So my wife just signed up for 15T UH-60 Blackhawk repairer. Can anyone give us info on that MOS?

PFC Jason Jackson — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 12:06:30 -0400

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2016 2:42 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:42:25 -0400

After basic training she will go to Fort Eustis, Virginia to attend AIT. while there, she will spend approximately four months learning the basics of helicopter maintenance on the Black Hawk. She will not learn how to be a flying through chief there. Once she has completed her training, she will go to her first duty station where she can be assigned toA maintenance or flight company. There are also other positions that she might be placed. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Response by SGT Paul Kafka made Jul 15 at 2016 2:59 PM

SGT Paul Kafka — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 14:59:05 -0400

I loved it, but I spent most of my time in a flight company

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2016 9:30 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 21:30:56 -0400

If at all possible, If I was her knowing what I know now, do everything you can to be maintenance first. It's much harder to learn maintenance and its intricacies as a flyer, than to learn how to be a crew chief once you've been a maintainer.

Response by Correy Twilley made Jul 16 at 2016 10:57 PM

Correy Twilley — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 22:57:57 -0400

I loved it. I was in a flight company but did my share of maintenance too. It set me up for success in the aviation industry in the civilian world. Towards the end of my civilian aviation career, I took a civilian position with a contract company in Afghanistan. 6 figures a year but hard work.

Even on deployment, it beats sleeping in a hole in the middle of the desert or eating nothing but MRE's for days. The worst you'll get is having to sleep in "Hotel Sikorsky" if your aircraft breaks down in the middle of nowhere.

Response by CPL Austin Spiker made Jul 18 at 2016 3:23 PM

CPL Austin Spiker — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:23:03 -0400

best mos she will probably be in a flight company fast they fix and ride on the blackhawk helicopter as eyes and ears for the pilots and to fix and maintain it. probably the most exciting MOS but tell her to take an A&P course while she is in so she can make boat loads of cash when she gets out.

Response by SGT David Morris made Jul 20 at 2016 12:46 AM

SGT David Morris — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 00:46:35 -0400

You struck MOS gold.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2016 12:18 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 12:18:34 -0400

Chances are that she will start off in a D Co (maintenance) after graduating from AIT, and that's actually a good thing. While she is in a D Co, she should be taking the opportunity to learn from the more experienced personnel there. AIT is primarily about learning how to use the manuals, and how to conduct proper maintenance on the aircraft. The real learning and experience comes with arrival to that first unit. While she is working as a maintainer, she should take the time to get into the -10 for the aircraft, learn about its theories of operation and aircraft limitations. These actually help when it comes to troubleshooting to find a problem, and are 2/3 of the required aircraft knowledge for a crew chief (the last 1/3 is normal/emergency operating procedures). The better she becomes as a maintainer, the better she'll be as a crew chief. As to the MOS itself, as mentioned previously, she struck gold. There's Army, and then there's Army Aviation. Don't be surprised to find yourself jealous that her field problems involve primarily staying in one local area turning wrenches instead of going out on a 12 mile ruck in full battle rattle. It really is a far more laid back field compared to the other combat arms fields out there. However, especially since she's more likely to ebd up in a CAB than a TDA unit, she'll need to be mentally prepared for the fact that there will be plenty of "12 hour" days, even in garrison. The branch may be laid back, but it works hard to fulfill its commitment to its clients. That means that a lot of field problems are in support of infantry and armor units, assisting in training events for support personnel (such as refueler training on Fat Cow missions and such), and maintaining overall proficiency and preparedness (Aviation is pretty much the first called for deliberate op support, and also the first called when the proverbial crap hits the fan. As such, it's important for us to maintain that high level of readiness).

If her desire is to go to a flight company, she will need to focus strongly on her own fitness as a soldier - most flight companies look for those who are not only good maintainers who have the potential to lead, but also those who do well with marksmanship, PT, and both civilian and military education. It always goes back to the total soldier concept. If she does go to a flight company, you will need to mentally prepare yourself (and she will, too) for the fact that there are currency requirements and mission sets that can only happen at night, and TDY missions are a good possibility, so there will be times throughout her career that you two won't see each other. Lack of realization of and preparation for this fact is the leading cause of divorce amongst those of us in this field.

If she plans on short timing as a means of getting a useful civilian certification, she's slightly out of luck initially - the AIT is not recognized by the FAA as a training location, so she will need to spend the following 3 years after AIT working on aircraft, and maintaining good records of her maintenance (as ling as she documents things properly in ULLS-A(E), and gets print outs of those records prior to each PCS at a minimum, she should be OK with this), of which at least 50% of the topics covered in part 147 of the FAR/AIM have to be demonstrated as her having experience in. Once she gets to that point, she can schedule an appointment with the local FSDO, bring her documentation in there, and after review, if they feel her on the job experience is acceptable, they will issue her an On The Job Training form. From there, she can go to a prep school which will review all the stuff she will need knowledge wise to take the 3 written tests (covering things from sheet metal repair to reciprocating engines - stuff she will rarely to never deal with as a 15T), which it seems on average last about 10 days, and cost roughly 1-3K dollars, depending on the location. Then, it's 3 written tests at about $4-600 each, and a practical exam (not sure about the price), all given by a FAA DME. Successful completion of those requirements would get her an A&P license, which is considered a lifelong learning license and doesn't expire. If she ETS's with that, she can expect to start off around the $60k/year range, assuming she gets hired by a decent company, such as an airline or a place that utilizes helicopters (as a helicopter maintainer, her options would be greater than if she had worked on fixed wing aircraft). If that is her goal, then college and other certifications (such as the FCC GROL) should be on her list as well (feathers in the hat), but the A&P is the chief requirement (it's the hat).

Hope this helps!

Best of luck to her, and I sincerely hope she enjoys every bit of it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 27 at 2016 2:05 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 14:05:59 -0400

There are tons of good things which may come from being a 15T, just like there are tons of good things about all MOS fields... if one applies themselves properly. I would love to expand upon that further, but I have written a bit about it previously here on RP and repeating myself is something that I dislike for the sake of my own sanity as well as preventing the overall boredom of those who have heard it before.
If your wife joins Rally Point (and this group) she will have access to the opinions and perspectives of current and former crewchiefs - something that I find both potentially beneficial and possibly troublesome. On one hand, there are those of us quietly (somewhat) retired CE's who are more than willing to throw our two cents' worth in a direction best suited for the success and enjoyment of the new blood... On the other hand, there are those of us who learned harder ways and became better - if not more crotchety - as a result of our own experiences. After all, the lesson learned firsthand is the one best remembered, right? As with a lot of things, I am on the fence as to which is better, so I continue to lurk here on RP and seeing how best to add whatever I can to help the conversation and others.
However, I think that most would agree that your wife should throw herself at the helicopter and *never* let anyone teach her wrong. One of the funnier things I used to tell new medics and crewchiefs when they were in progression is that the Blackhawk can be viewed as a pagan god - instead of sacrificing virgins, though, one must sacrifice attention, sweat, and time in order to appease that "deity". When this particular pagan god is unhappy, it *WILL* become vengeful and kill you.
Needless to say, I had a lot of fun progressing folks.
Best of luck to you and your wife, though. Crewing was some of the best times of my life, and I ended up better as a result of that time invested (except for my back - expect her to experience a LOT of back problems)

Response by SSG Stephen Guynes made Sep 9 at 2016 10:23 AM

SSG Stephen Guynes — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 10:23:30 -0400

The tool room is for chumps. Flying is fun but she needs to learn that maintenence there are not many civilian crew jobs. Stay away from the medevac unless you can handle blood and guts. Let her know there is no such thing as a bucket of rotor wash, slimelight fluid or prc E-7's. Get the airframe and power plant license as soon as she can. If you know your job better than most you will get to do your job more than most. That is all, now move out and draw fire..

Response by SP6 Robert Finn made Sep 10 at 2016 10:00 PM

SP6 Robert Finn — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 22:00:52 -0400

Great job, but too many officers in aviation very micro managed. Mechanics work their asses off.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 3 at 2016 5:03 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 17:03:48 -0400

Avoid medevac, it's a great mission don't get me wrong but it's a terrible spot for carreer progression as a tango

Response by CPL Jimmie Darragh made Oct 9 at 2016 3:52 PM

CPL Jimmie Darragh — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 15:52:16 -0400

It's the best job I ever had. Gets more exciting/demanding when you become a crew chief. Learn as much as you can in school and ask questions of your NCOs about systems not fully covered in school. The more you know about the Hawk the more valuable you will become.

Response by SPC Billy Keel made Oct 9 at 2016 7:06 PM

SPC Billy Keel — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 19:06:16 -0400

What do you want to know

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 8 at 2016 8:49 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 08:49:50 -0500

What do you want to know?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2017 12:33 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 07 Jan 2017 12:33:38 -0500

Yes, what would you like to know? They make you think you'll be flying but unless you're a crew chief which isn't likely for a while you'll spend all of your time in the hanger

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2017 4:28 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 16:28:14 -0500

yes repairing the UH is only the tip of this iceberg, she may fly, fire weapons from this moving platform, engaging and destroying the enemy, inspect critical components, trouble shoot systems, argue with pilots, this is a great job and I have loved it for 19 years,

Response by SFC George Smith made Mar 4 at 2017 4:54 PM

SFC George Smith — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 16:54:55 -0500

the U-Tube and Google comes Up with a Bunch of good Information...

Response by SPC Phillip Hersman made Aug 7 at 2019 3:39 PM

SPC Phillip Hersman — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 15:39:18 -0400

Great job, long hours. Depending on what unit she's in, be ready for short notice trips. After Katrina we got told "get ready to leave. We're going to new Orleans in 3 days. Dont know how long we'll be gone". Excellent potential for jobs outside the army

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 12 at 2019 5:14 PM

PV2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:14:34 -0500

How does she like it??

Response by SGT James Grabow made Mar 8 at 2020 11:43 PM

SGT James Grabow — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 23:43:23 -0400

Just know that Army aircraft go anywhere any time..as a 60 mechanic she should have the time of her life..try to become the Crewchief that flies with it.. not all will. Some are stuck in Maintenance where it becomes more like a job than an adventure..lol.. I’ve been both in the Cobra, during the Apache and Blackhawk transition.. best jobs ever.