First timer who read the FAQ, used the search feature and still has questions

[Jackelope]

I've read through the FAQ, found a LOT of interesting threads giving me a lot of answers. My situation is a little bit more unique and that is why I've decided to belly up to the bar and start my own thread. I'll try to keep the questions specific.

 

I am currently active duty in the Army Infantry serving in Iraq. (enlisted) I was on the last leg of my tour.. until we got extended.. for the second time... in Iraq. So now I'm sitting at about 5 months out of this hell hole. My ETS date is about 7 or 8 months away. (They keep changing it for me (without letting me know)... nice of them, right? I SHOULD have been out last week)

 

Enough of all that bitching, though. Because it's helped me get into the situation I am and it is why I ask these specific questions-

 

I'm 24 years old. I have 0 flight time. I've been a passenger many a time (thank you Army) and I absolutely love the feel of helicopter flight. I've read several books on helo flight, and even taken the Army's written test for becoming a pilot. I scored very well and through all the studying I only liked it more and more. However, being the dumbass that I am I decided I wanted to see combat face to face on the ground before dropping my warrant packet. Give me those 2 and a half years back and I'd probably have a lot more sanity (/dignity) and a couple hundred flight hours logged. That's neither here nor there, though.

 

 

My goal is to get out and start my training immediately. I'd love to fly EMS or police/border/government (Pension/chasing bad guys) but who am I kidding? I'd be happy just flying. I've considered several routes with this being my situation-

 

Will be 25 by the time I'm out

15-20k in the bank

MGIB

Perfect Health

No college/not ecstatic about going to a liberal institution to get a piece of paper if I can be just as successful without it. Then again, I've considered getting the CFI and then college

 

Simply put- what do you think? With the 15-20k I can afford to get a PPL out of pocket(ummm... right?), then supposedly at a part 141 school the MGIB will kick in and pay 60%. I could probably afford to pay off the rest of the costs while working over time. I've considered going full time working for one of these agencies since most of them require foot soldier time, anyhow. Either Sherrif's, or local police. Or US Marshalls... but to be honest I'm not positive on their helo possibilities.

 

The other route I've considered is ERAU. Financially this place scares me a bit more. I am sure their accreditation is among the best, but another thing that that scares me is I haven't been able to get a solid estimate on flight hours upon graduation. On top of that for the financial aid I'd need to get into their school I have to have my application turned in by the 15th of January. (To start in Fall '07) Being in Iraq I don't think I can get all of that straightened out and maintain our current battle rhythm what with all these psychos willing to blow themselves up and trying to kill us. Damn, don't they realize a kid is trying to make a life for himself here?!?!? Ha ha.

 

I'm open to other options (besides SSH) I'm just mainly looking for guidance here. Should I pay for it on a student loan with one of these colleges or should I just dive right in and say - "screw these colleges I want to fly NOW!" I know, I know.. you can't rush a lady who's worth her looks in bed, but I've wasted enough time being over in this hellhole for the time I have. I'd hate to waste more. I just figured it's always a good idea to ask a few old timers for their advice so they can slap a youngster like myself around and set my head straight.

 

So... big student loans resulting in a piece of paper that may make a huge difference and minimal flight hours... OR.... fork up the cash now, get the hours quick, and start doing what I want to do sooner with the risk of making less money?

[Pogue]

Must be a tough question since no one has responded... FWIW, and my opinion only: A degree is great and helps with pretty much any career. That being said, aviation degrees are not intended to make you a pilot, they help qualify you for a career in an aviation field. I would say save what money you can while you're deployed, research Part 141 schools that you may be interested in attending and try to pay as you go. $15,000 sounds about right for the PPL/H and your VA benefits will definitely help once you get to the commecial part, but even with the benefit I would expect to spend a good $40,000. (Books, fees, equipment, etc as well as hours & instructor fees). If you are doing a college program at the same time that's that much more money you have to spend. You may also want to look and see what kind of programs your state may have. The 141 school I'm attending is certified for state tuition assistance as well as VA.

 

You may also be in a position to reup for the CWO program but I suspect you've had enough of the sandbox already...

[Jackelope]

Must be a tough question since no one has responded... FWIW, and my opinion only: A degree is great and helps with pretty much any career. That being said, aviation degrees are not intended to make you a pilot, they help qualify you for a career in an aviation field. I would say save what money you can while you're deployed, research Part 141 schools that you may be interested in attending and try to pay as you go. $15,000 sounds about right for the PPL/H and your VA benefits will definitely help once you get to the commecial part, but even with the benefit I would expect to spend a good $40,000. (Books, fees, equipment, etc as well as hours & instructor fees). If you are doing a college program at the same time that's that much more money you have to spend. You may also want to look and see what kind of programs your state may have. The 141 school I'm attending is certified for state tuition assistance as well as VA.

 

You may also be in a position to reup for the CWO program but I suspect you've had enough of the sandbox already...

 

You suspect correct, sir. ha ha.

 

Thanks for your response.. it did take quite a while for somebody to reply. I was wondering if the forum was dead or what.

 

So if I may ask what state are you located in? I'm from Az and I haven't seen anything the likes of what you've mentioned so far.

 

Another thing if I may ask is if you know whether or not the VA assistance for pilot's licensing pays for the flight time. I may have been thrown off a bit but I saw somewhere that it will pay for schooling necessary in order to get your licenses and when I read that I took it to mean it will pay for the ground courses and the books and all. Not the rental of the choppers, nor the instructors. Am I way off base here? Any help you could provide is appreciated.

[Pogue]

You suspect correct, sir. ha ha.

 

Thanks for your response.. it did take quite a while for somebody to reply. I was wondering if the forum was dead or what.

 

So if I may ask what state are you located in? I'm from Az and I haven't seen anything the likes of what you've mentioned so far.

 

Another thing if I may ask is if you know whether or not the VA assistance for pilot's licensing pays for the flight time. I may have been thrown off a bit but I saw somewhere that it will pay for schooling necessary in order to get your licenses and when I read that I took it to mean it will pay for the ground courses and the books and all. Not the rental of the choppers, nor the instructors. Am I way off base here? Any help you could provide is appreciated.

 

Actually I'm in Arizona. One of the programs involves Workforce Investment Act money(www.arizonaworkforceconnection.com). Also I'm in the Guard and they have incentive money in addition to the VA stuff (azguard.gov).

 

The VA will reimburse at 60% for ground and dual flight training up to certain limits. You pay for the training, and monthly the school sends a report to the VA with your hours. The VA then does a direct deposit to your account. They don't cover the Private license. Technically the don't cover the IFR rating either, but your school can dual enroll you in Commercial/IFR which does qualify. It's documented on VA Circular M22-4, but I'm having a bear of a time searching for it on their site....

 

I'm training at Quantum Helicopters in Chandler and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. I've heard good things about Guidance up in Prescott as well, although I don't have personal experience with them.

[ADRidge]

You suspect correct, sir. ha ha.

 

Thanks for your response.. it did take quite a while for somebody to reply. I was wondering if the forum was dead or what.

 

So if I may ask what state are you located in? I'm from Az and I haven't seen anything the likes of what you've mentioned so far.

 

Another thing if I may ask is if you know whether or not the VA assistance for pilot's licensing pays for the flight time. I may have been thrown off a bit but I saw somewhere that it will pay for schooling necessary in order to get your licenses and when I read that I took it to mean it will pay for the ground courses and the books and all. Not the rental of the choppers, nor the instructors. Am I way off base here? Any help you could provide is appreciated.

 

I want to preface this by saying that I'm still a noob as far as flying goes, but from what I've read from different schools, I was under the impression that the GI Bill would help cover flight hours as well as ground courses, seeing how the flight time is a vital (and expensive) part of the training process.

[Seth USMC]

Jackelope: My story is similar to yours and it may give you some insight. I did 4 yrs in Marine corps infantry (2nd LAR), got out had 0 flight hours, like you college did not appeal to me, originally I was thinking about SSH mostly because it was in California, and I didn’t want to move out of state if it could be avoided. I did a little research and quickly found out that would be a BIG mistake, so don’t limit yourself to your state. Ensure that you don’t just pick the first school you come across, not saying your stupid but I know what its like to want to get started right away. Do as much research as you can but most of all go there and see how they operate. I moved from California to attend the school I am currently at. You do need to decide if you just want to go straight for the ratings or go through a college, personally if you have the money and extra time for college I would recommend it, but time and money are pretty big drawbacks compared to the gain so you have to weigh that for yourself. I have been attending Precision Aviation here in Oregon for about 2 months, ill be taking my ppl check ride in about 1 week, excellent place to learn. Also be aware that the GI Bill takes MONTHS to startup with any kind of regularity (classic government) so plan for that accordingly. Here at Precision if you were to go full time and had a general aptitude for flying you could be all the way up to CFII in about 10-12 months or sooner depending on how much you fly, so things to look at when you look at schools, 1. Quality of school. 2. Time to completion to desired certification and 3. The total expected money it is going to take. I will reference precision again because I am very familiar with it, so for example to get up to CFII here it would cost around $49,000 that’s with a long line course. Compare that to other schools, not saying it will be the lowest or anything just get an idea of the difference between schools money wise. It can be really substantial, at the time SSH wanted $70,000 UP FRONT for basically the same training without the long line so the money differences is something to look at. I have heard good stuff about the schools that have been mentioned already so all I can say is Good Luck! If you have any questions feel free to ask them.

 

-Seth

 

I hope this didn’t sound like a pitch for Precision, I do think it’s an excellent school and couldn’t be happier with the training but a pitch was not my intention, just to be clear.

[Jackelope]

Wow, thanks everyone.

 

Seth your comment really helps, and no it was not taken as a pitch by me. Merely sound advice from someone experiencing something right now. About the government taking a long time- no big surprise -here just like you said. Hurry up and wait!

 

Next month I'm getting moved out to a different location and we'll be working arm in arm with Marines to try to square away a screwed up situation. You guys are alright in my book. Crazy bastards

 

I've considered moving to attend a school if I don't like what I'm seeing around home. However, flight conditions are nearly perfect as far as dealing with inclement weather goes in the desert. So if I can stay somewhere around here I'd prefer to.

 

Thanks for giving me some stuff to chew on

 

ADRidge- Thanks for helping out with a bit of the clarification process. I'm trying to contact VA to find out exactly. It sure would be nice to talk to someone who's using it currently, but I guess beggars can't be choosers and any advice/knowledge is gladly accepted.

 

Thanks again everyone.

[ADRidge]

Wow, thanks everyone.

 

Seth your comment really helps, and no it was not taken as a pitch by me. Merely sound advice from someone experiencing something right now. About the government taking a long time- no big surprise -here just like you said. Hurry up and wait!

 

Next month I'm getting moved out to a different location and we'll be working arm in arm with Marines to try to square away a screwed up situation. You guys are alright in my book. Crazy bastards

 

I've considered moving to attend a school if I don't like what I'm seeing around home. However, flight conditions are nearly perfect as far as dealing with inclement weather goes in the desert. So if I can stay somewhere around here I'd prefer to.

 

Thanks for giving me some stuff to chew on

 

ADRidge- Thanks for helping out with a bit of the clarification process. I'm trying to contact VA to find out exactly. It sure would be nice to talk to someone who's using it currently, but I guess beggars can't be choosers and any advice/knowledge is gladly accepted.

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

 

unfortunately all I know is what I read from the information packets I got from several different schools. I'll try and dig it up and send you a breakdown according to the one school I got good info from.

[Seth USMC]

Hey no problem man, glad I could be of some help Also something to think about as far as location goes, try finding a suitable balance between total "flyable" days but also challenging weather, if learn in a tough environment you will just be that much better off. Same thing with the type of trainer you use in my opinion, for example the R22 has a governed throttle as well as a non "industry standard" cyclic control, sure its the cheapest trainer out there and most schools use it, but is it the best thing to prepare you for a career? Stuff to think about, good luck with those Marines, the few Army guys I worked with over there (mosul) were a good bunch of guys. Let us know how things work out, later.

 

 

-Seth

[Jackelope]

Thanks a lot for that ADRidge. I contacted some schools and asked how they work with the VA, so that should help. Anything you might find out may be different from what I've been able to, so I'll still gladly accept any advice or info you've got. I think at this point if I'm not patrolling or eating or doing PT I'm looking up helicopter info, haha.

 

Seth- I appreciate it and to be honest you bring up a good point mentioning the weather. I was thinking maybe I could get some certs at one school and then shoot off to another school with different conditions for a couple of flights. Just to get that experience in there. Eventually I'd really like to get turbine certified if not for anything else because I want to know what it feels like to fly a turbine engine.

 

Anyhow I'll keep you guys posted on any information I find out. That way in case some guy like me comes along he'll be able to find some good information. Thanks again everyone

[Flying Pig]

There are a couple Law Enforcement aviators on here.......myself and Eagle 1. Im not sure if the Marshals have their own helicopters.....as far as police and Sheriff.....Each Dept has its own requirements and needs. I'd say the VAST majority of depts recruit and train their own pilots from their current staff. It would pretty much be department specific as to how that works. And those slots are few and far between. Air Unit slots are full time positions. So basically, they arent going to move a guy out just because someone comes in with a license. Simply because everyone in the unit is already qualified.

Defintely dont get into law enforcement soley because you think its a solid flying job. It may take years, or it may never happen at all. Now if you genuinely would like to be a cop, and someday would like to get into Air Ops, then go for it. The reason I say that......Your performance on the street and in various assignments will determine if you make it in. And without a doubt, you will start as a Flight Officer/Observer. The guy communicating with the ground units, working the light, FLIR, etc. And depending on how young your pilots are, Again, you may never make it past observer. LE pilots dont move around from job to job like the rest of the aviation industry. Many have probably been with the department several years already. Once they are in....they are there to stay. The pilots in my unit have 24000, 7000, and 3000 hours. And all three are dual rated helo and fixed wing. I happen to be the only observer out of the three observers with license....Comm/Inst and Pvt Helo, and let me tell you....they arent impressed. Will I ever become a unit pilot? Probably someday. But that someday could be years from now. If you want to get into police work, get in for the right reasons, otherwise youll be miserable. If your goal is to be a pilot, then Id suggest working towards that, and maybe someday it will lead you into Law Enforcement or EMS in a civilian capacity.

 

As far as using the GI Bill. I used it. The school pretty much did all the paperwork for me and every month I signed some papers and a few weeks later there was money deposited to my account. It was really that easy. Your school has to be a Part 141 school to use it though.

 

As far as weather. I wouldnt worry about that in your training. Youll stay well away from it. Even in your Instrument course. Since light piston trainers aren't IFR certified.....you not going to be busting through any clouds. Fixed wing would be a differnet story bacause you can actually get IFR time. In my opinion, go somewhere with great weather. It sucks wasting days sitting at the hangar hoping the weather will clear before your time is up. You want good weather to train in. I know where you are coming from, being former Infantry myself.....If it aint rainin' we aint trainin'. Thats for later, not in your initial training. Youll have far to much to think about and weather will cause you to just waste time.

 

With the GI Bill, you cant just go to one school, then bounce over to another one for a few flights, then go to another. You would have to cancel and restart your GI Bill with each school. It would get ALL screwed up. Youll get plenty of experience at other airports with your cross countries. Just pick a good Part 141 school and stay there, unless something else causes you to need to leave. Besides, youll want to stay with the same couple of instructors as much as possible.

 

Turbine training is good, but honestly, unless at the end of your course you have an extra $5000 sitting around for a 5 hour course, Id hold off and put that 5k towards just flight time. 5 hours, which is the length of most turbine courses is just enough to make you pissed off at a piston! It wont count for anything towards employment. But your total time will. I did one in an MD500E, only because my deparment flies the 500. There is no "turbine cert" you just have to be trained and endorsed by a qualified instructor. But honestly....a tubine is pretty awsome!

[HH60Pilot]

The best advise that I can give you is to do plenty of research before you make your pick of which school to attend. It will need to be Part 141 approved before the VA will pay for any of your training. The VA will reimburse you for 60% of your training after your receive your PPL. The VA considers the money to be used for vocational training, and since you can't get a job with only a PPL, they won't pay for PPL training.

 

Flying Pig is correct about a turbine transition, it's a waste of time and money for a new pilot. I know that Seth is getting some external load training where he is at, but I'm not certain that is a good way to spend money either. The reason is that you're not going to get a job flying turbines or doing external load work until you get to that magical 1,000 hour point. Once you reach that point and get your first non-instruction job, your new employer with train you to fly turbines in their equipment. Same thing goes for external load operators. Most of their PIC's have thousands of hours of flight time and was first an SIC doing external load work before they were ever a PIC doing long line, and most had more than 1,000 hours when they hired them to be an SIC. Not to say that there are not exceptions, but if you look at the requirements for jobs that do external loads, someone with 1,000 hour in an R22 isn't going to get an interview.

 

Best wishes for remander of your time in the sandbox (did 8 months there myself the first time around).

 

Just my two-cents.

 

Doug

[Seth USMC]

HH60PILOT: You are right on with your points. I will not be doing the long line training for the very reasons HH60pilot put forth, to be honest I would love to do the turbine transition in the MD 500 simply because I would like to get the chance to fly that thing before I am relegated to at least 2 years of CFI duties in the 300 getting up to the 1,000 to 1,500 hr range. But does my "want" justify spending 4,300 for around 5 hrs of light time? Yeah probly not.

 

-Seth

 

 

sigh

 

[Jackelope]

Wow, thanks a lot for the really good info.

 

Flyingpig- In regards to your comments about law enforcement I really do agree. Before I allowed myself to be convinced that flying a helo is a real possibility law enforcement as a patrol officer was what I wanted to do. I still want to do it, but I want to fly as well. My goal is to combine the two, but if like you say it is so hard to become a LEO pilot I see nothing wrong with proudly serving and doing a good thing for my community while accumulating hours on my own time. Do you think this would be looked down upon in departments? Basically what I'm getting at is that I might not do 20 years as a LEO if a good flight job comes up and I see no future for flight in the department, but even if I do 10 years I think I'll still enjoy those years.

 

Also thanks for the good info on the GI Bill.

 

HH60- Thank you for your comments as well. It's good to hear all that about those schools/"certs" I figure even if you learned to fly turbines that each turbine has to be different. I flew on a huey and a blackhawk and just sitting in the passenger compartment I could tell a massive difference in the way they fly. Blackhawks seemed like all muscle and quick response, whereas the huey felt like a slow lopper of a bird with a lot slower response time. So every turbine has got to be different than another one. Hopefully I'll get a chance to link up with our Kiowa pilots and go for a ride on one of those. Then, if we get the little birds I'll definitely be hitting those guys up for a ride if I can haha. I doubt I could get a ride in an AH-64... but a man can dream, right?

 

Anyway y'all thanks for the good comments. I've garnered a lot of "knowledge" through them and I'm putting all of it to use. Researching this and that and considering things I probably never would have. I ordered two books off amazon... can't remember their names. One was something basic like "Learning to fly helicopters" it had a 4 1/2 star recommendation and a lot of pilots had written comments on it saying it is a must have for people getting into the industry. The other one is an FAA publication on helicopter flight. Can't exactly remember the name and my internet is too slow to look it up

 

Also.. I ordered microsoft flight simulator 2004. I haven't received it yet, but from what I've read a lot of people consider it to be a good thing to help people learn better during their down time. Any thoughts on this?

 

 

Thanks everyone. Seth- I know what you mean about just wanting a chance to fly those birds even if it costs a lot. Kudos, man

[Seth USMC]

Wow, thanks a lot for the really good info.

 

Flyingpig- In regards to your comments about law enforcement I really do agree. Before I allowed myself to be convinced that flying a helo is a real possibility law enforcement as a patrol officer was what I wanted to do. I still want to do it, but I want to fly as well. My goal is to combine the two, but if like you say it is so hard to become a LEO pilot I see nothing wrong with proudly serving and doing a good thing for my community while accumulating hours on my own time. Do you think this would be looked down upon in departments? Basically what I'm getting at is that I might not do 20 years as a LEO if a good flight job comes up and I see no future for flight in the department, but even if I do 10 years I think I'll still enjoy those years.

 

Also thanks for the good info on the GI Bill.

 

HH60- Thank you for your comments as well. It's good to hear all that about those schools/"certs" I figure even if you learned to fly turbines that each turbine has to be different. I flew on a huey and a blackhawk and just sitting in the passenger compartment I could tell a massive difference in the way they fly. Blackhawks seemed like all muscle and quick response, whereas the huey felt like a slow lopper of a bird with a lot slower response time. So every turbine has got to be different than another one. Hopefully I'll get a chance to link up with our Kiowa pilots and go for a ride on one of those. Then, if we get the little birds I'll definitely be hitting those guys up for a ride if I can haha. I doubt I could get a ride in an AH-64... but a man can dream, right?

 

Anyway y'all thanks for the good comments. I've garnered a lot of "knowledge" through them and I'm putting all of it to use. Researching this and that and considering things I probably never would have. I ordered two books off amazon... can't remember their names. One was something basic like "Learning to fly helicopters" it had a 4 1/2 star recommendation and a lot of pilots had written comments on it saying it is a must have for people getting into the industry. The other one is an FAA publication on helicopter flight. Can't exactly remember the name and my internet is too slow to look it up

 

Also.. I ordered microsoft flight simulator 2004. I haven't received it yet, but from what I've read a lot of people consider it to be a good thing to help people learn better during their down time. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks everyone. Seth- I know what you mean about just wanting a chance to fly those birds even if it costs a lot. Kudos, man

 

 

 

Sounds like you are going about things in a good way with an open mind. Me being the closet nerd that I am I have played quiet a few flight sims and I can say that as far as the actual "control" goes you need to be aware that you are able to make very drastic/large movements with the joystick in the game and it kind of warps what you might expect to be able to do in reality, for example in actual practice I find that you should not be moving the stick outside of about a Half Dollar circular range, in normal flight that is. Just another thing to keep in mind when it comes to the games heh I am sure you could still get some kind of benefit out of it

[Flying Pig]

I dont know how you would gain hours on your own time unless you instructed on your days off somewhere. But yeah....after a few years it became appareant that nothing was going to happen, you could leave. But after 10 years, it would would be pretty silly to just leave. Most agencies large anough to have Air Ops, probably have pretty decenet pay as well. I dont know that I would go fom making $75-80k per year, full benifits and an awsome retirement, to an entry level pilot job?

 

I will say this....research carefully. I dont want to come off sounding like its impossible to get in. They are just very sought after slots. Look at LAPD. for example....huge unit. You have to do 5 years on patrol before you can go into Air, but if you come in with a CFI and are a decent cop. Who knows.

 

I was in your exact boat. I was a grunt in the Marines....0 flight time. (well, I had a glider rating but who cares) I wanted to be a cop, fly and do SWAT. Ive done all three.

 

I came into police work.....did well on the street. Worked on my private fixed wing....then did pvt helo. I got onto the dope team....which led to SWAT. Small Problem though....the department I worked for didnt have Air Ops...so let that be lesson #1....if you want to fly....join a department with helicopters!!!!!

 

So, after 7 years, I had to move to another Dept......Once here.....I finished up my Inst and Commercial in fixed wing. We have helos and an airplane....(Actually....Alll I have left is my Comm check ride left to do and Im done.)

 

They brought me into the unit as the alternate flight officer. I work patrol, and a the Air Unit both. Pretty cool. And now Im just enjoying learning the FO job, getting some stick time here and there and livin' the dream. It can happen...and it does.

 

So heck....if you do want to be a cop and have considered it....apply.....and continue on your ratings. If you decide its not for you...turn in your gear and say thank you very much.

 

We have actually had flight students contact our unit, or come for a tour, who have flat out stated, to me...."I dont want to waste time on patrol. If I cant be a gauranteed a pilot spot, Im not interested." My jaw about hit the floor.

 

When I say dont join law enforcement to be a pilot.....those are the people I am talking to. If you genuinley want to be a cop, with a goal of getting someday getting into Aviation......and have accepted youll be pushin a unit for a few years minumum.....Shoot...Ill help you filll out the app! Its the others that piss me off!

 

All of us have ultimate goals...our version of the ultimate assignment. Flying was my top one. But there were other interests along the way. And each one of those assignments, dope, training officer and SWAT and working on my ratings was a step to where I am now.

[Jackelope]

Thanks for that great post Flyingpig. It does sound like we're a lot alike. I guess maybe it's just that grunt mentality.

 

I'm not locked down on local law enforcement, either. I've got to carefully study (just as you've suggested) exactly where I want to go before I jump into it. Local law enforcement is attractive to me because I want to serve MY community. Government agencies are attractive to me because I want to do the ground time with an agency that makes a difference. I have strong opinions about border issues (go figure.. from Az and strong opinions on border issues.. ha) but I don't know that border patrol is for me. I'd like to get into serving high profile warrants, busting big deals, and participating in raids. DEA sounds nice.. but man that is a tough agency to get into from what I've read. Plus, I don't feel like going undercover.

 

So yes, serving in those kinds of jobs is highly attractive to me..as a pilot or no. Ultimately, I figure if I can survive Iraq for 15 months as a dismounted infantryman in some of the worst AO's (Tal Afar, Ramadi, Hit, Karbala, Sadr City, Fallujah) I'll be damned if I'm going to let anything stand in my way of doing what I want to do in the end. That is why I have no worries about something holding me back in the future. As it stands now (as a bachelor) the money and the job security and benefits are nice.. but I don't want to be that guy who looks back at 45 and says.. "Man, I wish I had flown for a living" So I'm viewing it like that.

 

On the same token.. I'm not reckless and I plan on going about it in the smartest possible way. Which is why I pose these kinds of questions to you guys. Thankfully I am lucky enough to have gotten some excellent replies from knowledgeable people. I really do appreciate it.