.

 

I don't provide mentorship on folks wanting to be Air Force pilots, or even Apache pilots, because its not what I know. I can give broad advice, but I'm not going to give specifics because it's speculation based on my perceptions.

 

You're presenting a definitive position on the type of personality, and qualities a 160th pilot does, or doesn't possess, and the missions they perform. Your vague advice indicates you either spent time in the unit, flew some DS missions and now feel you have a full understanding of special operations, or assessed and didn't make it, which one is it?

 

Anonymity is for perverts, my email is all over this forum. Feel free to email or PM for my number, and I'm happy to clear up any misconceptions you may have about the 160th, or maybe I'm out of touch and you're more up on current operations.

[twinhueyman]

There are all types of people flying in Regiment - shitty pilots, great pilots, shitty leaders, great leaders, shitty achievers, great achievers. If you apply, are trainable, have a good record, aren't an a**hole and can pass the requirements you can make it just like all of us.

 

Get good at dead reckoning on a map to arrive at a specific time, and get good at creating and presenting detailed AMBs. Don't slouch on PT, and don't give up on anything. Do this and get selected when a LB guy is retiring, and you can make it as a 6 pilot.

If the latter doesn't happen, but the former does - take the dumpster and enjoy the mission none the less.

 

Mike

[Dagpo]

"Just do it!"

 

-Nike

[kona4breakfast]

take the dumpster

 

 

Ha!

[Trogdor]

So you know where I am coming from. Former apache guy, current AH 6 guy.

 

You are sure to hear this again and it applies in the 160th as well. Choose the mission, not the aircraft.

Attack: providing fires and planning/controlling fires in support of the ground force.

Lift: delivering the ground force to the point they want to be at the time they want to be there and all the planning and coordination that goes with it.

 

These are two separate disciplines.

Choose the one that your heart is in and be the best at it. Obviously this starts with your airframe choice coming out of IERW. If you want attack, your only option will be apaches. There you will learn the base skills necessary to do the attack mission in a little bird. I am not aware of anyone in th AH6 community that does not come from an apache/cobra or Kiowa background.

 

If you want lift, choose accordingly.

 

The little bird does both but don't choose based on the little bird being sexy or what not.

[brackac]

"To be one, ask one". I stole that from the Masons, but it holds true for anything.

 

 

We all have our opinions on the 160th, some good some bad, but unless you are a member of that unit, it's just your uneducated opinion.

 

Now, for the TS. Setting and achieving short term goals will make long term goals become reality.

[Stump]

So, the search function of the forums isn't very friendly with short phrases such as "C-12" or "FW".

 

Would the 160th even look at you if you selected the c-12 for your airframe? I've read so far that they will likely train pilots on new airframes like going from a 60 to a 47, but that is at the needs of the unit and dependent on your total flight hours.

[mike0331]

This just seems the appropriate thread to ask for shits and giggles as I'm taking this thing one step at a time. Is there any path from Guard to 160th? I know coming from USMCR the Marine Corps would accept application packages from reservists for MARSOC and some other speciality MOS's like EOD. Just curious for curiosity's sake whether or not there is an avenue for Guard pilots to apply to the 160th, or its a striclty limited to active duty thing.

Mike

[Trogdor]

Guard does not eliminate you from consideration. it has been done before. The trick seems to be assessing without burning bridges at your unit.

 

As far as FW, you are being hired to be an RW pilot so it's probably not good if the last time you flew RW was in flight school. I don't think there is anything to keep you from trying though.

[kona4breakfast]

I'll second a few things:

 

Pick the mission, not the airframe. If you want to do guns, do guns. If you get into the 160th they'll offer you guns (if enough old guys are on their way out) or probably the dumpster. If you go lift, they'll offer you the dumpster. The regiment has a disproportionately large percentage of 47s compared to the active duty fleet.

 

If you want to get into the 160th, don't go FW. Besides the fact that the 160th doesn't have FW, the culture of the FW community is way different from the RW community, let alone the regiment.

 

The regiment recruits from the guard. They aren't looking for 500 hour guys from the guard, though. They're looking for the older guys, but if you're a competitive candidate they'll surely take you. No one in my state, that I know of, would have a problem with someone going to the regiment. It's just that most people that go into the guard are looking for a lifestyle that's a bit different from the one in the 160th.

[mike0331]

I'm heavily leaning Guard at this point (largely because my wife and I want to stay around family in New England), but considering all options, but I was just curious. Good to know I wouldn't be closing that door definitively by going Guard, although I'll be thrilled just to fly for the military in any capacity. I'll also probably be 29 - 30 when I graduate flight school, so there's that.

Mike

[ElJay]

This just seems the appropriate thread to ask for shits and giggles as I'm taking this thing one step at a time. Is there any path from Guard to 160th? I know coming from USMCR the Marine Corps would accept application packages from reservists for MARSOC and some other speciality MOS's like EOD. Just curious for curiosity's sake whether or not there is an avenue for Guard pilots to apply to the 160th, or its a striclty limited to active duty thing.

 

Mike

 

Didn't realize there was a next page.

[ElJay]

The regiment recruits from the guard. They aren't looking for 500 hour guys from the guard, though. They're looking for the older guys, but if you're a competitive candidate they'll surely take you. No one in my state, that I know of, would have a problem with someone going to the regiment. It's just that most people that go into the guard are looking for a lifestyle that's a bit different from the one in the 160th.

How old is too old to assess?

 

There seems to be a small window of opportunity for guard aviators that are experienced enough to be qualified, but still fit enough to met the demands.

 

And as a guard aviator, most of my hours would come from a civilian career. Do those carry the same weight as military hours?