Summary: I have been trying to enlist as a 153A for a year now and there is still no word or Warrant Officer board meeting set up despite me hounding them on a weekly basis.

I have been trying to enlist as a warrant aviator for the last 12 months.  I have letters of recommendation from a LCDR SH-60 aviator, a retired submarine CDR, and my congressman (also a retired USMC MAJ).  I have a bachelor's degree, I am 100% physically fit, and I have exemplary remarks from past employers.  I am 30, and yes, I understand I decided to enlist much later than I should have, but that's life.  Coming from a military family, I know just enough about the chain of command so that a few months ago, I made a call to the recruiting company's office and personally spoke to the 1SG.  When I went into the recruiting station later that day, it was like the SECDEF himself made a personal call.

Every time I go in to the station or call, it's something that's preventing them from helping move my packet along.  A background check expires, so they have to redo that one, well then while waiting for that, another expires.  Or my physical expires, or my recruiter is on leave, or WHATEVER.  It's always something.  And that's even if I can get my recruiter on the phone.  He's constantly "busy", "driving", or "in a meeting."  I finally met and interviewed with the company commander after I pulled about 100 teeth, and she gave me a go ahead, but still nothing has been heard from the battalion level.  

I'm not getting any younger and I'm stuck in a job I REALLY dislike while still living with my parents again because I thought it was going to be temporary.  I can't change those things until I'm enlisted or they say I'm not going because it will start my paperwork and packet all over. It's INSANE to me that they are wasting so much time that my background checks and physicals are EXPIRING.  I was about to make another call to the 1SG, but of course he is on leave this week.

Is this just an elaborate mental strength/personality assessment and selection course?

Think of it this way. That's what the ENTIRE army is like. Enjoy.

Really tho there are stupid deadlines and limits for everything g they don't match up and when one it expires it screws up everything. Unfortunately you can't make them do there job or do it better. Might want to look at other branches and see if you can't make more progress.

You haven't enlisted yet, and you want a guarantee of warrant school and aviation?



Sorry, maybe things have changed, but that's not the Army I remember.  

You do realize that the Army is down-sizing right now...drastically.


Needs of the service and all.

good luck........

Dude you obviously don't know how stuff in the Army works. You calling the 1SG and the Commander fucked over those recruiters, I wouldn't be surprised if they lose paperwork on purpose because of that. They also wouldn't want some guy who has never been in, coming into their workplace, fucking shit up for them and demanding that he get something that will make him outrank them. You should go in there apologize to them for what you did, and ask them to help you out.

I agree, but those guys will still hold a grudge...I would say he is done

Yep

You ain't special OP. You're just a number.  Welcome to the military.

Nah just start fresh, and ask for an MOS that he might actually get training for right away. (of course that doesn't mean they won't retrain you for something else based on the needs of the Army).

Get in first, serve an enlistment period, shine at whatever it is you do, then worry about career path once you have that under your belt.

+1

+1 ... unfortunately thats how the Army works sometimes... you should look at another branch

I should add that I only broke the chain of command after zero progress had been made and they weren't helping me, with no help in sight.  The meeting with the Captain is a required part of my packet.  If I want to submit a WOCS/WOFT packet, which is possible as an off-the-street enlistment, they are the route.  This is part of their job description.  

Not to mention, a few months prior, I was at work and received a phone call from the recruiter stating that one of my background checks they were re-running came back (from a place I hadn't been in 7 years and had passed previously) with a warrant for my arrest.  I immediately called the city and county in Texas where I lived and they said they had no idea what I was talking about.  When I called the recruiting station back to tell them, he was laughing, saying "oops, haha, it was a joke".  

I like the warrant route because it will get me the most flight time.  I know commissioned officer pilots, and they have all told me that they don't fly nearly as much as the warrants.

I understand I am a number, but I would at least like to have a chance to submit my completed packet.  

I went above at the advice of "fuck the chain of command.  they're not doing their job" from a retired LTC, and NCOs from various services.

Maybe you should find a warrant officer who has recently went through the street to seat process and ask him for advice.

I didn't read...but yes. your recruiter is blowing smoke up your ass.  


ANDDDDDDD....just because I like gifs....

Never heard of anyone enlisting as a WO.

The ones I knew all worked their way up from another MOS.

In the real Army saying "fuck the chain of command" gets you fucked. A chain of command is there for a reason. And why would you listen to what a LTC has to say about enlisted personnel? Sorry if this is blunt but your entitled ass wouldn't last as an enlisted soldier. I recommend that you get commissioned if you still want in. JMHO

It is "possible" to come in as a WO. That being said I have never heard of it actually happening. Probably because of things like this. Usually WOs pride themselves on having earned their rank instead of having been handed it.

You must not be in the aviation field, huh?

We had a street to seat WOC in my basic. They happen.

Street to seat. It's common. In fact, the selection rates from OTS have historically been higher than enlisted. That's all I really know about it.

I didn't have much contact with Army Aviation other than getting a ride, good to know.

Pm me.  The Warrant Officer Liberation Front (WOLF) is storng... If you want it, there's always a way.  And as a WO, it's your job to to go around all levels of command at any given chance and still get the job done (and look cool doing it).  It's what we do.

When I was a Recruiter (worse 3 years of my life) we were missioned to enlist High Shcool grads with a AFQT score of 50 or better.



Any work we did on WOFT and OIC packets or anyone with an AFQT below 50 did not count toward our monthly mission.



Your Recruiter is probably busting his ass to meet his mission and you are not a priority to him.



They may have changed the way it works since I was a recruiter from 93 to 96.

Between downsizing tens of thousands of soldiers a year (next FY is like 15,000 smaller?), and the Aviation branch being over strength (the promotion rate is at like 25% currently?)… Basically, those recruiters have no reason to put in the extra effort.  You ain't making them no monay.  And their boss’s priorities are probably very different.

You've never been convinced of a crime, have you?  Or had a mental/behavioral diagnosis? Or tat'd up neck and arms?  You might not be qualified and they're just not saying it bluntly.  If you're sure you're good to go all the way around, I'd suggest:

1)  Go to a local college with an ROTC program.  ROTC instructors and PMS's (Professor of Military Science, not the other thing) interact significantly more with O's and WO's; local recruiters don't do Officer packets very much and may not be familiar with it.

2)  Go to another recruiting station, in your nearest city or something.  Somewhere that handles a lot more recruiting, has a lot more recruiters, and a better climate for customer service.  After all, these guys at your recruiting station aren't sales reps for the Army... they're just some random schmucks who got tossed there (ahem "SELECTED").

3)  Work online for a solution.  I'm not familiar with the Aviation programs, but I know there are a ton of recruiting tools scattered all over the hundreds of Army websites for each little installation.

BONUS:  Welcome to the Army!  It's the world's largest, most inefficient bureaucracy/ corporation!  If the Army needs 100 pilots, and they already have 100 pilots…  You won't be a pilot even if Moses and Jonah are your recruiters.  Have you thought about alternatives?  If you want to be a WO, CID is hurting for people (their advertisements are everywhere).  SF (if you think you can make it) is doing that SOD-X program thingie, which means they're hiring too.  Logistics and support-type jobs are available too, if you can stand that kind of un-sexy stuff.

Oh and if the question says, "Is my recruiter lying about ...."

The answer is ALWAYS YES.

lefty out!

No recruiters don't always lie. The recruiting regulations are punitive. They do not get any credit for a WO enlistment so they won't put any extra effort into processing the packet.

Some lie and deserve to be sent to the house.

Not sure what unit you are trying to get into. Is it Army Guard?

Our state doesn't take warrants off the street. They pretty much want crew chiefs first that move into pilot slots. My two cents not sure how active works?

Boss, last I checked the max age for getting a commission or warrant for aviation was 28. You can still get warrant/commission in other branches up to 35 I believe.