Posted: 8/10/2005 6:46:00 AM EDT
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I keep sitting behind my desk everyday thinking that I should be doing something more and I keep looking at the Army Recruiting website trying to decide if I should sign up and get my commission, but I want some honest answers about the process and my ability to get the MOS that I would want. First of all, I am 28, 6'0" 185lbs (broad chest no gut) and in good physical shape. I have a slight back ache from a car accident when I was 18, but otherwise I am physically GTG. I don't wear glasses except for a very slight prescription for reading (mainly due to eye fatigue issues) but my vision checks out at 20/20. My undergraduate was in psychology and I have my JD. Currently, I am a practicing attorney, but JAG is out of the question. Now here are my questsions: 1: What are my chances of getting into Army Aviation and how is that determined? Is this a question of me going through OCS and seeing where I am assigned, or is there any track that you can be placed on through the process? 2: I know that there is an aviation component of the reserves, but can you join and get the training in the reserves or do you have to go active first? 3: Anything else that I might want to consider? Obviously, if I couldn't get aviation I would rather go into combat arms. Thanks, Kyle |
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Hi, I don't see a lot of responses in your thread yet, so I wanted to keep this going. I am merely a cadet in college (very frequently referred to by people in the real Army, doing real service, as a "F***ing Cadet"), but expect that when enough people get off work, some helpful information will come your way. I would like to offer what little I know, and others may feel free to jump in and correct me if I say anything that doesn't jive with reality: First, it sounds like you're a bit confused about officers vs enlisted terms. As an officer, you get a commission, and do not really have an MOS, but a branch, such as Aviation. Warrant officers have a warrant commission, and a lot of people in specialized fields tend to be WO's. I am not too clear on the route a person such as yourself (degree and then some already) would take to becoming an officer--if that is your goal. This is probably the first thing you should do--determine where your interests and abilities lay, and decide from there whether enlisting or an officer program is better for you. Then apply the particulars of your situation to the best route, as in, "how does a guy with my resume go about being a _________, etc.?" You sound qualified to do damn near anything in the Army, as long as your back does not give you trouble during PT (lots of sit-ups). I would encourage you to becomes familiar with all your options (all MOS', branches, how a WO differs from enlisted/differs from officer), and visit military.com. It's a web site run by Monster, and I think it does a pretty fair job of teaching people what they are getting into. Hope this was mildly useful. 
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You can fly helicopters in the Guard if you want to, either as a Warrant Officer or a Commissioned Officer. Warrants deal with less BS and are purely pilots, whilce Officers get better pay and benefits. Look around for an Aviation unit somewhere near you, or near where you would like to move. They aren't everywhere. |
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I am a new 2LT in the Army (active). I was commissioned on 14 Apr 05 from OCS at Ft. Benning and was branched MP, my third choice. I can answer any questions you might have about OCS and the commissioning process. The one thing I will tell you now is if you actually want to FLY helicopters, go warrant officer. 1. Aviation is one of the hardest branches to get especially for a commissioned officer. 2. I am pretty sure you can go straight into the Reserves or Natioanl Guard first. 3. Go MP, I know I might get some crap for this but MPs are mounted infantry. We have everything from AT4s, M2s, and MK19s, to M9s. The MP corps is one of the fastest growing branches in the Army. We currently have about 38,000 and are in the process of expanding to approximately 70,000 due to the high demand in OIF and OEF. Just me .02 MPNelson Oh yeah, and I am from Bellevue, NE! |
This is what I saw when I was in college. I was a cad"idiot" until I was medically dq'd and unable to be commissioned. Incidently, that was two weeks before commissioning  If you want to fly, get yourself into a reserve or guard unit aviation unit. Because you're already in the unit, they're going to want you to branch aviation. This is the way it was with cadets. Cadets would request guard or reserve in the packet. They would already be in an aviation unit in either the guard or reserve. This way, it was a lot easier to get branched aviation apon commissioning. You're best bet is to find the guard and reserve recruiter. |
I was interested in MP but most of the people i talked to turned me off to it, maybe i should give it another look. But why MP over infantry? |
Bellevue, NE. I lived there when I was an air force LT stationed at HQ SAC (Strategic Air Command) and my son was born in Bellevue.  Nice place but the rendering plant made a bad smell on days when the wind was blowing the "wrong" direction. - CD |
My buddy is an enlisted MP and he says rank is anything but fast. He said he knew enlisted guys that made E-5 in Infantry twice as quick as him( granted infantry is a fast promotion track MOS). |
My dad was a comissioned officer in the Army for 20 years. He was a pilot for a while and absolutely loved it. He flew OH-58s and later on CH-47s. Once the promoted him to major, the only thing he flew was his desk. He says if he could do it all over again, he would have gone warrant officer. Those guys will fly for their entire career. However... I think the max age to apply for warrant officer flight training (WOFT) is 27. Waivers are always possible though... best bet is to contact a recruiter on this one. |
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I'm Army infantry... I'm eligible to go the the E-5 board at the end of the year. I joined as an E-1 in Nov 2003. If I went to Ranger school a year ago I'd probably be an E-5 right now. |
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Run, don't walk, to the recruiter and tell them you want to go for the flight program. Start your WOFT packet today. Don't let them bullshit you and tell you that you have a better shot by enlisting in an aviation related MOS forst and then applying.... they will do this because they do not get the same credit for recruiting for the flight program as they do a regular enlistment. Be prepared, however, for WOCS right after basic. Most classes there will only graduate 70% or less or so of those who start, you have to really want it. My class started wth 53 and graduated 37. |