Posted on Jan 16, 2019
2LT Aviation Officer
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I recently found out I am branching National Guard Aviation. I’m looking for tips and advice for anything training/aviation related (Fort Rucker, BOLC, SERE, on/off post housing, study tips, roommates, etc). Anything helps!
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CW2 Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot
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Fort Rucker: Small place, great community on post. Would recommend living on post to save commute time (more sleep and studying).

SERE: [REDACTED]

Study tips: Worked for me, but doesn’t mean it works for you. Study in your current phase of training. Don’t start studying aircraft stuff until you know what aircraft you are flying. That said, get your nose in 95-1 to become slightly familiar with the “aviation bible”.

Roommates: Can either be a blessing or a curse.

BLUF: Enjoy the time at Rucker and with the friends you make, have fun and you will probably miss Rucker when it is said and done. Any questions, feel free to message me.
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CW2 Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot
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Typo: Studying, what works for me and such and such. I studied from Monday-Friday and then when I was off, DONT. TOUCH. ANYTHING. Take the weekend off and regroup on Sunday afternoon/evening.
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2LT Aviation Officer
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Thanks so much, Sir! I’ll definitely bring this info to school! I’m looking forward to the challenge.
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CW2 Aeromedical Evacuation Pilot
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2LT (Join to see) no worries man. You will have a lot of fun.
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CPT Student
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Sere redacted lol
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Lt Col Jim Coe
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Let me offer input from an instructor pilot's point of view. It has been decades since my now-ex-brother-in-law graduated from Warrant Officer school and Army helicopter training, so I can't provide current information about Ft Rucker. I'm assuming you are entering the Army Aviation Warrant program because you mentioned the Basic Officer Leadership Course. If you're going to OCS before flight training, my advice is the same.

As far as WO training goes, my best advice is to go with the flow of the program, put up with any seemingly BS events, and do your best to excel at every opportunity. Keep the ultimate goal in mind, becoming a WO and completing flight training.

Flying training is mentally and physically challenging, but generally if you can drive a car you can learn to fly. (I actually taught foreign student to fly who had never driven a car. That was a real challenge.) Your Instructor Pilots will likely have a broad range of personality types from soft spoken, easy going journeyman aviators to complete screaming A-holes. No matter what type of IP or classroom instructors you get, here's some ideas on how to succeed:
-Don't take it personally. The IP is attempting to teach you the required knowledge, skills, and abilities using the methods he or she thinks are most effective.
-Study, study, study. You're a paralegal, so you probably understand attention to detail and the virtue of following the rules (laws). Learn as much of the technical and academic information as you can as rapidly as you can, all the time. Study now, rest later; study now, sleep later; study now, party later.
-Aviate, navigate, communicate. Fly the aircraft first, figure out where you are and where you need to go, and finally, talk on the radios. Works every time it's tried.
-Keep physically fit. Eat right, get some sleep each night, exercise when you can.
-Ask questions. If you don't understand something, ask. This is your best chance to ask all the "dumb" questions without penalty. Don't allow your IP to go along thinking you understand something when you really don't. (Fake it till you make it can be fatal.)
-Simulators and simulations: don't fight the machine or the system. Learn from every opportunity. Flight simulators have progressed tremendously in the last few decades, so they are almost "real." If you notice differences between the simulator and the aircraft, don't dwell on them. Use the "sim" to learn procedures and techniques. The cool thing about crashing a sim is nobody gets hurt and you can still learn a lesson.

SERE: it's a camping trip with a bunch of BS tossed in to make it not fun. Just get through it.
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2LT Aviation Officer
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Thanks so much for the insight, LTC! I’m very excited to get there and absorb all the information I can.
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CPT Student
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If you live on post you will be assigned a roommate if you are single. There are some good apartments and townhouses on freedom drive off post if thats more your speed. I need quite to study which is why I chose off post.
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2LT Aviation Officer
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Thank you for the advice Sir!
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